12. Adelaide

12

ADELAIDE

"Her?" Corvus asks, his cool hand supporting my back. "Do you know who she is yet?"

I shake my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind. The visions are already slipping away, like trying to hold onto water. But the feeling remains - a bone-deep certainty that something monumental is coming, and it's all got to do with cuntface.

"No. Not yet."

The guys exchange glances, their confusion irritating me even though that's unfair of me.

"Addy," Zaiah says gently, "what exactly did you see?"

I close my eyes, trying to piece together the fragments of the vision. "It was... chaos. War. But not just here. Everywhere. Every realm. And in the middle was her. The voice in my head. She was opening something. A door? A portal? I don't know. But it was tearing reality apart."

"And where were you in all this?" Zephyr asks, his purple eyes intense.

I gulp, the memory sending a chill over my soul. I don't want to answer that honestly because it terrifies me. "I don't know. It's all jumbled up."

The room falls silent as they process my words. My lie. I can see the worry in their eyes, the fear.

"Everything comes back to this creature," Ignatius says, breaking the tense silence.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. "We need to find out who she is, and then we find out what she wants."

"We need to get working on these hidden places here at MistHallow," Zephyr says.

"There has to be something on her. She's ancient. She's powerful. She's somehow connected to me. There has to be information about her somewhere."

"Exactly," Zephyr agrees, lacing our fingers together.

"Right now, you need to rest, Addy. You've been through a lot," Corvus says.

I shake my head, frustration bubbling up. "We don't have time to rest. Every moment we waste is a moment she could be using to do whatever it is she's planning."

"Addy's right," Ignatius says, surprising me. "We can't afford to sit on our arses. But," he adds, seeing Corvus's glare, "we also can't run ourselves into the ground. We need a plan."

"Not to mention classes. They're later today, but we still need to attend. Addy needs the knowledge," Zaiah points out.

I grab his hand. "Thank you," I say softly. "For helping me see."

He gives me a small smile, but I can see the worry in his white eyes. "Visions are tricky things. They don't always mean what we think they do."

I nod slowly. "Did you see?"

"Some."

"Is that normal?"

"Nope."

"So it was me? My power?" This can no longer be called an ability . I think Blackthorn downplayed that a lot. This is a power. I know it now. I can not only amplify others' powers, I can take them and use them. It's how I created fire with Ignatius, and it's how I did whatever the fuck that was before.

The bell tolls, and I look at the clock as Orby zooms out from under my pillow, scaring me half to death.

"Five past nine," Corvus murmurs, "Time to get to class."

"Ready for this?" Zephyr asks, a hint of concern in his voice.

I take a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. "Always. Give me five minutes to get ready."

It's only when I get up, naked and a bit chilly, that I remember I need to hit the laundrette up pretty badly. Guess I'm going commando.

"What's your first class?" Ignatius asks as I pull on some black leggings, a white bra, and a black tee.

"Ancient Runes and Symbols, I think."

"Same as me," Zephyr murmurs.

We exchange a smile, but it's forced. There is something he isn't telling me, and of course, I'm hiding stuff from him, them. But I need to try to figure this shit out on my own first, before I can explain it to anyone. Right now, it's a jumble of words, memories that aren't mine, a flash of a future or a past even. I can't tell.

Minutes later, as Zaiah snatches Orby and clutches him tightly, we make our way down the winding stairs of the tower, the familiar route now tinged with a new awareness. Every shadow seems deeper, every flicker of magick more pronounced. It's like I'm seeing MistHallow for the first time all over again.

"I'll work on the orb," Zaiah murmurs. "There is definitely more to his story."

As we step out into the courtyard, the night air is cool against my skin, I nod, noticing the changes around us. The damage from the Strix attack has been mostly repaired, but there's a tension in the air, a wariness in the eyes of the students we pass. Everyone knows something big happened, even if they don't know the details.

Zaiah and Ignatius drift off as Corvus walks in the same direction as Zephyr and me.

We reach the lecture hall, which is a circular room with tiered seating surrounding a central lectern. Ancient symbols and runes cover every available surface - the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. The air thrums with latent magick, making my skin tingle.

"I'll see you later," Corvus murmurs and kisses the top of my head.

I smile up at him but feel eyes on me. I look around and see Lyra glaring at us, but she shifts her face into a more neutral expression when she sees me notice her. She waves, and I wave back, determined to keep her on the right side. She is the Troy House Captain, so going against her would be a decidedly bad idea.

