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Oh gods, no, please don’t be her.The swath of dark hair surrounding what used to be a head had my gut rolling with a dry-heave as images of my sister flashed through my mind. Syn. No, it couldn’t be her, I refused to believe it. I frantically searched the form with my eyes to find any indication that it’s not my sister and let out a ragged breath when I spotted a butterfly tattoo on the girl’s ankle. A fraction of the tension in my spine dissipated at the reassurance it isn’t Syn, but the sick feeling didn’t go anywhere.
Goddess, who the hell could do this to a person? The matted long black hair suggested that this was once a woman, possibly a student. As more people approached the scene, drawn in by the girl beside me, who was thankfully now silent, all I could fully grasp was that no one else should have to see this. Bowing my head, I use what little power I have to conjure an opaque ball around the scene, taking care not to compromise anything. Just blocking the sight from everyone else.
Without raising my head or dropping the spell, I summoned the one professor on campus I knew I could trust. Mr Kent arrived shortly with a grim expression and took control of the situation.
It’s a blur from there and I suppress a shudder as images flash through my minds-eye again. “They found her on campus.” I leave out the fact that I saw her mutilated body, but add, “They suspect it could have been the Drákon group, but they’re not sure yet.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat and before I say anything else, I tug the door shut behind me and slide down so I’m sitting cross legged on the floor with my back resting against the wall. The light pressure from the padded walls helps me stay grounded as I study their reactions. I don’t know Dylan well, so he could be as suspect as anyone else, including Nessa I suppose. Though I’ve been following her around like a lost puppy since she got here and haven’t picked up on any obvious red flags…then again. I slow blink and look at her from a completely different angle as I mentally replay our every interaction. My lips twitch.Never mind, Nessa would be a perfect candidate for a murderer.
Dylan’s pallor has blanched drastically at the news and his jaw clenches, his eyes sliding to Nessa as a protective gleam enters them. Something in my stomach relaxes at his reaction, the shock and horror are enough to have some of my worry easing. Nessa’s reaction, on the other hand, is intriguing. Her body is frozen, those golden eyes drilling into my face like she can see my soul. Her expression is what’s curious though, it’s filled with determination and a slight bit of sorrow.
I tear my eyes from them and pick at the floor. I don’t even know why I came here. I just know that I needed visual reassurance that Nessa was okay, plus she has this vibe about her that makes you feel like everything will be alright.
“Are you okay?” The words come from Dylan and my head snaps up at his strained tone. In the face of this news his awkwardness seems to have momentarily left him. Curling my fingers into my thighs, I nod, but I’m not sure. I scrub a hand over my face and flinch when fingers trail over my shoulder. Nessa’s face is pinched in concern and after a moment she drops to her knees in front of me. Looking somewhat embarrassed and uncomfortable, she opens her arms to me. At the sweet gesture a weak smile curls my lips and I gratefully shuffle into her embrace.
Pressing my nose to her throat, I inhale her scent. The sweetness has my head fogging as pure candy and vanilla smother me—much like I imagine a unicorn fart would smell. All it’s missing is the glitter. A smile tilts my lips at the thought and Nessa relaxes in my arms, her soft sigh tickling my bicep.
In the comfort of her embrace words fall from my lips before my brain can catch up. “I thought it was my sister.” I swallow hard, tensing when Nessa stiffens, but that tension drains away when she squeezes me tighter. A hand lands on my shoulder and pats twice before the contact disappears as quickly as it came. Peering over her shoulder, I find Dylan shuffling on his feet, a blush lighting up his cheeks when we lock eyes and it draws a tired laugh from my chest. How he’s managed to stay so innocent and shy while growing up in the monster community is a mystery. The leftover anxiety in my chest lessens, as does the adrenaline still pumping through my body at the feel of her arms around me. After a few moments I pull out of Nessa’s arms and flash her a smile in thanks.
Brushing off the moment, Nessa’s features harden with determination. “So you’re sure it wasn’t your sister?”
A chill rolls down my spine and I shake out my fingers. “Yes. When the professors arrived they scanned her and confirmed her identity. I overheard that she’s a G-level monster, but the teachers started bickering about a girl called Teagan Mertle that she is close with. I’m not sure why though, the teachers saw me lingering and ushered me along.” The reminder of the girl's power-class has more unease clawing through me, she would have been helpless against a supernatural being because she was practically a human.
