Page 8

SEVEN

LUCIUS

18 years old

It was November 2007. The days were growing shorter, the sunlight fading faster, but at Blackthorn, it was always gray. No matter how much the sun tried to break through, the heavy clouds always stayed.

The bell in the center of the garden rang six in the afternoon.

Despite having no scheduled classes at this hour, everyone was still around. Students wandered, walking in every direction, and none of that direction seemed to be the right one. It didn’t matter. They weren’t trying to get somewhere; they just needed to be anywhere but where they were.

I sat on the stone ledge of the bridge that overlooked the lake. Even from this height, I often wondered what it would be like to swim inside. Would the lake pull me under the tangled grass, or would I simply float, free? We weren’t allowed to leave Blackthorn without supervision. The school’s gatekeeper lived in a small house near the bridge, guarding the only path that connected our world to the modern one. Blackthorn had everything. And yet, it was never enough.

I moved my head, noticing her.

Adeline.

Her long black hair swayed gently with her steps.

For the first time, I decided to approach her. Maybe even ask her out. I hadn’t told Cass or asked Luna for advice, I just wanted to be myself when I finally said hi. But then she turned toward House of Corvus , and I saw her face.

She was crying.

Who hurt you?

I wanted to follow her, to ask if she was okay, but before I could move, Luna appeared beside me, holding a thick book titled The History of Innovation & Invention .

“Did you know Nikola Tesla was born during a lightning storm?” she asked, excited.

Her blonde hair was, as always, twisted into a bun and secured with two pens. She was smarter than Cassius and me combined, yet when it came to people, she often failed to see what was right in front of her.

She was just eight years old when she lost both of her parents to an airplane crash, inheriting the family fortune. Her uncle brought her to this place to shape her to be a businesswoman, but she wanted none of that. Money and control meant nothing to her but knowledge and innovation... That was why The History of Innovation & Invention was the only subject that mattered to her.

“No, I didn’t,” I answered.

“Well, he did. Maybe that’s why he became the father of electricity. Imagine if it was all connected. Maybe we could all—“

Before Luna could finish, Cassius appeared behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Boring,” he muttered, grinning as he turned his gaze to me. “I heard there’s a party in the Blackburn woods.”

“I’m not going,” Luna said, rolling her eyes as she brushed his hand off her shoulder.

“I’m staying in the dorm tonight,” I added quickly. “I need to study.”

The excuse was flimsy at best. The truth was, I just wanted to talk to Adeline.

Cassius smirked, chewing his gum loudly. “You two are the most boring friends I could’ve ended up with.”

“Then why are you here?” Luna shot back, spinning to face him. “Go find other friends.” She shoved him lightly before turning away and rushing towards the house.

Cass raised his hands in confusion. “What’s her problem?”

I chuckled. “She has feelings.”

“Well, she knows I don’t do that shit,” he said with a smirk. “I don’t do dating—just a lot of fucking.” He laughed, rubbing his palms together as he stepped closer.

I raised a brow. “Why did you sleep with her if you knew this would happen?”

“I didn’t.”

I frowned. “You didn’t?”

He rolled his eyes. “I told her I couldn’t. I knew it would ruin our friendship, so I never started something I couldn’t finish.”

I hopped off the wall, landing in front of him. “You care about her.”

“Pff, I don’t,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m a player, remember?”

He gave me a mock bow.

I smirked.

“Keep telling yourself that. Just don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Cass waved a hand dismissively as he walked toward Serpent Tower. “Yeah, yeah.”

It was nine at night. I’d just showered moments before, steaming wet from the water, and made my way to get dressed. My leather jacket clung to my shoulders, the coldness of the material biting through to the skin. My hair was damp, and though I pushed it back from my face, two renegade strands continued to fall back. I left them alone. Tonight, there were more important things to deal with.

I had practiced every word. Each hesitation. Each breath. Tonight, I was going to invite her to the Spring Dance.

