Page 27 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty (The Legacy of Aquila Hall #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
DOROTHEE
The memory began to let me loose, and I blinked, my eyelids heavy.
Two pairs of dark eyes peered down at me in concern. The dim light streaming through the tinted glass windows made me blink a few times to clear the fog in my head.
“How long have I been knocked out?” I asked, sitting up with the help of my friends, who had me cradled safely between them. I would thank them later for that, when I wasn’t feeling like I had the biggest hangover of my life. Bloody hell.
I had undoubtedly spent an excessive amount of time with Jesse, as his language usage was adjusting to my own. He surly secretly loved that.
“Almost forty minutes. We started to get worried, and I called Nathaniel, but that was only a few minutes ago.” Maisie gave me an apologetic look, but I wasn’t angry. Fairly, I would have done the same.
“Did I try to get myself killed while I was out?” I asked, pushing to my feet as I brushed the dirt off my clothes. Before heading to class today, I needed a shower because I felt disgusting.
“No, you were as limp as the dead,” Naomi answered with a yawn herself.
“It was almost scary. Not even in sleep are you that silent,” Maisie added, and I snorted. “Good to know.”
I looked around to search for Gwyneth, but she was completely gone, and the candles had flickered out. Gwyn hadn’t meant to kill me. She had done the exact thing Dottie had asked of her: to push me onto the right path. If she had not pushed me into the lake and shown me her demise, I am uncertain if the others would have considered it necessary to include me in all of this.
She had been pulling the strings to get us this far.
To get me to the diary.
The second I felt steady on my feet again, I walked over to the row where the answer lay hidden beneath. Focusing on what I had seen, I knocked on the floor and smiled as I found the hollow space beneath it. Lifting the wood, I sighed in relief.
One step closer to saving us.
I opened the box and pulled out the diary and the ivory necklace, leaving the tiara back for Gwyneth, before I closed everything up again.
I didn't mind that the diary and jewellery were cold on my fingers. All I could feel at this moment was relief at what I had managed. I pushed to my feet and turned to face my friends with a triumphant grin.
“We did it,” I announced, holding up the necklace mentioned in the riddle. “Jewels melted ivory.”
While Naomi was admiring the treasure in my hands, Maisie took me in and her gaze slipped behind me. Her eyes widened in amazement.
“My grandmother wasn’t referring to the cards. She was referring to you. You’re The Star .”
Naomi looked at our friend in confusion before she followed her gaze to me and, just like Maisie, her eyes started to gleam. “Jesse will be so disappointed when I tell him we figured out the riddle without him,” she mumbled, grinning, and I turned around to look at the coloured window glass they kept looking at.
The artwork wasn’t special to me the first time I had entered these grounds because all I saw were eight stars in a weird constellation.
One giant golden star in the middle and six white stars on either side of it, while one lonely star shone on the bottom left.
“You mirrored the image on the card when you were kneeling on one knee, picking up the book while the sunrise shone through the glass and revealed the truth,” Maisie explained, completely captivated by the image. “She couldn’t tell, so she spoke in riddles, and now whenever she mentions The Star , we know it’s you she’s talking about. My grandmother is a genius.”
The smile didn’t leave my lips from the adrenaline kick this triumph had given me as I glanced down at the jewellery in my hand. “I think Dottie wanted me to find the diary and hid it with the necklace so Mairead could write the riddle without mentioning the real treasure it held,” I said, brushing my thumb over the leather-bound book, and for the first time, I noticed the daisy wheels that were carved into the cover.
The same symbols Maisie’s grandmother had drawn on the back of the tarot card where our first hint had been written, and suddenly, it hit me where I had seen it before.
The De Loughrey family tomb.
When I was seven, Nana took me to her weekly visit to the graves at the cemetery where her sisters and my grandfather had been laid to rest. I remember asking Nan about the circles that carved the entire stone on either side of the tomb.
“You call it daisy wheels.”
“Like my favourite flowers?”
“Yes, my little darling. Our family has been fond of the symbol for centuries. It’s a mark to protect us from the evil that might steal our peace away.”
