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Me or him.

We turned at a fork in the hall, and I staggered to a stop, nearly tripping over Beau’s feet, at the sight before us.

Kelly was pressed against a wall, a young man leaning over her. I couldn’t recall his name, only that he was the ringleader from the first time she had been bullied. His arm was lightly pressed against her throat, and his eyes were narrowed as he hissed something at her.

Only when I got closer could I make out the end of his crude speech.

“…fucking freak,” he cursed, releasing her. Kelly didn’t sag in relief. She didn’t cry. She didn’t even move, instead choosing to blink up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

The boy, only a year or two younger than me, met my gaze and noticeably gulped. He glanced back at Kelly before hurrying down the hall.

The entire exchange lasted only a few seconds.

Beau made a move to go after the little shit, but I placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“What was that?” I directed my question at Kelly while still holding on to Beau. The girl glanced up at me. Unlike the other students, she wasn’t wearing a uniform. Instead, she wore a white dress with pink flowers adorning the belt. Her black hair tumbled loose around her shoulders, as dark as obsidian stones.

“He didn’t believe me,” she whispered. Her eyes flickered to Beau and then back to me, eyes imploring if we could trust him. I nodded once. “He didn’t believe me about the monsters.”

At that, Beau took a step forward, and my hand slid from his shoulder. He pulled me to him, burrowing his face into my hair and inhaling deeply. There was no sharp intake of breath. No confusion. No glances down at Kelly as if she had lost her mind.

“You told your bully about the monster?” I asked Kelly, blinking rapidly. Trying to piece together what exactly she meant.

I would also admit that I was confused by Beau’s reaction. Did he know about the monsters?

And if he did, how?

“I told them,” she corrected with a decisive head bob. “My men. My harem.”

“Your men?” I pulled back slightly to meet Beau’s eyes. He finally seemed just as confused as me, which did not bode well for Kelly.

He hadn’t reacted once to her cryptic comment about monsters, but the second she mentioned a harem? Confusion.

The girl’s smile was wistful, dreamy, as she swayed side to side.

“They just don’t know it yet,” she continued, voice raspy.

Yup. One too many screws loose.

Kelly froze suddenly. Her eyes widened slightly, almost imperceptibly, and she took a step backward.

“They’re coming,” she whispered. “They’re coming.”

“Who’s coming?” I took a step forward to counter her step backward. Tears welled in her eyes, heightening the tiny golden flecks expanding like fireworks around her pupil.

Kelly’s voice was a hushed murmur when she said, “Some of the monsters.”

The girl was positively terrified.

I followed her gaze over my shoulder, but I already knew what I was going to see. This was only confirmed when the professors marched in pairs of two down the hall. Their black robes swished around their feet; white masks reflected the artificial lighting of the halls.

My heart began to beat rapidly. The professors had never made an appearance outside of dinner and the hour just before and after. What were they doing in these halls at eight in the morning?

“Reapers,” Kelly whispered, petrified. Her tiny body was shaking as if electricity coursed through her vines.

Reapers?

I didn’t dare reply out loud, afraid that anything above an unintelligible murmur would bring the professors’ wrath down on me.