AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My shoulders slump a little, as the tension releases and I nod. Taking that as a sign that I’m not going to snap at her, she turns back to her screen and explains more. “I assumed you wouldn’t have done it because it’s risky. What if someone who is in Ethan’s pocket gets information? Right?”
“Yes, that kept me from alerting anyone I didn’t at least mostly trust.”
Lexi nods. “That was a good move, but now that Ethan is escalating quickly, we need to throw caution out the window and have as many eyes and ears on the lookout for him as possible. He clearly already knows plenty about you, and your weekly routine if he’s managed to place his presents in your path, so it’s time to up our game. I’ll keep you updated on that, but let's circle back to your magic. I think I’ve managed to piece together what I believe happened.
I get up from the couch and walk over to her, peering at her screen. “Really?” I know she’s been researching like crazy since the last time we started working. I have been too, but with no such luck for me.
She glances at me a moment, before her eyes return to her screen. “Yeah. Well, I have a theory…” She trails off and I laugh. She doesn’t give herself enough credit, ninety-eight percent of the time her ‘theories’ are spot on.
“Okay, hit me,” I prompt, then flop back onto the lounge, settling in.
Clearing her throat, Lex shifts around to face me, the office chair she’s on squealing obnoxiously as she swivels it. “I’ve gone over all the stuff you told me about what happened in that illusion or warded section of the forest, hundreds of times and I kept coming back to the casket that Aurora’s body was imprisoned in.” She pauses, rolling a pencil between her fingers. “Steven, the man who killed her and trapped her, I figured out who he was oris, assuming he’s still alive.”
I push to my feet, ready to see if she has a copy of his Academy ID. Back then it took time and magic to create a photograph-like portrait painting for things like Academy ID’s. It was also only something that the best Academies in the realm offered. “You think he could still be alive?” I ask, my jaw clenching at the thought.
Lexi grimaces, turning back to her laptop. “I can almost guarantee that he is still alive and practically untouchable. If his ID is to be believed, he’s an O-class Monster, and Academy royalty. He was the Headmaster’s son—next in line to become the Headmaster—the year that Aurora disappeared.”
I thread my fingers through my hair.Damn, well things on that front just got a hell of a lot harder. I push that aside for now, and even if he is still alive, I doubt he’d be thinking of this place still. He’s certainly not the Headmaster at the moment. Lexi pulls up a scanned piece of paper that has a row of ID cards, one of which stands out. Steven. My upper lip curls into a snarl and I point at him. “That’s him.”
Lexi nods, posture relaxing and I drop back onto the couch. “It sounds like the spell he cast was designed to trap not just Aurora's body in the casket, but also her spirit—which includes her magic. Since you’ve confirmed it’s him, I confess that I left something out earlier.” Lexi’s pale eyes flit to mine. “Ghost Girl, aka Aurora—when she was alive and most likely in death—had great power. It was assumed but never confirmed, from what I’ve found, that she was an O-class monster. Magic like no one has seen before. There were also whispers from the things I went through that she was being considered for the role of Headmaster. She was a lot better with people and more morally sound then he was.”
Drumming my fingers on my thigh, my eyebrows furrow as I try to figure out where Lexi is going with this. Then it hits me. “A syphoning spell,” I murmur. It’s ingenious really, he gets a power boost plus gets rid of the competition.
Lexi grins at me. “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. The only thing I’m not quite sure about is why he’d need that when he was already so powerful…” She trails off and I shake my head, all the random instances with Aurora slotting into place.
“He didn’t syphon her magic into him, he attached it to the Academy.” When a headmaster—a true one of old times—was said to take over the Academy, they also accepted the burden that is the dome of wards protecting the floating Academy. The person has to use their own magic, a large part of it, to power the wards. It’s draining and weakens the person, but as headmaster, the Academy is supposed to become the centre of your focus. You have to dedicate yourself to it. Or at least that’s what all my old books on the Academies in the Supernatural Realm speak of, though that clearly isn’t true about the weasel currently in control.
Lexi’s eyes light up at the revelation. “I bet when you touched the casket it had already weakened enough that you touching it broke it and released Aurora’s spirit. Instead of going into the Academy though—because she would be recognised as the true headmaster—you absorbed it. Both her spirit and her magic.”
My lips part.Holy shit. It makes sense.“So the reason my magic has been so insane since that day is because I have Aurora’s magic stuck inside of me. That’s probably why I’ve been seeing her around the Academy since then too. It’s been different since I touched her casket, like she’s what an actual ghost would be like. It makes so much sense.” It’s a whisper. Said more to help it sink in, and not posed as a question.
“That doesn’t explain why you were so drawn to it in the first place though,” Lexi murmurs, and sits back in her seat, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Let’s put a pin in that for now. We need to figure out how the hell I’m going to get Aurora’s magic andspiritout of me.”
Lexi snorts and pins me with an amused look. “Of course,thatfreaks you out.”
I wave a hand at her, going for nonchalance. “I don’t know what you are speaking of.”
This time she full out laughs and flings a pencil at me. “Bullshit. Having another person’s spirit inside of you freaks you out, admit it.”
Her pencil bounces off my chest before skittering to the floor and Unicorn chuffs from her perch. Crossing my arms like a petulant child I let out a breath. “I’d like to see someone who doesn’t get the heebee jeebies about having another persons fucking spirit inside you without your knowledge.”
Lex shakes her head, expression sobering as she pushes to her feet. “We’ll get through this, just like everything else—including your stalker.” She squeezes my wrist as she passes me, heading for the kitchen. “Now, do you want a fresh coffee before we start researching the sudden appearance of your vampire traits?”
I say yes of course, that liquid gold can get me through anything.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Corin
“Ethanhasbeenstalkingme,” Nessa says, voice and eye contact not wavering as she informs me and the guys. I swear to the Goddess that my heart fucking stops for a second.
Ethan’s stalking her?Rage flares in my gut hot and fast.How the hell did I miss that?My fingers curl into fists, my primal side leaping forwards at the revelation. How the hell didwemiss that? My eyes flick between Dylan and Oscar and I’m satisfied to find them just as pissed off as me.
I swallow hard, my glare returning to Nessa. How could she not tell us? “How long?” I grit out. That gets us a reaction. For a moment her calm facade slips and irritation flashes across her features, but she answers truthfully.
“Since the beginning of the term.”