Our conversation flashed before my eyes, as if it had been just yesterday that I started drawing the endless circles everywhere, until my mother scowled at me to stop this nonsense.
“We should get back to school. Breakfast started fifteen minutes ago, and if we don’t appear there in twenty, we’ll end up with a month of detention, and they will most likely inform our parents.” Naomi drew my attention, and usually, I should have panicked at that. Knowing that my mother would make the call with Nana the reason for my relapse. But I could feel nothing but relief right now, and truthfully, all I wanted to do right now was to find a place to hide and spend the entire day reading words that had been written fifty years ago.
“Let’s go, then,” I said as some sense hit me at last.
Now that light was making it easier to find a way out of the woods and back to Aquila, we were much faster than before.
“We’ll tell the boys during breakfast and meet tonight in the hideaway to find out why Dottie’s diary was so important for us to find,” Naomi announced while we trotted towards the back of the academy.
On our way back, I explained everything I saw in Gwyneth’s memory in detail, too scared I might forget it even happened by the time we will all get together tonight. My mind was still woozy from tiredness and whatever power I let Gwyn have over me to pull me into her memories.
Maisie had helped me to put on the necklace Dottie had once received from James. I just wore it to avoid losing it, but I liked the feeling of it hanging next to my tourmaline, right above my heart.
I kept brushing my thumb over the crystal held in place by ivory, thinking about the second phrase of the riddle.
Gift of peace, born in rivalry.
James, a Kingstone, had gifted the necklace to Dottie, a De Loughrey.
Since the crystal first belonged to Dottie, and now it's cradled in my palm, I assume that the De Loughrey bloodline is meant by the last phrase.
The Kingstones and De Loughreys are rivals. Or at least had been. James and Dottie clearly broke that cycle, since no one ever warned me about the all-so-mighty Kingstone family. But maybe that was the reason why Archer kept his distance from me.
I looked up as Naomi groaned beside me.
“Oh no,” Maisie mumbled anxiously, and I followed their eyes to the entrance of the school, where Professor Kane stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a stern expression. He was in his late twenties, but each time his features darkened, he looked much older.
“I guess I won’t be his favourite any more,” I muttered, a little disappointed at the thought. Frankly, having my favourite teacher hate me wasn’t on my to-do list for today. If he made class hell for me, I’d be quite sad, actually. I love history.
“If that’s your only fear,” Naomi hissed in a whisper as we reached our professor, who looked us up and down before he pushed off the wall.
Professor Kane wore his usual smart clothes except for the tie that was always missing. Almost all the teachers wore ties, except for him. He apparently liked his neck free of anything.
“Had a morning walk in the woods, ladies?” The question was rhetorical, so we kept silent, waiting for the blow.
“The doors to the dining hall open at six in the morning, and, frankly, I enjoy drinking my coffee in peace before the first students spill into the room around seven—not to mention how much I despise being supervisor of teenagers in puberty. Imagine my mood when Miss Tanner was already waiting for the doors to open to snitch on how two very rude classmates broke into her room at night, kidnapped her roommate and sneaked off school grounds.” His voice was deadly calm, and I almost pleaded he’d scream at us because I hated the deadly calm before the storm.
“Stupid snitch,” Naomi mumbled angrily beside me.
“We weren’t technically off school grounds, Professor,” Maisie corrected him, and his eyes slowly moved to her while he pressed his lips to a thin line.
“Do you think this excuses your actions, Miss Alderidge?”
Maisie shook her head and narrowed her gaze, almost embarrassed. “No, Professor.”
“Good, because all three of you are in serious trouble,” Professor Kane yelled at us, and I flinched at the sudden change of tone in his voice, even though I knew it was coming. “This school doesn’t have many rules, but the rules we have are to be followed. Curfew starts at nine pm and ends at six am, and you aren’t allowed to leave your room, especially the building, outside these times for a reason. Your parents laid your safety in our hands. Do you think we have eyes everywhere just in case some students think they are too good for these rules?!” he continued, and I bowed my head to look at my muddied shoes.
