Page 57 of Immortal Consequences (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1)

Wren

As one of the top students at Blackwood, Wren had grown accustomed to curious stares, some even laced with jealousy.

But the eyes that bored into her now made her want to sink into her skin and disappear.

She felt claustrophobic despite standing in the middle of a grand hall, as though the towering walls surrounding her had begun to slowly capsize, trapping her in a cage of lies and deceit.

They’d all seen them dance together. August and Wren gliding across the ballroom like a pair of ghosts. And worst of all, they’d seen him charge out of the room, leaving her behind to suffer the rest of the evening on her own.

Her head pounded—like a million stones relentlessly ricocheting against the base of her skull. She could hear August’s thoughts. It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t even possible. But how could she deny what she had experienced herself?

And there was still the matter of the eliminated nominees. It was evident that someone had been erasing the memory of them from the minds of other students, but who would do something so horrific? Or even have the ability to?

With a surge of panic, she recalled the shadow creature that had slipped into Blackwood after the second trial—and Silas’s subsequent warnings about the Demiens. Were they the ones behind this?

Had they infiltrated Blackwood? Were they already here ?

She scanned the room for a familiar face, but there were too many bodies.

A sea of students spinning around her, a nauseating blur of iridescent colors.

The pain in her head traveled down her spine, and she found herself gasping for air, pressing her hands against her knees as she doubled over.

She was seconds away from sprinting out of the hall when a soft voice drifted in front of her.

“Are you all right?” It was Masika. She took Wren gently by the shoulders and lifted Wren’s chin toward her. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“No…I…I think something is wrong.” Wren glanced nervously around the room.

She couldn’t explain it, but it felt like the Ascended were watching her.

Like they were listening in on the conversation, their glowing eyes locked on her and Masika from across the hall. “Can we go talk somewhere? In private?”

“What is this about?”

Wren grabbed her by the wrist. “Please. Just trust me.”

Masika nodded in response, allowing herself to be led out of the hall.

They walked out into the nearest corridor. A few students lingered in the distance, sneaking sips of enchanted liquors from silver flasks and making out in stairwells, but otherwise, the corridor was fairly quiet. Wren pulled them farther away from the ballroom, pausing beneath a lantern.

Masika sighed in exasperation. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

“The eliminated nominees,” Wren blurted out.

“What about them?”

“I went to the infirmary. They weren’t there.”

“What do you mean they weren’t—”

“They weren’t there. ” Wren struggled to get the words out, a frantic edge clipping her voice. “No bodies. No trace of them. Nick. Liza. Georgia. Tristan. All of them. They’re all gone.”

Masika paled. “Maybe they’re keeping them in another building. Maybe they’re just—”

“There’s something else.” Wren stepped closer, dipping her voice lower. “I’ve spoken to multiple students, and nobody can remember them.”

Masika shook her head.

“That’s…that’s not possible. I remember them. You remember them.”

“But we’re both competing in the Decennial.

Anybody else, anybody not involved in the competition…

it’s like they’ve been erased from their minds.

Any memories they had of them vanished.” Wren could hear how impossible it sounded.

How ridiculous. Truthfully, she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t witnessed it herself.

“Are you positive?” Masika whispered.

“It’s—it’s true.” Wren nodded ardently. “I promise I’m not lying. I promise I’m not—”

“Okay.” Masika grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. “I believeyou.”

Wren blinked, taken aback.

“You do?”

“Of course. Wren…you might be a number of things…but a liar isn’t one of them.”

“Thank you.” Wren let out a wavering chuckle. “I think.”

“We should get the others and tell them what you know.” Masika dropped her hands and nervously fidgeted with one of the golden bracelets wrapped around her wrist. “Emilio snuck into the Library earlier today and got a book on shadow magic. Maybe…maybe this is all connected somehow. The shadow magic…the competition…the memories. We just need to get everyone together so we can figure it out.”

“Should we meet at Bonestrod?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If we’re gone for too long, Silas might grow suspicious…”

“How about the garden?” Wren suggested. “That way we can stay near the ball.”

“Perfect.”

They had taken two steps back toward the banquet hall when a thought occurred to Wren.

She came to a halt. “Wait—I…I don’t think August is in the ballroom anymore.”

Masika turned to look at her.

“What do you mean?”

“He left…” Wren winced, remembering the look on his face before he had run out of the room, leaving her alone on the dance floor. “I don’t think he plans on coming back anytime soon.”

Masika glanced over her shoulder impatiently. “Well, do you know where he went?”

“I have a good idea where I might find him.”

“Then go.” Masika gestured her forward. “I’ll gather the others. But… hurry. ”

Wren nodded and scurried down the corridor.

She pushed open the heavy doors of Elysium Hall and burst into the night, the hem of her crimson dress dancing against the wind.

Cool air whipped against her face as she ran in search of August. She wasn’t sure how she knew where she’d find him.

It was just this gut feeling. This instinct.

It was like she could feel him calling to her, even when they were far apart, even when the odds were stacked against them.

And as she approached the familiar granite steps that led toward Memorium, her certainty only grew.

That feeling rushing up inside her, drawing her nearer, pulling her toward him like a rubber band snapping into place.

And before she even placed her hand upon the doorknob, before she even had the chance to open the door, she heard his voice calling out to her, the sound of it washing over her like fine morning mist.

Loughty.