"What is Lyra?" I whisper to Zephyr.

"Hmm?" He looks up distractedly. "Shifter."

"What kind?"

"General."

"What does that mean?"

"She can shift into anything. It's not as grand as it sounds. She is relatively low level in the bigger picture."

Yet she still became House Captain. So maybe not so low-level.

As Zephyr and I take our seats, I notice the wary, even angry glances from our classmates. News of who I am has clearly spread, along with who knows what other rumours. I do my best to ignore them, focusing instead on the Professor who has swept into the room, her silver hair flowing behind her like a comet's tail. Despite her ethereal appearance, there's a sharpness to her gaze that commands respect.

"Good evening, class," Professor Hartridge says, her voice carrying easily through the room. "I trust you've all recovered sufficiently from recent events to focus on your studies. Today, we'll be delving into the intricacies of binding runes and their applications in complex spellcraft."

As Professor Hartridge begins her lecture, I find myself drawn in, despite my preoccupation with recent events. The world of runes and symbols is fascinating, a language of power that transcends the spoken word.

"Now," she says, chalk hovering in the air as she sketches out a complex array of symbols, "who can tell me the potential consequences of misaligning a binding rune in a protection ward?"

My hand shoots up of its own accord to my shock and horror as I have zero idea about any of this. Professor Hartridge nods in my direction. "Miss Black?"

"Misalignment of a binding rune could cause the ward to collapse, potentially releasing or redirecting the energy it was meant to contain," I say, the words flowing easily even though a minute ago, I had no idea about any of this. "In extreme cases, it could create a feedback loop, amplifying the very threat it was meant to protect against."

Professor Hartridge's eyebrows rise slightly. "Excellent, Miss Black. And can you give us an example of when such a misalignment might be intentionally employed?"

Somehow, I know the answer. "In certain offensive spells, a deliberately misaligned binding rune could be used to create a delayed reaction. The initial spell would appear to fail, lulling the target into a false sense of security before the true effect manifests."

A hush falls over the classroom. Even Professor Hartridge looks surprised. "That's correct, Miss Black. Though that particular application is generally considered advanced theory, not typically covered at this level."

I feel Zephyr's eyes on me. I shrug slightly, suddenly very sure where that knowledge came from,

"Let me guess," he murmurs. "Crazy ancient vampire woman?"

"Mm-hm."

He gives me a warning glare, and I grimace. This isn't good. She is controlling me enough to blurt out answers in class like some swotty brainiac.

But I can't stop her. As the lecture continues, I'm volunteering answers with increasing frequency. Concepts that are beyond me, seeing as this is my first class in this subject, are there in my head, waiting to be shared.

As the class draws to a close, Professor Hartridge says, "For your assignment, I want you to design a protection ward using at least three different rune systems. Be prepared to discuss the synergies and potential conflicts between the systems in our next class. Miss Black, a word, please."

As the other students file out, Zephyr gives my hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving me to face Professor Hartridge alone.

"That was quite an impressive display of knowledge tonight, Miss Black," she says, her silver eyes studying me intently. "Might I ask where you've been doing your additional reading?"

I gulp, unsure how to explain. "The library?" I mentally roll my eyes at the lame response.

She glares at me. "Hmm."

For a moment, I consider telling her everything about the ancient vampire in my head. But something tells me that would be really dumb.

"I'm new to this world, obviously. I'm pushing myself to learn, Professor," I say instead.

She regards me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "Indeed. Well, keep up the good work, Miss Black. But do be careful. Knowledge is power, but power unchecked can be dangerous."

I nod, taking in her words. "Yes, Professor. Thank you."

As I leave the classroom, I find Zephyr waiting for me in the corridor, leaning against the opposite wall, his foot propped up on the stone behind him. "Everything okay?"

"For now."

"You didn't?—"

"No. No good will come from that."

"Good." He takes my hand. "We've got another class, I believe."

"Practical Defensive Magick."

"If ancient Addy—you don't mind if I call you Addy, do you? The others do—has decided she is going to make you the school star, I'm quite eager to see how you handle this."

"Fuck off. And yeah, call me Addy, Zeph."

He grins, and we make our way to the next class, the corridors of MistHallow are crowded with students around us, going about their nightly routines, but there's an undercurrent of tension, of watchfulness.