“Miss De Loughrey, I asked you a question.”
I stiffened, not looking up as I muttered my answer, “no.”
“It’s incredibly disrespectful to not look at someone when you talk to them,” he reprimanded me, making my head shoot up to the man in front of me.
“No, Professor.”
He crossed his arms again and clenched his jaw in anger.
“I expect an answer as to why all three of you believed those rules didn’t apply to you when you decided to leave the building before the lift of curfew.”
None of us answered because we couldn’t really tell our teacher that my dead great aunt visited me in my dreams and asked me to find her friend who had also died several years ago and speak to her ghost.
Yeah, that would give us a premium ticket straight to the next psychiatric hospital. This was a bad idea, especially considering our past.
I opened my mouth, trying to think of a decent lie that wouldn't get us in trouble and also wouldn't make us sound totally insane.
“Professor Kane, would you mind going back to your place in the dining hall? Headmaster Shaw advised me to take over this situation.” A very familiar voice saved me from having to come up with a story.
Kane sighed, annoyed, and turned to face Chadwick, who stood in the entranceway with a much kinder expression than the man in front of us.
“And don’t let them stand outside in this cold, or they might get sick. You said it yourself, Asher. It’s our duty to keep them safe,” Chadwick added, stepping aside for us to enter the warm building.
Naomi was the first to rush inside, and Maisie and I followed, ignoring Professor Kane’s deadly stare as we passed him.
I had history in the third period. This was going to be a blast today—or for the rest of the school year.
“Head to my office. I’ll meet you there,” Chadwick advised us, and we had no choice but to do exactly that.
We heard him speaking with Kane quietly as we trotted away in a hurry without saying a word. I couldn’t come up with a lie. Everything I thought about sounded terribly mad. And as much as I had started to trust Chadwick, I was frightened to be seen as a mentally ill teenager again. I knew how that would turn out for me because I’ve been through this so many times before, I couldn’t even count it on one hand any more.
“We’re so screwed,” Naomi whispered angrily from beside me as we sat on the couch in Chadwick’s office, waiting for him to return. How she could be angry instead of scared was a mystery. She kept mumbling insults at Rebecca while Maisie chewed anxiously on her nails next to me.
The door opened, and Chadwick came in, giving us the hint of a smile, which was definitely more polite than showing the true joy he might feel at seeing us in trouble.
“Are you okay?” was the first thing he asked as he sat down in his usual place in the armchair across from the couch.
“Yes,” we all answered in unison, our surprise evident in our voices. I knew Chadwick wasn’t like Kane and preferred humane communication to scolding or punishments, but it was still a little surprising to see no anger in his face or posture at all. He wasn’t balling his hands into fists. He wasn’t stiff, and he wasn’t grinding his jaw like Kane had.
Chadwick nodded. “I believe that Professor Kane already scolded you enough and that you understand the seriousness of the situation, girls.”
“We do, and we’re terribly sorry,” I apologised quickly. I just wanted to get this over with. All I could think about was exploring the book I was hugging to my chest— oh my God , the diary was still in my arms for everyone to see.
What if he reads it and it gets confiscated?
No, no, no, that can’t happen.
“I can see that. Now, are you willing to tell me why you decided to take a walk in the woods this early? I assume you weren’t planning on running away since you came back willingly,” he asked, his voice steady and calm, but his eyes revealed his curiosity. Chadwick’s gaze lingered on the book I hadn’t let go of once since we arrived back at Aquila.
Maisie sighed next to me, and I turned my head to look at my anxious friend, who now played with the tips of her chin-length hair, that had now come completely lose of her French braids. “It’s my fault, Sir.”
Chadwick looked up from Dottie’s book to focus on Maisie. “Could you explain to me why that is, Mairead? I’m not quite understanding how this could be your fault.”
Maisie shifted on the couch, and the way she fixed her expression made her look so innocent, it was fascinating how quickly she could switch emotions. If I had to guess who the best actor among the three of us was, I would have said Naomi, since she’s the one who has theatre class twice a week.
