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TWENTY-FOUR

FREYA

Sometimes, I wish I could transport myself to my mid-twenties and leave all this behind. This is becoming the most challenging period of my life. I never had a childhood, I had to grow up too fast. And now, at eighteen, I try to do adult things, but all I want is to be a child again. I wish I could rewind it all and change so many things, but I guess I’m stuck living a life of bad luck.

I was barely walking, making myself an easy target in the haunted hallways of Blackthorn Academy. I craved fun, but I was never the fun girl. Even if I wanted to change that, I couldn’t. It was buried too deep under my skin.

I stumbled against the walls, knowing it was stupid because I had only one drink, yet it twisted my mind so much that I could barely see in front of me. Was it just the drink, or was there something more in it?

I knew the answer when I grasped the doorknob and stepped inside the dorm. Ava and Stella sat next to each other, their eyes fixed on the laptop resting on the coffee table, and I saw double faces.

“Oh,” I said, slamming the door behind me. “It’s the two of you.”

“Are you drunk?” Stella asked, standing up.

“No, Sherlock,” I muttered. “I’m just testing gravity.”

“She is,” Ava said, folding her arms. “And she knows it.”

“Look,” Stella stepped closer. “I’m sorry. I came here to talk to you.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Stella,” I said, turning to go to my room, but she blocked the door before I could get through.

“Can you just listen for a second?” she pleaded.

“NO,” I snapped. “My room got trashed. Someone is out there hunting us one by one, and instead of being a friend and figuring out how to fix what was on that disk, you were too busy playing Nancy Drew.”

“There’s nothing to fix. We saw what we saw,” she said, crossing her arms.

Ava rushed between us. “Can we focus on why Blue broke into our dorm, please?” she shouted.

“Blue? What?” I asked, leaning against the wall.

Stella grabbed the laptop and turned it toward me. On the screen, Blue, wearing a red raincoat, entered our dorm, carrying a bucket of red paint and a brush.

“She was the one who sent us the message,” Stella said, looking between Ava and me.

“She wouldn’t,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “No…” I folded my arms and stepped back. “Where did you even get this footage?”

Stella shrugged. “I may have hacked into Blackthorn’s security again.”

“I know what I did was wrong,” she said, “but I found so much more...”

“Stella saw Professor Luna going into Adeline’s room before Professor Lucius even got there...” Ava said. “You don’t understand, Freya, but we need to find out what happened. We have to.”

I stepped back, opening the door to my room. “I don’t want to know.”

Stella and Ava remained silent, letting me go. But just as I was about to shut the door, Ava caught my wrist, leaning in and whispering, “What if what we find could help Lucius?”

“What if it makes things worse than they already are?” I shot back, just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Standing in the middle of my room, I pulled it out. Theo.

“Hey, gorgeous, want to go to the after-party?”

“Not really.”

“C’mon.”

“I heard all the professors and students will be there. A night for all of us to let loose.”

“Pleeeeaseee. :)”

“I want to see you again.”

I glanced at Stella and Ava before typing back.

“Fine. Where do I meet you?”

A location popped up on my screen.

“I’m going back out,” I told them, brushing past.

“So, you’re just going to leave?” Ava called after me.

I turned around. “Why would I stay?”

“To help a friend out?” Stella said, standing beside Ava.

I scoffed. “Why would I? You didn’t want to help me out.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them. I didn’t mean it. But maybe I did.

I slammed the dorm door behind me, leaving them in silence as I walked down the hallway.

If people did what they wanted, there would be no broken promises or broken friendships. But instead, we brush them off and call them mistakes. Friends make mistakes, but we keep repeating them.

I checked the pinned location Theo had sent me. It led to the underground level of the academy, where they kept the training rooms and lab equipment. Some of the girls mentioned that the space was uncomfortable for them, surrounded by mirrors, without windows. With a silence that makes you feel like you’re not alone, even when you are.

I could hear the music, but I couldn’t tell if it was coming from above or below. As I was going down the stairs, I looked around, but there was no one around.

My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my ears, a rhythmic ringing that drowned out rational thought. I knew I shouldn’t be going down there, but I needed to be anywhere but inside my room right now.

I was running. Leaving everything behind, just like my mother had. And I hated that. Hated that I was becoming her without even realizing it.

As I moved further down, faint lights flickered ahead.

“Hello?” I called out. “Anyone here?”

Silence.

I glanced at my phone, checking the pinned location from Theo’s message. I was exactly where I was supposed to be. But no one was here.

My legs wobbled beneath me, forcing me to press a hand against the wall for balance. Another wave of dizziness washed over me, what was left of that drink crawling back through my veins.

I swallowed the breath in my throat and took another step forward.

Then, a door creaked open.

The light inside flickered on, casting long shadows, while the hallway lights behind me suddenly cut out.

I gasped, my stomach twisting into knots. “If this is a joke, it’s a really funny one. Ha ha ,“ I said, voice wavering.

No answer.

If this is how I die, at least let me cry tonight.

A breath ghosted against the back of my neck, cold against my burning skin. Goosebumps tingled along my arms as my heart slammed against my ribs.

