Page 44

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Bloom

Festival Trap

T he news of Nero’s disappearance hit me like a physical blow, bitterness rising in my throat. Of course, I’d been the last to know, always kept in the dark, always one step behind.

That moment in the archives had changed everything. When Nero uncovered my scars, when he traced them not with pity but with something like reverence, it carved a fissure straight through my defenses.

The way he looked at me then…I’d spent a lifetime hiding these marks, these wounds. But under his gaze, under his touch, they didn’t feel like shame. They felt like proof that I’d survived, that I’d endured.

“Your pain is mine.”

Not empty comfort but a vow as real as the scars beneath his fingers.

He understood me in ways no one else could. And somehow, impossibly, I felt his anguish too, like an echo in my own bones. Soulmates might be fiction, but this connection between us defied explanation.

That night, I’d been ready to throw caution to the wind. All my rules about propriety, about never crossing that line with a professor, none of it mattered now. I’d been prepared to freefall into whatever this was between us, consequences be damned.

Even now, the memory of his torment sent heat coiling low in my belly. The cruel way he’d denied me release, knowing full well I couldn’t find satisfaction on my own. My thighs pressed together at the remembered ache, at the frustration that still lingered like an unfinished chord.

But I didn’t regret it.

For the first time, I’d dared to hope. Maybe, after graduation, we could be together. But now he was just gone. No word. No goodbye. No explanation. Not even a note left on my pillow. As if I meant so little to him, just a passing distraction. The hurt cut deeper than I’d thought possible.

Rumors swirled through the tower. Some claimed they’d seen Nero and his team leaving through the gate, but no one knew where they’d gone. Orren must have gone with him, and the hellhound was nowhere in sight. I already missed him sleeping at the foot of my bed.

“Where did Professor Nero Ravencrux go?” Sindy murmured again as we sat at a corner table in the hall, ears pricked for gossip from the milling students.

After the fire ant incident, most students had quit harassing me, so I could relax, at least a little, and enjoy downtime with Sindy.

We sipped our afternoon chocolate drinks, though mine tasted dull, my mind too tangled in thoughts of Nero to focus.

I hoped he could somehow sense my displeasure, that it might drag him back to explain himself.

Because of that, I didn’t mind Sindy repeating his name. Part of me even believed, or hoped, that if we said it enough, it would itch at his ears like a rash and send him back.

“There’s no fog at the gate anymore,” I said for the tenth time now. “No sounds of battle.”

Sindy swirled her drink. “Maybe he killed all the hunters and monsters outside. Could be on vacation now.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “I heard his beautiful assistant, the blonde, didn’t go with him. You think they’ve been sleeping together?”

Rage surged through me, and I shot her a glare.But then, why hadn’t Morrigan gone with him?She was practically his personal medic.

“Her name is Morrigan,” I said tightly. “She’s a siren.”

Sindy squinted. “How do you know that?”

“Pretty sure everyone does.”

“Not me.” She shrugged. “Professor Ravencrux’s team is as secretive as he is.

” She darted her gaze around. “And where’s the hellhound?

He used to sleep near you. Given where we are, a hellhound makes sense.

But it’s weird he only follows you around.

” She paused, eyes narrowing. “Actually, now that I think about it, I notice that strange things keep happening around you. The school’s been different since you arrived. ”

“You’re paranoid,” I said. “Keep your voice down. I don’t need more targets on my back.”

By the third morning with no news from Nero, worry gnawed at me, and so did self-loathing. If I were stronger and more resourceful, I could’ve tracked him myself.

Sebastian might’ve known something, but I hadn’t seen him much lately. Not that I’d looked; between scouring for clues and researching the murders, I’d barely had time. And the day Nero left, classes had abruptly resumed full-force, as if the academy was eager to erase his absence.

At breakfast, Professor Kingsley announced the cancellation of classes.

Instead, students were encouraged to go on a field trip and attend the Harvest Moon Festival in Patchogue, a town seventy miles away from the academy.

With Ravencrux gone and Headmistress Stardust absent, Kingsley was in charge.

Students swarmed three open-top buses. Sindy tugged at my sleeve, eager to join, so I followed and queued at the back. Part of me hoped that leaving campus might lead me to Nero; maybe I’d spot him on the road, returning. Anything beat sitting around, useless and restless.

