Page 15

Skimming most of the pages, I quickly realize none of these are going to help me on Variants. And I can’t exactly walk up and ask anyone either.

The things I do come across though send an icy shiver down my spine.

Demonic possessions. Psychokinetic control. Malevolent sprits.

All things I never thought were real, but now that I do, I hope to never come across any of them.

Closing the books, I grab them and place them back where I got them before heading to the canteen. Grabbing some food to go and some extra to refill my little stash, I hide it in a spot before making my way to the training field near the obstacle course.

But once I’m there, I stop short beside the girls.

Instructor Dane is dead. Not figuratively dead, actually dead.

Except for his head, which is on display on a long pole. It’s as if an animal tore him to pieces and decided to show us all his kill.

The men are still cleaning up his blood and entrails as I gather around with the girls watching on in horror and disgust.

Robin gags. “I think I saw some of his insides.” She gags again, and I pat her shoulder.

“What could have done something like that?” she asks, and I shake my head not understanding it either. I thought the academy was shielded from any outside threats. But maybe they did another test that I didn’t know about, and it slipped in.

The group of men are still cleaning up the mess when one of the older males with graying hair walks over to us.

“There will be no training this week. We’ll find a new instructor for you when you return.” He turns and leaves, heading back to the others without any further explanation.

I turn to Robin, hoping she’ll know what he meant. “Return? From where?”

“I’m guessing your mates didn’t remind you,” she says, and I shake my head, giving her a look that says she should know better than that.

“Start packing,” she says with a sigh. “We’ll be heading to the War Camps soon.”

With a groan, I get my food from my temporary hiding place and head back into the forest. Keeping an eye out, I make sure I’m not being followed before coming up to my hidden spot.

I should probably head back to the house or even do some more research in the library, but now with the impending visit to the War Camps growing closer, I should start focusing on brushing up on my skills.

I start stretching and warming up my body while thinking about what Cyrus told me about the sectors of Shadows.

Shield. Sentinel. Seekers. Elite.

Each one of them is powerful in their own right. The abilities and weapons that he explained for each of them proves that. But the four Shadows stuck with me are even more powerful than them all.

A thought I immediately shove to the back of my mind as soon as images of them hunting me down start flashing past it.

I train for the next few hours, working myself to exhaustion while trying to remember all the skills and techniques I learned before the switch.

After a couple of hours, I have to take a break and sit down as every muscle starts to ache, my body quickly drained.

I was hoping to go to the obstacle course and do a couple of rounds. I need those privileges of getting out of here if all else fails.

But I feel Knox almost punch at my barrier between us, and groan before slowing dragging it down and letting him in.

“Sena. Come back now,” he demands without an explanation on why he sounds so urgent.

“Did something happen to someone?” I ask, a little worried about the others. Even if they are assholes.

He pauses with a sigh. “ No. Everyone is fine. It’s late. You’ve been out all day. Cyrus… misses you.”

I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

“Sena,” he growls, and the sound of his low throaty voice does something to me. Something I’d rather never admit to him.

Especially because he’d gloat about it, use it against me, and hold it over my head until the end of time.

“What?” I bite out. “I’m busy.” I’m not really. There’s no way I can train anymore. But he doesn’t need to know that.

Maybe I’ll just have a nap out here instead. But then I realize it’s not the best idea considering something is attacking me in my sleep.

“No fucking way,” Knox shouts, and I realize I’m still open and he’s heard it. “ I’m in your bed tonight.”

“Like hell you are.” I’d rather Cyrus. At least he’s not being a dick to me.

“Sena,” he warns.

“No, Knox. You don’t get to treat me like shit one minute and then need me the next. I already told you I’m not her… I mean, the her you knew before,” I say correcting my little slip up.

“And it’s not easy to forget what you did to us,” he says with a grit to his tone. “Cyrus may be able to move on, but it’s not that fucking easy for the rest of us.”

A sliver of anger slides through me thinking of the other Sena and what she must have done.

“I don’t remember what I did,” I tell him. “But for what it’s worth, I am sorry.” Sorry for whatever she did to you all.

I sigh, already regretting my next words. “If you promise not to be an asshole for the rest of the night… you can sleep in my bed.”

“Deal,” he says immediately. “Now get your ass home,” he orders.

I immediately block him out, hearing a frustrated growl as I do.

My head falls back against the tree trunk. What have I gotten myself into?

Cyrus’s words flash across my mind reminding me of what this means for them.

If I die, they die. But I guess that’s only if we complete the bond.

I freeze when it hits me what that truly means. I’m not a Shadow. I’m not strong like them.

No wonder they’re all so pissed. I’m just a liability to them.

Not only that. If anyone finds out what happened to me, I won’t be the only one that ends up under the firing squad. I’ll be dragging them down with me too.

I hit my head off the trunk and groan. I only wanted to figure a way out of all this. Now I possibly have four lives in my hands.

Shaking off my shitty mood, I hide what’s left of my food and head back to the house.

I head inside and sigh when I find them all waiting around looking as pissed as they were yesterday. Apart from Cyrus. He actually looks happy to see me while the other three look like shit. Like they haven’t slept in days and it’s finally catching up to them.

“What did I do now? Was my existence too loud for you?” I ask, truly over them and their shitty mood swings.

“You look fine,” Theon grits out.

I frown. “And you look like shit. What’s your point?”

In fact, they all look a little under the weather apart from Cyrus. Maybe they all caught something.

But I keep my mouth shut. They’d figure a way to blame it on me somehow.

“Tomorrow we’re all heading to the War Camps. Knox is with you tonight in case there’s another attack,” Malakai says as if he’s the one that commanded it. But I let it slide, having already made a deal with Knox. Something he seems to be upholding by keeping his mouth shut at least.

They start to move, but since a couple of them are being amicable, at least for now, I take my chance and ask them a question that’s been playing on my mind since I woke up in here and ran into them.

“When I woke up here after the accident. You said that you wanted to get out of here. What did you mean?” I ask, and they all turn to look at me.

Cyrus frowns while Knox gives me his normal suspicious look. Theon just outright glares at me, as if I’ve offended him somehow. And Malakai narrows his eyes on me.

“Well?” I push, hoping they’ll give me something .

“We want what we’ve always wanted. To finish our time in the academy and move to the War Camps,” Cyrus answers. “Permanently.”