“My family is very spiritual, Sir. My grandmother loved to include me in her rituals, which are similar to the prayers Christians use to communicate with God. These rituals make people like me feel connected to the gods we believe in.” Maisie smiled, most likely at the memory of her grandmother. “Tonight was a full moon, which is a powerful time in the spiritual world. Since attending Aquila Hall and not seeing my grandmother regularly to do such rituals, I feel so distant from my beliefs, and it saddens me. I believe the moon holds the power of women, so I thought it might be beneficial to soak in the moonlight when it’s shining the brightest. Bathing in the light of the moon is also a way to take care of your body and mind. It helps with relaxation and spiritual awakening.” She looked a little ashamed as she stared at the coffee table in front of us. “I love running around in nature while doing so, but the thought of being alone in the dark scared me a little, so I asked Dorothee and Naomi to join me, and because they are the best friends anyone could ever have, they agreed,” she finished, looking back up at Chadwick, her cheeks burning bright red. “I wholeheartedly apologise.”
I looked from my roommate to Chadwick, who appeared as stunned as Naomi and I most likely felt. The lie was so clean, even I was at a loss for words.
Chadwick leaned back in his chair and inhaled sharply before he slowly nodded. “Firstly, thank you for your honesty, Mairead. While we at Aquila are fond of supporting all beliefs and religions of our students, I have to remind you that breaking the rules for… rituals still isn’t allowed. If you’d like, I can have a word with Headmaster Shaw and arrange for a teacher to join you in the backyard once a month on a full moon, a few hours before breakfast starts,” he offered thoughtfully, and if it hadn’t been a lie, I would have been so happy for Maisie to still be given the chance.
She shook her head, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you so much for the opportunity, but I figured that without my grandmother and sisters, it just doesn’t feel right. No offence.” She looked at Naomi and me, and we both answered at the same time, “none taken.”
Chadwick gave her a sympathetic look. “Will you spend your Christmas holidays with your family? I understand that your parents thought it would be best for you to spend your fall break here, but given the circumstances, I suggest you go home and enjoy your time with your sisters and grandmother.”
We’d had a week off the week before Halloween, but most students decided to stay at school instead of driving home, me included. Everything was cosier here than having to be at home. My skin was already crawling at the thought of Christmas break.
For others, it means two weeks off school, but for me, it means being the centre of disappointment at family gatherings while everyone stares at my cousins in awe.
“I’m actually spending my Christmas with Nathaniel in Italy with his family this year. It’s the first time I’m meeting his mother’s side of the family, and I’m so nervous. What if they don’t like me? I mean, I can barely say a handful of words in Italian,” she suddenly started rambling as she usually does when nervous. But Chadwick took it lightly and chuckled.
“No need to worry. I’m sure they’ll like you regardless, especially when they see with their own eyes how fond their grandson and nephew is of you.”
It was nice that even in this situation, he assured her that everything would be fine.
I thank whoever put Anwir Chadwick on my path in life. This man truly is sent from heaven.
“Before I allow you to go to breakfast, I must have your word that this will never happen again and that you understand that if it does, it will lead to heavier consequences than just a week of detention.”
“One week’s detention?!” Naomi blurted out, and I lightly elbowed her in the ribs. We should be thankful it’s just a week and not a whole month. I mean, Aquila Hall has a no-tolerance policy.
“While I understand that you helped out a friend, which I must say is really noble of you, we do have to make sure you know that actions always have consequences, Naomi,” he explained calmly, and after a moment, Naomi thankfully nodded in understanding.
My heart had stopped pounding heavily in my chest, and I exhaled in relief.
One week’s detention I could live with. Being treated like something was wrong with me again? I couldn’t.
Chadwick stood up and walked over to the door, opening it with a kind smile. “Hurry, or the cinnamon buns will all be gone.”
I chuckled at the comment, and we rose to our feet. When I passed Chadwick, I gave him a thankful nod, and he mirrored it. “I hopefully won’t see you again before our session on Friday,” he teased.
I gave him a look over my shoulder and shook my head with a small smile. “Of course not, Sir.”