A sudden screech of tires made us leap back. A sleek golden sports car slid to a halt beside us, nearly grazing our toes. Sebastian leaned out from the driver’s seat, offering me a private ride.

It was probably a bad idea. After what had happened at Tabula Rasa, after Nero’s warnings, I should’ve kept my distance. But Nero had vanished without a word. Why should I heed to his demands now?

Besides, Sebastian knew things. About the redhead murders. About the immortal behind them, one of the four I knew of at the academy. He might even know where Nero had gone.

Sebastian was still on my list of suspects, but he seemed more playboy than predator. Still, I hesitated before climbing into his passenger seat. It might be another questionable decision, but how much worse could a sports car ride be than a crowded bus?

Yet abandoning Sindy wasn’t an option. When I insisted she join us, Sebastian relented with an exaggerated sigh. Sindy vibrated with excitement as we pulled away, drawing envious stares from students boarding the buses.

The moment we passed through the gates, the grisly display struck me, turning my stomach.

Dozens of monstrous heads lined the walls, some still oozing black ichor.

A chimera’s three heads—lion, goat, and serpent—hung separately in a macabre triptych.

A giant’s severed head dominated an entire section, its single dead eye weeping fresh blood.

The stench of rotting flesh and sulfur clawed at my throat.

My pulse hammered. Were these the creatures that had wounded Nero last week?

“Oh gods,” Sindy gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth.

“What kind of monsters are these?” I forced the words out evenly.

“Ravencrux’s trophies,” Sebastian said with a sneer. “He’s always been theatrical, though I find it rather tacky.”

But this wasn’t theater. Nero didn’t do displays for show. This was a warning. Which meant more threats were coming. My backward gaze swept the walls again. Where were the hunters’ bodies? If this was meant to deter enemies, why only show half the casualties?

Sebastian hit the gas. The car shot forward like a bullet, crossing the bridge in a blur. The grotesque display vanished behind us as we left the buses and the other students far behind. The valley stretched before us, a welcome relief from the carnage.

“So,” Sebastian said, hands loose on the wheel despite our breakneck speed, “you girls ready for the trial?”

I’d already told him twice to watch the road.

He’d just smirked and bragged about his reflexes Maybe it was true—we hadn’t crashed yet—but my fingers dug into the leather seat as we hit a curve.

The speedometer hovered past 100 mph on a two-lane road.

When I warned him about the speed limit, he’d only put more pressure on the gas pedal.

I didn’t enjoy the ride as my heart pounded in my throat, palms slick against my thighs.

Sebastian’s sideways glance told me he noticed, and enjoyed, my white-knuckled grip.

But I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me reach for my inhaler, even as my chest tightened with each sharp turn.

Sindy, meanwhile, leaned forward from the backseat eagerly, her earlier terror of corpses and hellhounds forgotten. “What trial?” she asked, practically vibrating with excitement.

I bit back the urge to remind her that ghosts weren’t deadly, but speeding cars absolutely were.

Sindy still hadn’t buckled up, despite my reminder, but at least she’d asked the question burning in my mind. I refused to be the only one who sounded nervous.

“In two weeks, first-years will be sent to the arena,” Sebastian said, casually removing both hands from the wheel to rummage through the glove compartment.

“Keep your hands on the wheel, Sebastian!” I shrieked. “What do you need? I’ll get it.”

He flashed me a grin, undoubtedly enjoying how his recklessness frayed my nerves. I bet he did that intentionally. Was my panic really that entertaining?

“Never mind,” he said, returning his hands to the wheel with exaggerated care. “Why search for trinkets when I have two beautiful companions?”

I gritted my teeth as Sindy giggled.

“There isn’t any arena,” I said. “Are you serious about this trial?”

“It’ll be built in a day,” Sebastian said. “Earth and metal mages will construct it east of Kingsley Tower, partially outside the wards. Kingsley himself told me. In fact, he was the one who proposed it to the academy’s patrons.”

“Why would he do that?” I said in displeasure.

Sindy, however, perked up. “I’ve heard about them! The patrons are all powerful immortals, right? Some say they’re demigods.”

Sebastian smirked, all sharp white teeth. “The patrons make demigods look like children playing dress-up.”

“Actual gods?” I fished. “But they disappeared ages ago.”

“Nothing stops them from returning,” he said. “And they’ll be watching and judging whether their descendants are worthy or merely disappointments.”

“Who are those patrons?” I asked. “You got names?”