Page 31 of Immortal Consequences (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1)

Olivier

“Daydreaming?”

August set his textbooks down with a loud and forceful thump, sinking into the seat across from Olivier. A hallowed silence enveloped the Library, a sacred stillness, and August’s clamorous arrival resulted in a few students glancing up with irritated scowls on their faces.

Until they noticed who had made the noise, and then they simply glanced back down and minded their business.

“Oh, just contemplating my meager yet interminable existence.”

Olivier lifted his lips into what was meant to be a smile but probably looked more like a grimace.

“Ah.” August fiddled with a fountain pen, tapping it against the wooden desk. “The usual, then?”

Olivier hummed and refocused his eyes on his notebook.

He had spent the better half of the hour attempting to silence his mind, desperate to acquire some semblance of tranquility despite the ever-present, nagging thoughts about the Decennial that seemed to be haunting him.

August, annoyingly perceptive as always, noted Olivier’s frustration right away.

August leaned closer. “Trouble concentrating?”

Olivier clenched his jaw and craned his neck from side to side.

The last thing he wanted to deal with was August’s oppressive presence.

He had already spent the past few days enduring the prying eyes of the other students, their suffocating and unrelenting questioning.

Normally, Olivier didn’t mind attention. In fact, he tended to revel in it.

But now the circumstances had changed.

“What makes you say that?”

“Your pupils are dilated,” August noted, pointing the edge of his pen at Olivier’s face, stopping about an inch away from his eye. “A clear sign of stress firing in your autonomic nervous system.”

“I wasn’t aware you had your medical license,” Olivier mused, careful not to flinch. If there was anything August loved more than eliciting fear in others, it was savoring the look of terror in his victim’s eyes. “Should I call you Dr.Hughes from now on?”

“And you’re far more snippy than usual,” August noted. “Much less… compliant. Is there something troubling you?”

Olivier snorted. “How long do you have?”

A few students sitting nearby stood up from their desks and moved farther away, muttering words of disapproval under their breath.

Speaking was strictly frowned upon in the sacred halls of the Library.

August, however, had a notorious habit of doing whatever he wanted, even if it meant solidifying his reputation as a world-class prick, and Olivier had no intention of calling him out—unless he wanted to end up with that fountain pen jammed through his cornea.

August slipped off his silver ring and spun it against the wooden desk.

“I have a suggestion,” he said. “Something that perhaps could help ease your mind about the Decennial.”

“Does it involve copious amounts of alcohol and hallucinatory drugs?”

“No.” August smirked. “Though I might take you up on that offer later down the line.”

Olivier closed his notebook with a sigh. “What, then?”

“It’s obvious that certain contestants are going to gravitate toward one another.

Form partnerships that might help them throughout the remaining trials.

It’s difficult for me to discern whether or not I can trust the others.

” August smiled, though there was a palpable sense of regret clouding his gray eyes.

“But you, on the other hand…you are reliable.”

Olivier could sense something on the horizon. A conclusion to August’s rambling.

“Are you…are you asking for an alliance?” Olivier asked hesitantly. “With me ?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. We both know you’re smart. Far smarter than you let on. Not to mention that you’ve been around longer than most students.” August rolled the silver ring in his palm. “Perhaps… too long.”

Olivier tensed. “What are you implying?”

August glanced up at him through his dark lashes.

“It started a few months ago…didn’t it?”

Olivier swallowed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

August dipped his voice down lower. “You don’t have to admit it, but you and I both know you have more at stake.

You have something to lose. Sure, the other contestants are hungry for power and freedom, but you…

you are fighting for more. Your memories.

Your position here in Blackwood. Not to mention Emilio—”

“Don’t bring him into this,” Olivier said, seething, heat rushing to his cheeks.

“Fine.” August conceded with a shrug. “My point still stands. You don’t just have something to lose—you have everything to lose. And that gives you an edge. Something far more valuable than the desire for greatness.”

Olivier fought the panic creeping up his throat, the unwavering pressure digging its claws into his skin.

August was right, and Olivier hated him for that.

Ever since it had become clear to him that he actually stood a chance of reaching Ascension, he’d been overcome with a terrifying sense of desperation.

He would do anything, whatever it took, to make sure he didn’t end up roaming the Ether for the rest of eternity.

That he wouldn’t be torn away from the familiar halls of Blackwood. From the life he had created.

From the people he had met.

“Aren’t you worried about the others growing suspicious?” Olivier asked. “It might raise a few questions if the two of us are suddenly friendly with one another.”

“I don’t give a damn what the others think.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of your anarchist attitude.”

“Look, Olivier. While we all seemed to agree the other day that we’ve become unfortunate acquaintances, we also cannot delude ourselves into thinking there still won’t be alliances formed. The others are doing it, so we may as well have a united front.”

“And what happens when the others are eliminated? What happens then to our alliance ?”

August’s face darkened.

“Then…we’re on our own.”

At least he was being honest. Olivier knew that the second their alliance wasn’t convenient for him, August wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him from the running. However, a question still plagued him.

“But why me ?”

August sighed and dug the edge of the fountain pen into the desk, carving a thin and elegant A into the wood.

“I don’t know. You’re smart. Talented. Cunning.”

“—handsome, beautiful, ravishing—”

“Humble,” August added with a smirk.

Olivier chuckled. “Fine. Yes. I get it. I’m brilliant and you’d be an idiot not to have me on your side. But…I don’t intend to leave Emilio behind. Where I go—he goes. That isn’t changing. That isn’t ever changing.”

August nodded, rising from his seat. “I wouldn’t dream of tearing you two apart.” He gathered his textbooks back into his hands. “You should tell him…by the way. He deserves to know.”

“Tell him…” Olivier’s voice trailed away as the realization washed over him. “Oh.”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“There’s no need to worry him.” Or at least that was what Olivier told himself. What good would come out of Emilio’s knowing that his memories had begun to fade? There were only two options: stop the Forgetting by winning the Decennial—or succumbto it.

And until the first option was no longer viable, he intended to keep Emilio sheltered from that burden.

August nodded sullenly. “If you say so.”

He turned to leave, but Olivier had one more nagging question he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Why didn’t you go to her?”

August tensed, hands pressed against the desk and shoulders hunched. His eyes snapped up toward Olivier.

“Excuse me?”

“Come on, August. We both know I’m talking about that pesky little redhead of yours.”

August’s face remained eerily blank, his lip twitching momentarily. When he spoke, his words were slow, his voice rough against Olivier’s ears.

“Listen to me very carefully, Olivier. Alliances aside, there are still boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.

That shouldn’t be tested.” He leaned in closer, his gray eyes darkening like two storm clouds.

“Call her my little redhead again and I’ll cut your tongue out and force it down your throat. Understood?”

Olivier flinched, unable to stop the shock from bleeding over his face. He nodded his head and willed his mouth to stay shut.

August smiled, a terrifying yet beautiful smile.

“Good. I’ll see you around… partner. ”

He stalked off, crossing through the Library like a silent shadow. The other students watched nervously, shielded by their textbooks and reading lamps.

Despite August’s threats, a thought still lingered in Olivier’s subconscious, a realization that made something inside him stir. If August was looking for alliances, that meant he doubted his ability to win the Decennial on his own. That he was worried enough to seek out help.

It meant that the notorious Augustine Hughes was, miraculously, afraid.