A quick spritz of cologne, one final glance in the mirror, and I was finished.

The hallway outside my room was eerily empty. The usual murmurs, footsteps, and distant laughter were changed for a deadly silence. Everyone must have already gone to the party in Blackburn Woods. Good . That meant fewer eyes on me. I crossed the garden toward the House of Corvus , and with each step I took, I was more excited.

Would she be inside? If she wasn’t, I’d have to find her in the middle of the crowd, with everyone watching.

She had to be here. She had to.

As I walked, my eyes caught a row of dark red dahlias, freshly planted in the yard. The groundskeeper had brought them from Mexico, and somehow, they reminded me of her lips. Without thinking, I crouched down and plucked one gently, rolling the stem between my fingers.

I made my way to her dorm, room 241. But the air here was colder, a biting chill that crept under my jacket and settled into my skin.

Her door was slightly open.

I hesitated at first, but then, pushing it gently with my fingertip, I stepped inside.

The room was empty.

She wasn’t there.

But I could hear the soft, steady trickle of running water.

As I went further inside, steam was curling from the bathroom door, fogging the mirror above the sink. My pulse quickened. The air smelled of lavender soap and something else, something metallic and wrong.

A drop of water hit the floor. Another.

No. Not water.

I stepped closer.

And then I saw her.

Adeline was in the bathtub, her lifeless eyes locked onto mine, unblinking. They were hollow, yet they saw me. Pulled me in. She was dead, yet it felt like she was speaking to me.

The cuts on her face stretched from the corners of her lips to her cheeks, carved into an eternal smile.

I gasped, my heart now even faster than before. The dark red dahlia slipped from my fingers, landing soundlessly on the tile.

The image of the water in the tub was carved in my mind, and the blood inside was now forever written. Adeline’s wrists hung limply over the sides, while her skin was pale with exposed veins.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t blink.

I held the edges of the doorframe, my fingers digging into the wood as if holding myself together could stop me from falling apart. My vision blurred, the image before me searing itself into my mind, into something I would never unsee.

Adeline was dead.

A strangled gasp tore from my throat as I spun around, slapping a trembling hand over my mouth, fighting the wave of nausea clawing its way up.

I had to get out. Had to breathe. Had to think.

Stumbling into the hallway, I forced myself to move, my breath coming in sharp, ragged gulps. My body felt disconnected from my mind, like I was wading through a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. I needed help. Someone had to help.

My eyes scanned the square towards the dorm, looking for a single light. Only Luna’s room showed a sign.

Without thinking, I ran. The cold air burned my lungs, but I didn’t stop. I reached the House of Arachnis , took the stairs two at a time, and by the time I got to the third floor, I could barely breathe. My fists slammed against her door, over and over, loud enough to wake the entire academy. But no one else was awake. No one else could hear.

The door creaked open, and she stood there in her pink pajamas, a green face mask smeared across her skin. She blinked at me, confused, before her eyes landed on my face.

“Luci?” Her voice was softer than I expected. “What happened?”

“I…” My chest heaved. The words stuck in my throat like they physically hurt to say. “I… saw…”

I staggered forward, wrapping my arms around her, holding onto something real. Something alive.

“She’s dead,” I whispered.

Luna stiffened, her hands pressing against my shoulders to push me back just enough to see my face. “Who?”

I couldn’t answer. I moved past her, sinking onto her bed, pressing my face into my palms as if I could disappear into the dark behind my eyelids.

“Luci, talk to me.” Her voice was firmer now. She shut the door and came closer.

“We have to call someone,” I mumbled into my hands.

“Okay, you’re freaking me out right now.”

“I saw Adeline,” I cut her off, my voice breaking. “She was in the bathtub… her wrists… she...” My breath shuddered. “She’s gone, Luna.”

Silence.

Luna stared at me. Then her lips parted. “What?”

