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CHAPTER ELEVEN

ISOLDE

The silence in the training hall is deafening. Everyone stares at me, eyes wide with horror and fear as I stand over Benz’s drained corpse. The power from his blood courses through my veins like liquid lightning, making my skin glow with silver light.

“Isolde,” CJ says quietly in a tone that I know is about reacting to the situation and nothing personal. “We need to move. Now.”

“Miss Morvoren is staying right here until Professor Blackridge assesses the situation,” the professor says, giving me an annoyed glare. “I really hate you lot,” he adds under his breath.

I raise an eyebrow but hide my smile. He is just pissed because now he has a mountain of paperwork to get through.

“Is he dead?” Cassiel asks.

“Yes,” I say. “He called me a slut. Again. I really hate that ,” I say, giving the professor the same glare back as he gave me.

“And while that was wrong, you didn’t have to kill him.”

“I did. Sorry, but I’m done being bullied. Now everyone got the memo.” I give CJ a cheeky grin.

His eyes are narrowed, assessing me. He is not amused. But neither is he horrified or upset about what I did. If anything, I see the burning lust in his eyes.

“Mr Aquila, Mr Cassiel, I’d suggest you both leave,” the professor says, his voice strained as he attempts to maintain control of the rapidly deteriorating situation. “This is now an academy disciplinary matter.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” CJ responds, his voice deceptively calm as he moves closer to me.

I lick my lips, tasting the last of Benz’s blood. It’s still singing through my system, a wild, feral energy that makes me feel invincible. The hunger that had been gnawing at me has retreated, satisfied for now by the wolf’s essence.

“Everyone out!” The professor barks at the remaining students who are still frozen in shock. “Class dismissed!”

They scatter like startled birds, some casting frightened glances over their shoulders as they flee. Only Cordelia hesitates, her eyes locked with mine.

“Go,” I mouth to her. She doesn’t need to be caught in whatever shitstorm is about to rain down.

Blackridge materialises beside Benz’s corpse. His black eyes survey the scene with clinical detachment before settling on me.

“Miss Morvoren,” he says, his voice unnervingly calm. “You’ve made quite the mess.”

I straighten my spine, feeling the runes burn hotter as they transmit my power fluctuations directly to him. “He started it.”

Blackridge’s eyes narrow with that same calculating interest I’ve come to dread. “Indeed. And you’ve certainly finished it.”

He circles Benz’s corpse like a vulture, examining the perfect puncture wounds in the werewolf’s neck, the desiccated grey pallor of his skin. I can see him cataloguing every detail, filing it away in that vast, terrifying mind of his.

“What an interesting technique,” he murmurs. “Complete exsanguination in under thirty seconds. The runes indicate a power transfer of considerable magnitude.”

“She was provoked,” CJ states flatly.

Blackridge doesn’t even glance at him. “I’m quite aware of what transpired, Mr Aquila.”

My spine tingles at the reminder of his invasive monitoring. I can feel them now, hot and insistent, transmitting every flutter of power through my system directly to him.

“So, what happens now?” I ask, wiping the last traces of Benz’s blood from my chin. “Detention? Expulsion?”

Blackridge’s mouth curls into what might be a smile on anyone else. On him, it’s merely a rearrangement of facial features. “Nothing quite so mundane, Miss Morvoren. You’ve graduated beyond conventional disciplinary measures.”

“Meaning?” Cassiel demands, his wings manifesting partially in agitation.

“Like you, Mr Cassiel, Miss Morvoren is above reproach. You will find it a perk of being… so special.”

Above reproach.

Cassiel and I exchange a look. That is the most dangerous thing I’ve heard come out of Blackridge’s mouth, and that is saying something.

The silence stretches between us like a live wire. The words echo in my head, a prison sentence disguised as privilege.

“You’re saying I can kill whoever I want?” I ask, deliberately keeping my voice flat, testing the boundaries of this new reality.

Blackridge’s eyes glitter with something like amusement. “I didn’t say that, Miss Morvoren. SilverGate has always operated on the principle of natural selection. The strong survive. The weak...” His gaze drifts meaningfully to Benz’s corpse.

“This is fucked up,” CJ mutters, moving closer to me, his body a shield between me and Blackridge.

“Language, Mr Aquila,” Blackridge chides, though there’s no real admonishment in his tone.

I’m barely listening to him anymore. I can still taste Benz’s blood on my tongue, feel his life force mingling with mine. The power I took from him churns inside me, wild and untamed.

“I’m sure we will see another resurrection,” Blackridge continues, “But I’m not sure how many more he will be granted after this. So, try to keep your anger under control next time, Miss Morvoren.”

“Tell him when he wakes up not to try this again, or I will test your theory until he runs out of chances.”

Blackridge gives me a genuine smile. It lights up his eyes and creeps me the fuck out. “I’ll be sure to mention it.”

He gestures at two staff members hovering, and they move over to pick up Benz’s body to transport him to the infirmary. He is going to be madder than an adder on acid when he wakes up, but tough shit. If he comes for me again, I will rinse and repeat.

I can feel CJ’s tension as Blackridge turns to leave, and CJ tracks his movements like a hunter. The headmaster doesn’t even look back.

As soon as Blackridge disappears, CJ grabs my arm and pulls me toward the exit. His grip is tight, urgent, his eyes scanning the training hall for any lingering threats.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he hisses once we’re in the corridor.

