Page 4
FOUR
Lee
“Burn it! I will not allow that book to poison even one more precious student.”
My body twitches and I fight the urge to run after Rottingham as he jumps up from his chair and rushes to the grand fireplace within the private room. He throws the book into the flames, and my hands tighten into fists at my sides. I trusted him, followed him, and he acted without question. The flames engulf the book that holds my sister’s notes, the project she was working on before she died, and the answers to my questions.
“No!”
I swear I hear Wren’s muffled voice, but when my gaze swings to the window, I see only fog.
From the mound of pillows on the wide bed in the center of her private room, Celeste places her hand on my cheek and guides me to face her. “That book has caused an immense amount of pain.” Creases form around her eyes as she smiles, wrinkles I don’t remember being there before. But how much have I truly been paying attention since getting to the Academia? “Don’t worry, Lee; it can’t hurt anyone else.”
The chance that others could get hurt hasn’t entered my mind. It feels like everyone I care about has been touched by death. Right now, they’re the only people I can think of. “What about Wren and Sam?”
And Maya…
I leave that last name to myself. There’s more going on here than I’m aware of, but now is not the right time to bring Maya into it.
Celeste takes a deep breath, her hand falling from my cheek. “If you allow them in, certain types of Magicks will lie to you. They’ll radicalize you. Part of the Academia’s mission is to make sure we equip all young Moonstruck with the tools they need to fight off these forces of dark magicks before it’s too late.” Her gaze flicks first to Rottingham and then behind me to my father before settling back on me. “Unfortunately, we’re not always successful.”
“So, evil Magicks got to Wren and Sam?” I ask, unconvinced, Wren’s words echoing between my ears.
Sam figured it out. She knew how much was at stake, and they killed her.
“They were poisoned, Lee. Poisoned by that book.” She points to the fireplace and the flames that engulf the last pieces of my sister. “For every light, there is darkness. And that book is as black as the new moon.”
“It’s hard to believe a book caused Sam’s death and all of this.” I motion to her bandaged shoulder.
My father scoffs. “This wouldn’t be the first book to cause a war, Leland.”
“A war? What are you—”
Before I can turn to question my father, Dean Rottingham strides to Celeste’s bedside. “Your father speaks in more adversarial terms than are warranted for this situation. However, it’s crucial to underline that the core of his message stems from a place of genuine concern and authenticity, and we must acknowledge the validity of his sentiment amidst the fervor of his delivery.”
I frown, suddenly feeling like I’m at one of Titan’s press conferences.
“Yes, thank you, Dean,” Celeste says, turning her attention back to me. “Wren and Sam didn’t act alone. Being the only other Moonstruck with us tonight, you know our very own Aquarius Air Elemental is involved in this darkness. The creature no doubt led the girls to the book and caused the devastation that has plagued the island all summer.…”
She continues to talk, but I’m in my own thoughts, mentally out of the room, up the stairs, and into the hidden opulent attic that runs the entire length and width of Moon Hall. Celeste didn’t know Wren was coming to confront her. The scene Wren and I stepped into had already started. Celeste was already hovering above the floor, secured in a cocoon of glimmering moonbeams. Something big was happening, and I’m starting to feel like it was something I was never supposed to see.
I stare down at Celeste and the thick blaze of white hair that frames her face as she continues to speak, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I felt Wren’s energy when she entered. The intensity was frightening—”
“There were so many Elementals in your room,” I interrupt, still picturing the cloaked figures silent and motionless as statues, their eyes ablaze with neon yellow and red, blue, and green as they stared down at the circle of moonlight that had illuminated Celeste. “Why were they there? Only the four are allowed on campus—”
“Leland.” There’s a warning in my father’s voice that brings goose bumps to my arms. “It’s not your place to question the leader of the Lunar Council, especially not when she’s in her current state.”
“Tyrell, please.” Celeste holds up her hand and offers my father a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s okay. I’m okay. And I am so lucky your son was there for me when it all turned to chaos, and I was—” Her voice cracks, and she presses her fingertips against her pale lips. “If not for you, Lee—” She lets out a strangled sob, but I can’t help but notice how vacant her eyes are beneath those shimmering pools. “I don’t know if I would have made it out alive.”
Doubt must seep into my expression, because Celeste’s gaze presses against mine, harsh and cold. “Lee, did Wren ever share with you what was inside the book? Did you ever get a look at any of its pages?”
I shake my head. “No.” The word flies from my mouth before I can weigh the pros and cons of lying.
“Good.” She releases another shaky breath as she settles back against the mountain of pillows.
“Celeste, you haven’t answered my question.” My voice is barely a whisper as I try to hide it from my father. I’m caught between who I’m supposed to be and the questions alive and squirming beneath my skin.
“I appreciate your curiosity, Lee. I really do.” Another slide of her lips in a grin that only softens half her face. “There are things about the Lunar Council and my role within it that students aren’t privy to.”
Celeste’s eyelids flutter closed, and I take a step back, assuming she’s through answering my questions and needs to rest. With the speed of a cat, she reaches out and grabs my wrist. She clings to me, her long nails digging crescents into my skin as her lips move in a silent whisper.
Just as quickly, the door to the room opens, and three cloaked figures step inside. I brace myself, my mouth going dry as the Elementals float to the foot of Celeste’s bed.
“Lee!” Celeste calls my attention back to her as she smooths her thumb along the indentions marking my wrist. “These three great and powerful beings and those aligned with them are here to protect us. They will keep out the Elementals your friend has allied herself with, the Elementals that mean to harm us and will stop at nothing to cause chaos. Wren Nightingale is a danger to herself and a danger to all Moonstruck. I need her brought back to me.” The rhythmic slide of her thumb against my wrist stops as she presses the pad of her finger against my pulse. “Can I trust you with this task?”
My gaze darts to the black depths beneath each cowl, lingering first on the fiery red eyes of the Leo Elemental, then the ocean blue of the Scorpio Elemental, and finally the leafy green of the Taurus Elemental.
My thoughts are loud and unorganized, and it’s almost impossible to keep my breathing steady and my heartbeat slow as I try to pick through them. I know I’ve taken too long to answer when I hear my father clear his throat.
“Yes, of course,” I say. Another lie that doesn’t feel wrong. It feels like protection.
Celeste stares up at me, her smile all teeth, as half my mind screams to follow the rules and the other half to find out the truth. “Lee, I knew from the moment you were assigned a hall that you were special. Continue down this path and you and I will achieve greatness together.”
The words I’ve been waiting so long to hear fall like broken shells around my feet. I wanted to win the trials and earn a spot on the Lunar Council—not for me, not for Titan or my parents or our family name. I wanted it for Maya. But everything inside me says that there is something deeply wrong on Moon Isle—more than Sam’s death and Celeste’s attack and Wren’s escape—and that it has to do with my sister.
It’s my turn to place my hand on Celeste’s and wear a smile that sits on the surface of my lips and stops just beneath my eyes. “You and the Lunar Council can trust me with anything.”