“T-Theo?” I whispered.

“Guess again,” a deep, husky voice rumbled in my ear.

I lurched forward, panic flooding my veins. “How did you find me?” I whispered, eyes squeezing shut, my heart still hammering.

“I have my ways,” he murmured, his hand slipping to my hip.

“Did you—did you kill the guy?” I stammered, trying to step away. But now both of his hands were on my hips, locking me in place.

He chuckled, taunting me. “I just pushed him,” he said, his voice dropping lower. “Real hard,” he added, his breath warm against my skin. “Across the face,” he continued, making me gasp. “With my fist.”

“You’re insane,” I hissed, twisting against his grip.

“And you’re reckless,” he shot back, his tone sharp. “If you thought I’d let you kiss every guy just to make me jealous.”

Before I could react, he spun me around and shoved me inside the room, the door slamming shut behind him. My back hit the wall as I turned to face him.

For once, his face wasn’t hidden behind a mask. Every sharp angle, every line, and the scar cutting across his eye, all of it was there, laid bare before me.

“No mask?” I taunted, my face just inches from his. “How refreshing to see you finally grew a set of balls and decided to show your face for a change.”

His chest rose and fell, his jaw clenching. Without warning, his hands were on me, gripping my face, fingers pressing into my cheeks as he pinned me against the wall.

“You are trouble,” he chuckled, his voice smooth. At last, I could see his smile, white teeth flashing behind lips I ached to kiss.

“And you are jealous, professor,” I countered, biting the pad of his thumb. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even pull his hand away from my face.

“Was that supposed to hurt?” he laughed, leaning in, the heat of him curling around me. “I’m touched.”

“I bite back,” I warned, though my voice barely made it past his suffocating grip.

He laughed again, the sound vibrating against me as he pressed in closer. “That wasn’t a bite, Little Star. That was a nibble at best.”

“Fuck off.” I pushed against him, but he didn’t budge.

“Did I wound your fragile feelings?” he teased, his hand sliding to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“I don’t have feelings.”

I fought back, though my body betrayed me, melting into his touch even as I tried to pull away.

His gaze darkened, sharp with something unreadable. “Is that why you ignored my messages?” His smile deepened. “Oh, I’m so touched by your brilliant little plan. But you can’t fool me.”

“No,” I said simply, shifting my weight. My knee slowly rose his thigh before I drove it sharply between his legs.

A muffled sound escaped him, and he staggered backward, holding on. “I ignored them because you’re an asshole,” I spat, spinning on my heel.

Pain briefly contorted his face before he straightened, eyes narrowed, a slow, dangerous smile stretching across his lips. He pulled his jacket off his shoulders, revealing a tight black shirt clinging to his chest.

“You better run,” he muttered, uttering that twisted, dark promise.

My heart pounded. A faint, diffuse light stretched before me, save for one light that illuminated the space ahead. Shadows gathered at the edges, swallowing everything behind them. To run meant plunging into a darkness I didn’t know, but to stay meant something far more dangerous.

Before I could run, his hand shot out, grabbed my wrist, spun me around, and pulled me close so hard it took my breath away.

“Hope that pretty little dress holds,” he whispered, fingers tracing the strap over my shoulder. “Because when I catch you, I’ll rip it off you.”

His touch sent fire licking up my spine. “You wish,” I snapped, shoving at his chest.

He merely laughed, shaking his head. “Run,” he ordered, raising a brow. “Run, Little Star.”

A fresh wave of alcohol fogged my thoughts, but determination clawed its way through. I needed to prove to him that I could escape, that he wasn’t always in control.

So I ran.

His laughter followed me, knowing. I rushed deeper into the darkness, the only light moving with me. Then I saw them in the mirrors, endless reflections stretching from floor to ceiling, lining the walls. A maze of glass.

My stomach churned. If this was the room the girls had whispered about, there was no way out.

Still, I kept running, my breath sharp in my lungs. The light distorted, and the reflections shifted, multiplied. Space stretched impossibly ahead, my distorted image mocking me on all sides.

I heard the steady rhythm of his footsteps approaching as I pushed harder, but the room was endless, a trap designed to break me.

A hand caught my wrist, pulling me back. I barely had time to breathe before he spun me around, pressing me against him. Both hands slid between my breasts, their fingers gripping the fabric.

With a sharp, relentless rip, he tore the dress apart, the sound tearing the air. The straps slid from my shoulders down my arms. Cool air kissed my skin as the torn fabric gathered around my waist, now useless.

He fell silent, his gaze dark and heavy as he passed over me. “Lucky me,” he muttered, his lips pulling back in laughter. “No bra?”

Heat flared under my skin, but I wouldn’t hide. “Asshole,” I muttered.

He smiled, dragging his fingers lower, hooking them under the lace of my thong. He pulled me closer, the thin strap pressing between my thighs, sending shockwaves through my body.

“Closer, Little Star,” he whispered, his voice like smoke curling in my ear.

At this point, running wasn’t even a thought. My body had already chosen for me. I wanted him. Needed him. Every nerve in my body wanted him.

And he knew it.

He always did.