“I wasn’t,” I admit, the adrenaline rush from the kill finally starting to fade. “He insulted me and touched me, and I just reacted.”

“I get that, but fuck knows what data Blackridge has on you now. We need to get those runes out.”

I should feel guilty. I should be horrified by what I’ve done. But all I feel is satisfaction, a predatory contentment that purrs through my veins like a well-fed cat.

“He’s right. Blackridge is practically salivating over the data you’ve given him,” Cassiel states grimly.

The runes along my spine have cooled now, but I can still feel them, alien and invasive. I blink as a thought strikes me, and I stare into CJ’s eyes.

“What?” he asks suspiciously. “What are you thinking?”

“William. What if we took the runes out of me and put them into him, just temporarily, to stabilise him? You’ve got that barb, and we can get him corporeal enough…” I trail off as what I’m suggesting is barbaric, but I think it might work.

“It’s like one mind,” William’s voice says from behind me. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

I turn to look at him, so beautiful, so haunted. “They are steeped in my blood. If they are in your body…”

“… they will stabilise me.”

“Are you sure?” Cassiel asks.

“Yes,” William says. “Well, as sure as I can be without testing.”

“But how do we get them out of Issy without hurting her?” CJ asks William.

“The same way they went in. With the barb.”

“Ouch,” I mutter. But then suck it up. If this is the only way, then so be it.

“Then that is what we will do,” CJ says. “Later on, after classes, we’ll try to get some semblance of normality going here for the next few hours. But how do we stop Blackridge from finding out what we’ve done?”

“Does it matter if he does?” I ask.

“Yeah, if he wants your data and ends up with William’s, he’s going to try it again with you.”

“I won’t give him a second shot at this.”

“Not to mention, the signal will be disrupted when they are removed and recalibrated,” Cassiel says.

“So, are we doing it or not?” I ask, arms crossed and getting pissed off.

“Yes,” William says instantly. “We are.”

“As long as we can be sure that you won’t get hurt,” CJ says, cupping the back of my neck as he pulls me closer. “I can’t bear to see you in pain.”

“I’m not afraid of pain,” I say, meeting CJ’s intense gaze. “Not if it gives William a chance to be whole again.”

“It will hurt, Isolde. Perhaps more than when Blackridge put them in,” William says.

“I don’t care.” The taste of Benz’s blood still lingers on my tongue, his wild power coursing through my veins, making me feel invincible. His magical side is powerful, but I can’t quite place where it stems from. Not that I’m an expert, but this feels different. “After classes. Tonight.”

CJ’s jaw tightens, but he nods reluctantly. “Fine. But we do this carefully. No rushing, no mistakes.”

“And what if Blackridge notices the signal disruption?” Cassiel asks, his wings rustling with unease, still hung up on this.

“Let him,” I say with a shrug. “What’s he going to do? I’m ‘above reproach,’ remember?”

William’s cold laugh sends a shiver down my spine that has nothing to do with fear. “Gave you that line, did he?”

“You too?”

“My first day here. I might’ve killed a centaur shifter just to see how his blood tasted.”

“Gee aren’t you a delight,” CJ mutters.

“He lived,” William says with a sly smile. “Several times, in fact.”

CJ’s mouth twitches with something like reluctant amusement. “Of course he did.”

I turn back to CJ, suddenly curious. “Did he tell you that line too?”

“No,” CJ says, his expression closing off into that impenetrable mask that infuriates me. “Blackridge and I have a different understanding.”

Before I can press him on what that means, Cassiel clears his throat. “We should get to our next classes. Standing here discussing murder in the hallway isn’t exactly keeping a low profile.”

“Fine,” I sigh, adjusting my blood-splattered training clothes. “But don’t expect me to pay attention in Supernatural History. Not when we’re making our own tonight.”

CJ’s hand finds the small of my back, careful to avoid the areas where the runes sit beneath my skin. “Just promise me you’ll be careful for the rest of the night.”

“I’ll try, that’s all I can do at this point.”

“I’ll take it. Where shall we meet later?”

“At the southern border,” William says. “Where the academy grounds meet the trees. We’ll head into the forest.”

“Is that safe?” Cassiel asks, “The Collectors are still after Issy.”

“They are still warded, just a little less so. But there is the perfect place for such a momentous occasion.”

“I’m intrigued,” I murmur.

“Intrigued is good,” William says. “The place I’m thinking of has history. Blood history.”

CJ’s eyes haven’t left my face, studying me with an intensity that makes my skin tingle. “Are you sure you’re okay? Draining someone completely can have effects.”

I flex my fingers, feeling Benz’s wild energy still coursing through me like a second heartbeat. “I feel powerful, like I could tear down the academy with my bare hands.”

“That’s exactly what worries me,” CJ says.

The warning bell rings, signalling five minutes until the next class period begins. Students appear in the hallway, their conversations dying as they spot us. Me still covered in blood, CJ and Cassiel flanking me protectively. William is hovering behind me, but no one can see him. Yet.

“Go get cleaned up,” Cassiel suggests. “We’ll meet after the final bell.”

I nod and head toward my room, acutely aware of the stares following me. The whispers start as soon as I’m alone. The rumours are already spreading like wildfire. By evening, the entire academy will know what happened.

Good. Let them know. Let them fear me.

The thought is savage and satisfying in a way that should scare me. But at this point, I need to accept my dark fate and move on from the girl I was, to the woman I am, to the queen I will become.