Page 25 of Messenger of Death (Ouroboros Academy #2)

W e met back at the dining hall for lunch and it was super tense. And it wasn’t just my side of the school this time. The supernaturals seemed like they didn’t hate us and believed Lola’s mind had been messed with, but they were tense this time. I caught up with Saffron at the fairy station.

“Hey, Sage. If you haven’t tried the sandwich they have out today, I highly recommend it.”

I grabbed it and put it on my tray. They were right. There was something about food from Fairy that made me feel stronger. Saffron hadn’t led me astray so far.

“What’s going on? Everyone seems tense.”

“Elen didn’t go back to his dorm room last night.

He’s an elf, so he’s kin. He wasn’t in any of his classes, either.

They don’t expect you to go if you’re sick, but they do expect you to go to the healer.

This is one of the best magical academies in the world.

People on my side of the school fought pretty hard for their place.

“A degree from Ouroboros opens doors. Elen wouldn’t be out somewhere having a bender.

We do that on our side of the school all the time, but on the weekends or days we don’t have class until late.

Elen was in the healer program, so he had a pretty intense course load.

He’s also on scholarship, so he wouldn’t risk it. ”

“Is there anything in Fairy Lore about the Forsaken Ones?”

“I’ve never been taught anything like that, but our Elders also gatekeep. Everything we learn about fairies from other fairies is what the Elders have allowed us to know. Most of us think there’s more to it, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

I had my work study with Headmaster Mykene after lunch. I wondered if she would know. Saffron left to eat with the fairies and I joined my friends. I passed along the message someone was missing again.

“They aren’t dead because I didn’t scream.

I don’t know if the whole banshee thing has a radius and if they were killed off campus, I wouldn’t feel it, but they would still come to Khalid to cross over.

Professor Gefn only gets certain souls and seems to have thought Kira should have been hers.

You can’t exactly kill someone on campus without one of us knowing, but I don’t know where the missing students are, either.

It’s three now. A fairy, and elf, and a reincarnation. ”

“I was just basically a TA for Professor Kane’s history class. I’m mainly there to keep her hydrated and make sure she remembers to eat, but I’ll be helping her with research after lunch. I can see if she knows anything about the Forsaken Ones.”

“I am going to do the same when I’m working with Headmaster Mykene.”

“I’ll be whipping up some grand baked goods in the kitchen. There’s something honest and soothing about baking,” Liam said.

“I don’t have work study since my parents owe me my trust fund after allowing me to be kidnapped when they know how I feel about that.

I’m going to start looking into people’s messages.

If there’s two of them, they have to be coordinating.

I’ve got super hearing and so do a ton of students here.

You’ve also got familiars and at least two people who can talk to animals, so it’s not really safe to talk about any of that out loud. ”

“So, we have a plan,” I said. “How were your classes?”

“I took a class about talking to nature with the fairies. It was fascinating. Roses are little bitches and the older trees have seen some shite. The tree fairies really need to stop looking at my dick like that.”

“My familiars said none of the animals would know what happened to Lola because whatever is out there is unnatural and they avoid it. They also said Lola feels like a big predator, so they don’t want to be near her.

I’ll bet the trees could tell us. Well, you because I don’t think I’m the kind of fairy that talks to trees. ”

“Good call. We should do that soon.”

“My vampire class was highly uncomfortable. I grew up a prince, so I’m used to sycophants, but this was next level.

Even the professor was doing it. I’m basically in a remedial vampire class with all the unfortunates whose teenage lover wanted it to be forever and turned them without their consent.

They act like I’m not on the same level as the rest of the students because I’m a reincarnation, but I don’t know what I’m doing, either. ”

I hated that for Lucian since it made him uncomfortable, but there wasn’t much any of us could do about it. The fairies were warm towards me, but they loved Liam. We were going to have to get used to it to some extent.

Word was starting to spread about Elen and my side of the school had just decided it was Ivar, Ari, and Alexios. The other side of the school seemed more interested in facts and I could hear them dividing up into teams to look for clues to figure out what actually happened.

“Hey, can we join you?” Ivar asked.

“Us, too,” I said. “Khalid and I didn’t feel anyone die, but we can help you look.”

“We’ll join, too,” Morgana said.

A few upperclassmen agreed to join. It was so fucked up. Lola and the rest of them just decided it was my friends, but they didn’t volunteer to help figure out what happened to Elen and the other missing students.

And that mostly seemed to be because Lola didn’t want to volunteer.