Nessa nods, seemingly lost in thought before she rolls her shoulders and looks to Dylan.
“Is it okay if we finish our session a little early today? I completely forgot that I have an appointment.”
With a furrowed brow and flickered glance at me, he says, “Yeah, sure. Same time tomorrow?”
She seems to be lost in her head, but with a nod she gives us a wave and a mumbled goodbye as she leaves.
I meet Dylan’s eyes as I raise my arms above my head in a stretch. “Want to head over to the coffee shop with me for a while?”
“S-sure.” At his stutter he clears his throat before grabbing his stuff and following me as I step out of the room.
Chapter Fifteen — Nessa
Istridethroughthecastle halls, phone in hand as I send an SOS message to Lexi and tell her to meet me in my room at our dorm. Slipping my phone away so I don’t run into a wall, I have nothing to distract my swirling mind.A murder. That could have been Oscar’s sister or Lexi. And that girl is someone's sister, daughter, niece. I have to choke down a wave of nausea as I speed up.
I beat Lexi there and throw my bag open and scramble to find my notebook. I scrawl down the victim's friend's name and all the minor details that Oscar told me so I don’t forget anything, then whisper the spell to unshrink my board I had packed from home. Once it’s back to its full size I push the free standing cork board until it’s almost flush with the wall, then cast a basic illusion spell around it, so to anyone other than me and Lexi, it will appear to be covered in photos from my childhood. As I do this I notice that my magic comes willingly rather than having to force it out like I did before my magic unlocked. Shaking my head at the revelation a small smile tilts my lips before I refocus on the board in front of me. I had kept it hidden in my suitcase for the past few weeks until I was able to cast a spell to keep it hidden. I figured keeping it covered with a sheet, like I had in my room back home would have been a tad suspicious here if someone were to walk in. Tearing out the page from my notebook, I tack it to the centre of the board. Around that images of other supernaturals, finely written notes and crime scene photos stare at me for my eyes only. That ever present guilt has my stomach clenching. Anna’s enchanting smile is like a slap in the face, the pure innocence.It should have been me.
Before I have a chance to fall down that rabbit hole, Lexi bursts into the room. Her clothes are rumpled, and I catch the scent of her mates clinging to her. The corner of my lip twitches up. Looks like I interrupted something.
I cough to smother a laugh and mutter, “My bad.”
She gives a little huff before gesturing to the board with wrinkled brows. “What happened?”
My humour dies as I give her a rundown on Oscar and the murdered girl, then sit on the edge of my bed and let her absorb everything. My eyes linger on the board, anger and guilt warring for control in my chest. Realistically I know what happened to the girl isn’t my fault, but my mind isn’t always rational and events of the past have a way of tangling everything up until I have no idea what the hell I’m feeling. I suck in a breath to recenter myself before focusing on Lexi.
Her lips purse, expression pinched as a myriad of emotions cross her face and she fiddles with the silver charm bracelet that rests around her wrist. Her tracker. We both wear one in case one of us is ever taken. A lot of people would be very unhappy if they found out what we’ve been looking into.
“What do you want to do?” she asks, her voice small.
I roll my bottom lip in, chewing on it as I run my eyes over the board again. What if this isn’t an isolated incident? I can’t lose anyone else. My jaw clenches and I meet Lexi’s gaze. “We’re going to help catch this bastard.”
My bestie sighs, the sound tinged with exasperation and reluctant humour—not at the situation, but me—as she heads out of the room presumably to grab her laptop. When she returns laptop in hand, she sets up on my bed, reclining against the cushions, and focuses on the screen. Her nose twitches as she pushes her glasses up. “I’ll see what I can get from the school records. I doubt anything about the case has been processed electronically by the supernatural police yet, so I’ll just set up an alert so I know when anything to do with it comes up. What was the girl’s friend's name again?”
“Teagan Mertle.” I run a hand through my hair anxiously, my skin feeling too tight as I consider the lack of information we have. Not having control of a situation makes me twitchy.