“I just wanted to ask her to the Spring Dance,” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. “You have no idea...”

Her own eyes glistened, the mask on her face cracking as she swallowed hard. “I know,” she whispered back. “I’ve seen death before.”

She stood up, grabbed her pink flip phone off the nightstand, and flipped it open. Her fingers moved quickly over the buttons.

“I heard screams from Corvus dorms,” she said into the receiver, her voice steady, like she had practiced this more than once. “I think someone might be in danger.”

I snapped my head up, meeting her gaze.

She was lying.

And the way she held my stare told me she knew I knew.

“Yes,” she said into the phone. “I’ll stay in my dorm.”

The call ended with a soft click.

My breath slowed. My hands trembled. And then, when I looked down, a sharp, cold dread curled in my stomach. There was blood on my palms.

My pulse roared in my ears. I never touched Adeline. I never touched her.

So how the hell was there blood on my hands?

What was happening?

What had I done?

PRESENT DAY

I held the photograph in my hands, it was on the first day Cass, Luna, and I met. A frozen moment in time, untouched by everything that came after. I traced the edges with my thumb, my chest tightening as I wondered.

Where did it all go wrong? What kind of people had we become?

They say when you see death, something inside you dies with it. That day, I lost more than a friend. I lost hope that I would ever feel something real again, that I would ever fall in love again.

So, I did the only thing I could. I started choosing women before I even met them, fitting them into a puzzle I had built in my mind. If they didn’t fit, I moved on. But if they did, I stopped at nothing until that piece belonged to me. And me alone.

I placed the picture on the bed and stood up. My black jeans and shirt clung to me. Crossing the room, I grabbed my boots from the corner and laced them up. Then I made my way to the kitchen, snagged my leather jacket off the chair, and headed for the door.

Tonight, I needed to see my Little Star.

I had to tell her I would be gone for a while. Maybe leave her with something she wouldn’t forget.

Just two blocks away, the bookstore I had visited yesterday was still open for just fifteen more minutes. Just enough time to replace the book she lost yesterday.

I leaned my leg over the bike and cranked the key, the engine firing to life beneath me. The machine growled, great power to be tamed at my fingertips. I clicked the helmet into place and tightened my gloves. Twist the throttle, and I was off, the night air biting me as I carved through the empty streets.

Two minutes later, I pulled up in front of the store. The old Asian librarian was already at the door, ready to lock up.

I caught the door just as her fingers grazed the handle.

“We’re closed,” she huffed, hands on her hips.

I flashed her my best smile as I pulled off my helmet. “In fifteen minutes.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I need a book.”

“You need, I need, everybody needs,” she muttered, throwing her hands in the air as she walked back behind the counter. “What book?”

“The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.”

Her eyes flicked over me, head to toe, like she already knew exactly who the book was for.

She sighed, shaking her head as she turned toward the shelves. “Hmm.”

I leaned against the counter, waiting. I could hear the sound of her slow footsteps against the wooden floor as she searched. Moments later, she returned, dropping the book in front of me with a thud.

“15￡. Cash.”

I pulled out my wallet and placed a twenty on the counter.

“Keep the change,” I said with a wink.

As I turned to leave, something stopped me.

I needed a pen.

I glanced back. “Mind if I borrow one?”

She sighed again, already reaching into her drawer. “One minute.”

“That’s all I need.”

I took the pen and flipped open the book to the first page, angling it away so she couldn’t see what I was about to write.

Pressing the tip of the pencil to the paper, I scrawled the words slowly.

“The faster you run, the harder I’ll chase. But in the end, you’ll always be mine, Little Star.”

Finished, I snapped the book shut and handed the pen back.

“Thanks.”

“Bye,” she said flatly as I walked out. Then, just as the door clicked behind me, I heard her mutter—

“Don’t come back.”

I smirked, tucking the book under my arm.

Now, it was time for my date with Freya.

She just might get to meet me tonight.