Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

M y pulse skipped. Oh, shit.

A dark hooded figure stood just beyond the open doorway, moonlight glistening around his head like a sinister halo. My stomach dropped. It was a member of the Bloodborne Brotherhood. That’s who had been tapping on the damn door.

Run. NOW.

I spun around, gasping for air. The rough stone of the tunnel scraped my palms as I scrambled to escape?—

WHAM!

A vice-like grip clamped around my wrist. I yelped, the sound echoing off the walls. No no no no .

Adrenaline surged through me. I lashed out, my foot connecting with something solid with a resounding thud .

“Peyton, stop. It’s me.”

The familiar voice sliced through my panic like a knife. I froze, my body still coiled tight as a spring.

“Jaxon? Is that really you?” My voice trembled, hope and fear battling in my chest.

“Yes.” He pulled me to him, my skin tingling at his touch. His handsome face emerged from the shadows, sending that familiar flutter through my stomach.

“You have to leave the academy.” The urgency in his tone turned my blood to ice. “It’s not safe here for you to stay in town. The Bloodborne Brotherhood has taken over.”

My muscles tensed and a cold stone settled in the pit of my stomach as I shook my head vehemently, my body trembling with fear and defiance. “I’m not leaving. Both my parents are here. My mother’s in a coma, and you yourself said my dad’s rotting in a jail cell.”

He clasped my arms hard, his fingers digging into my flesh. “Listen to me.” His tone was insistent. “The only way you can defeat the high priestess is if you go to New Orleans. The Dragon Nexus is there.”

I stared at him suspiciously. “How do you know?”

He released my arms and ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Your dad told me.”

The blood drained from my face and a cold wave washed over me from head to toe as my knees buckled momentarily. “What?” The single word was all I could squeeze out of my tight throat.

“I told you, he hid the Nexus from the high priestess. That’s why he was imprisoned.” Jaxon’s words hit like cold, sharp slaps. “He hid it in New Orleans in a family crypt. He told me the Bloodborne Brotherhood only knows it’s in New Orleans, but not exactly where.”

His eyes darted around the dark courtyard as if he were checking for eavesdroppers hiding in the shadows. He lowered his voice to an urgent whisper. “Your dad told me it’s an ancient gem, pulsing with raw power. Legend says it grants control over the black dragons. If the high priestess gets her hands on it...”

Panic rolled through me like a torrid storm. I had to get to New Orleans, but it wasn’t like I was rolling in money. Every dime we had went to pay for mom’s nursing home. I swallowed hard, my throat dry with anxiety. “How are we going to get there?”

Jaxon’s gaze raked over me, his eyes intense as he sized me up. “Can you shift? Dragon speed is even faster than an airplane.”

My stomach lurched at the thought, turning my gut into an unstable washing machine. “Are you serious? I can barely control it.”

His brow furrowed as he thought. “Okay. Then we’ll need help.” He took my hand. “Let’s go. They’re coming.”

Jaxon grasped my hand, his grip firm and urgent. He led me through the shadows of the courtyard as men in robes descended like swarms of locusts. We had to cross the courtyard to get to the faculty apartments and every nerve in my body was on high alert, my skin prickling with the sensation of unseen eyes watching us.

The bright moonlight was our enemy, painting us in stark silver that felt like a spotlight. Every shadow seemed to harbor watchful eyes. I wished there were clouds overhead, but the sky overhead stretched out vast and clear.

My throat tightened, my breath coming quick and shallow as I fought the urge to bolt. Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the cool night air, trickling down my temples.

I squinted upward, searching desperately for any wisp of cloud, any hint of cover. But there wasn’t one in sight. The moon hung fat and indifferent, its light so bright it almost hurt to look at it.

We pressed our backs close against the wall as we made our way to the faculty apartments. They seemed a million miles away. The rough stone scraped against my skin, each step a tortuous balance between speed and stealth. My leg muscles burned and trembled from the effort of staying low.

“Get down,” Jaxon suddenly hissed, his voice barely audible.

Before I could react, he pushed me onto the ground. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, the gritty earth pressing against my cheek. Jaxon’s strong body covered mine, his weight both reassuring and overwhelming. I could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest as his heart tapped out a staccato rhythm against my back.

I lay perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe. Jaxon’s arms bracketed my head, his body curled protectively over me as if he were fighting to shield me from an unknown threat. The warmth of his body contrasted sharply with the cold ground beneath us, sending confusing sensations through my overwrought nerves.

My heart thundered so loud I felt like it was going to start an earthquake. The roaring in my ears drowned out everything else, and my fingers dug into the earth, desperate for some kind of anchor as waves of fear and adrenaline crashed over me.

Indistinguishable voices grew louder and closer, sinister murmurs that seemed to come from everywhere at once. My pulse quickened. There was no way we were going to get out of this. The certainty of it settled in my gut like a block of ice, spreading a numbing chill through my body.

One of them uttered a guttural word—“ Naz’gulum ”. The harsh and alien sound grated against my ears, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Then, without warning, a light flashed across the courtyard. It swept through the darkness like a lighthouse’s beam, stark and unforgiving.

Every muscle in me screamed to run, to fight, to do something , but I forced myself to remain perfectly motionless. The taste of dirt and terror mingled on my tongue, my mouth dry with panic.

The beam cut through the night again, closer this time. With each sweep of the light, the shadows receded further, our hiding place evaporating like morning dew. The inevitability of discovery hung over us, making each breath a struggle. I closed my eyes against the encroaching brightness, silently pleading for a miracle I wasn’t sure would come.