20. Nora

20

NORA

My scream was stifled by a hand. Jacob shook his head, making a silent gesture with his hand. “I won’t hurt you,” he whispered. “Come with me.”

I was torn between fighting him and trusting him. But now that I knew monsters were real, I had questions for him. And I felt a little less fooled by him and the other two now.

He released me and I followed him further down the path until he turned around. “What are you doing out here, Nora?”

“I should ask you the same,” I said. “And I left my bicycle at the end of this trail…”

“They exited in a different way,” he sighed. He shook his head as he studied me, his brows pulled together in concern. “I told you not to come into the woods.”

“Why? Because then I would discover one of your secret meetings? None of you are very good at hiding,” I said.

Jacob pressed his lips together. “I never meant to make you feel like a fool. The night of the dinner at Harold’s house…”

“The three of you did make me feel foolish,” I hissed. “But, the longer I stay at this university, the more oddities I have seen. All I can wonder is why? What is it about this place? I have so many questions and no one will answer them.”

“St. Thorn was built over a hill that supposedly belonged to the Sìth ,” Jacob said. “Or, fae, as you might know. For centuries, there have been multiple oddities. Deaths that had no explanation. Monsters come into these woods, waiting to kill. Demons, vampires, and more.”

“What does this have to do with The Hunt?” I asked.

“We protect the campus,” he said.

I didn’t believe him. Well, I knew he believed that, but I couldn’t trust that The Hunt had good intentions. Everything was so twisted.

“Well, you do a poor job then,” I said. “The student deaths? The professors? No one seems concerned by it.”

“I am,” he breathed out. “I really am.”

I sighed. I liked Jacob. I felt that in another place, we would have been good friends. “Can I ask you something?”

He gave me a grim expression. “Yes,” he said. “Although I might not be able to answer.”

“If The Hunt were to keep information within a book, would they hide the text?”

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Perhaps.”

I crossed my arms. “Would they perhaps use invisible ink?”

“The answer is moonlight,” he said. “That is all I can say to your theoretical question. Now, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes. Although I might not be able to answer,” I said, turning his own words on him.

“What happened the night of the dinner party?”

Frustration made my muscles stiffen. I didn’t know . It all blurred together. “All I remember is that I went to a hotel the night of the party, and then came to the university to move into the tower the next morning.”

“And what do you recall of the party? ”

Not much. I didn’t speak for a moment, trying to think back to that night. “It feels as if nothing has happened. But if you were involved with me not remembering every detail, then I think we’re done here.”

He winced. “You must think poorly of me right now, but I promise that this society is not inherently evil. When I joined The Hunt, I thought it would help my career. I needed sponsorships to get some of my research done, and I wanted the connections.”

“What does that mean for me?” I asked. “What did they mean by me being spared? Spared from who? Or what?”

“I am not allowed to say,” he sighed. “I’m sorry, Nora.”

Another omission, another vague answer that told me nothing. But at least I might be able to read the book now, if his answer was truthful. Moonlight could reveal all of the dark secrets I wished to know.

“Why even talk to me then?” I asked. “If the society is secret, isn’t there some sort of punishment for telling an outsider even what you have mentioned?”

“There is. But things are escalating quickly and I don’t want to see you harmed. You’re very unlucky, Nora.”

“ Unlucky ,” I said bitterly. “Do they want to kill me?”

He recoiled, his eyes widening. “I don’t.”

I swallowed hard and turned around, needing a moment where I didn’t face him. Where I didn’t face anyone.

I should leave now before it’s too late.

I knew that I had a choice. It was a hot breath on my neck, the universe waiting to know if I would deviate from or follow the path it put before me.

“Nora?”

I was too wrapped up in this to walk away now. I wanted to protect the monster, even if that meant becoming a sacrifice. I had no doubts The Hunt would kill me if and when they felt necessary. Jacob might have been good, but no group this power-hungry was. “I need to leave. I shouldn’t have come out here tonight.”

“If you need anything, you can trust me. I’m as trapped in this now as you are.”

All I did was nod. I didn’t turn back around to look at him. And I didn’t look to the trees to see if the monster was watching me.

Logically, I knew that the best thing I could do for myself and my future was to leave. To go back to London. To take the wealth I’d been given and fund my own projects.

But then I’d never know the truth about the monster.

I’d never discover the truth about that night where all of this began.

The feeling of being watched never left me, even as I stepped into my tower and locked the door behind me. My cheeks were numb from the cold, my fingers in desperate need of warmth.

Even more than that, I needed to test the moonlight theory on the book. Jacob had been helpful, and for that, I was thankful.

My thoughts raced. I was disappointed I hadn't found the monster tonight, but I was one step closer to understanding just how many circles of hell I’d descended through. If I could understand The Hunt, I might be able to understand more about what was happening here.

I might be able to understand the monster more, too.

I kicked off my boots and rushed upstairs, nearly tripping on one of the steps. I huffed as I reached the top, winded. I plucked the book from the shelf and carried it to the window in my bedroom, pushing it open.

Alec’s greenhouse gleamed in the distance, glass reflecting the night sky. Was he asleep? The light I typically saw glowing within was snuffed out.

I held the book up, running my fingertips over the indentions of the lettering stamped into the leather. I opened the book and angled the first page towards the moon, feeling a thrill as ink slowly appeared. It was faint and difficult to read, but it was there.

“Finally,” I whispered.

Members and Family History of The Hunt

It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but it was better than nothing. I turned to the first page and found that it was dated around a century ago.

The Dean would surely be searching for this book soon if this was a log of every member from the last hundred years.

I carefully flipped through the pages, reading the extensive log of names and signatures. Their birth and death dates were listed too. I frowned as I got closer to the present day, but there was still half a book left. I exposed one of the pages to the light and sucked in a breath.

A circle was drawn on the page with a human in the centre. Their body was sprawled out, notes scrawled in the margins on how to cut open a chest and pull out the heart. As I continued through the book, I found more and more drawings such as that.

Nausea twisted my stomach. I had to take a breath and set the book down, pacing my room.

I’d stumbled into a hornets nest. St. Thorn was full of evil unlike anything I'd ever believed in before. Knowing that the men in power were ones who would sacrifice people for… for what? For who?

All of the student deaths took on a new meaning to me. I no longer believed they were merely tragedies. They were covering their tracks.

I was still bothered by hearing them say I was spared. Spared from what? Death?

The monster came to mind. I closed my eyes, envisioning his face. The harsh bark of his skin rough over my own, the vines constricting, choking, binding. The mind-numbing pleasure of being so thoroughly taken by him that my knowledge of the world had been altered.

I returned to the book. There were several family names that came up multiple times, but not as many as the Andrews family.

More than likely, I’d murdered the heir to this fucked up society. I found John Andrews III’s name and noted they’d yet to fill in his death date.

How fucked up would it be if I filled it out?

I snorted to myself and snapped the book shut. I needed to make a cup of tea and start making notes of everything I’d found.

It would be a long night.

I found myself wishing the monster was here to keep me company.