Page 5 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty (The Legacy of Aquila Hall #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

DOROTHEE

When I woke up, my head hit something hard, and it took me several seconds to regain consciousness and realise where I was and what had happened.

“Is she alright?” someone asked in a state of panic, and I lifted my head, looking around.

I was lying on the floor of my new room’s balcony. Hands gripped my shoulders, and I looked from the balcony railing to the ground beneath me, still a little dazed. Except it wasn’t the floor I was on—it was a boy.

Hazel eyes met mine, and I felt faint for a second. I was almost sure I had seen him before, but the thought vanished the moment it entered my mind because that was impossible.

The boy who held me as though I were some great treasure had messy strands of jet-black hair dangling into his eyes. His features were sharply defined, and it was difficult to tell if he was naturally as pale as a ghost or if his dark hair simply made him look that way.

He seemed a little dazed himself. His lips parted briefly before his expression hardened.

What had just happened?

“Could you get up?” I saw his lips move before the dark tone of his voice reached me. Confusion seemed to steal all the air from my lungs at the sound of his voice. Not only did his appearance feel oddly familiar, but this voice…

“What?” I asked, still caught in my haze, before reality caught up to me. Oh gosh . I was lying on top of this stranger as though he were the most comfortable thing in the world. “Yes, of course, I’m so sorry,” I apologised, scrambled to get off him and stand up.

It’s an understatement to say I was embarrassed. As blood rushed to my cheeks, I felt eyes boring into my back. When I turned, I realised there were more people in my room.

But all I could think about was the balcony—and the girl. I was that girl, but I wasn’t me. I had brown hair in my dream, and my name wasn’t…

“Lessy,” I whispered, recalling the name Christopher had called me.

I turned my head, searching for the white roses and ribbons that had decorated the balcony railing, not just that, but the entire tree too. It was all gone, or it had never been there at all.

“Is it a good idea to let her step onto that balcony again?” a girl’s voice asked. I didn’t recognise it, but it quickly gained my attention. My head was clearing from the fog that had settled there, and I counted four strangers in the room.

I recognised the boy standing next to Maisie as the one who had pleaded with her not to go with me. The way he was gently tracing circles on the palm of her hand made it obvious the two of them had a deeper connection than mere friendship.

Then there was the boy I had just been lying on and another girl who was glaring at me with thinly veiled judgement.

“Naomi, stop,” Maisie’s companion muttered a second later.

The Asian girl, Naomi, turned to him, her black, silky hair slipping out from where it had been neatly tucked into her cobalt blazer.

“I’m just concerned, as the new girl appeared to be on the brink of suicide before anyone even had the chance to meet her.” Her voice betrayed no concern whatsoever.

“I wasn’t going to jump. I was just dream-walking.” The words sounded even more pathetic aloud than they had in my head.

And here we were again, heading down the lying road.

The thing is, I wasn’t lying.

I wasn’t going to jump. Lessy did.

I exhaled shakily, fear rising in my chest. This was supposed to be a fresh start. I couldn’t ruin it all again on the very first day. “I swear, I wasn’t conscious when I stepped onto that railing. Please don’t tell anyone. I didn’t mean to do that—”

“Stop begging. None of us will tell,” the nameless boy who had apparently saved my life interrupted.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to get a read on him to quiet the panic surging through me. But I couldn’t. His face was completely devoid of any emotion, though there was something dark in his eyes.

“I imagined her sounding more philosophical,” a new voice chimed in.

In the doorway stood a brunette boy whose glasses were almost entirely slipping down the bridge of his nose. He was heaving, as though he had just run a marathon.

“Jesse,” the nameless boy said in warning, without even looking back.

“My apologies. I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Jesse replied, still out of breath as he bent over, clutching the doorframe for support. Sweat gleaming on his golden skin.

“You should work on your stamina, Jesper,” Naomi mused before turning her attention back to me. I could feel my entire body itch under the weight of so many gazes.

“Someone had to catch her,” Jesse defended himself, but Naomi wasn’t listening anymore.

“You’re lucky we saw you standing on that railing like a statue from the backyard. If Archer hadn’t got there in time, you’d be dead now.” Naomi made sure to put enough weight on the word dead to make her point. “The least you could do is say thank you,” she added, pursing her lips.

I disliked her tone, but she was right. He had saved my life, and even though I wasn’t entirely sure it had been the right decision, he definitely deserved my gratitude.

I looked at the boy— Archer. His name suited him.

“Thank—”

But he cut me off. “Naomi enjoys using people as entertainment when they’re vulnerable. You have nothing to thank me for.”

His eyes hadn’t left mine since I had gotten off him. I wondered if he’d been watching me even before that.

“Do you know what umbra means?” Archer suddenly asked, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Maisie’s eyes widen.

“What?” I didn’t understand what he was trying to say or why he’d changed the subject so suddenly.

“Do you know what the word means?” he repeated, narrowing his gaze as he took a step closer.

I had to tilt my head back to keep looking into his mesmerising eyes. I wasn’t short, but he had to be at least a head taller than me.

“Is it Latin, like the school motto? I never studied it,” I replied. I’d never thought Latin was particularly useful, being a dead language. But right now, I wished I understood.

“It’s the name given to the inner region of a shadow cast. Another, more chilling, translation is darkness.”

The way he emphasised the words gave me goosebumps.

The term didn’t seem familiar, but the meaning… I knew what it felt like. I’d experienced it.

“I apologise for interrupting whatever tension you’ve got going on,” Jesse interjected, “but I must remind everyone that we are currently ten minutes late for our next class.”

“Try not to get yourself killed,” Archer said as he turned on his heel. It almost sounded like a challenge. “I might not catch you next time.”

One by one, the others followed him out, leaving Maisie behind.

“Are you coming, Maisie?” Her lover asked from the doorway.

Maisie shook her head. “Could you tell Mrs Fanning that I’m not feeling well and needed to rest?” Her voice was melodic.

The tall boy nodded. “Be careful,” he said before closing the door behind him. His concern for the small blond was touching, even though I wasn’t aware what he meant by the phrase be careful, since I didn’t consider myself a threat.

“Are those your friends?” I asked, though the answer was obvious.

“They’re my family,” Maisie replied as she sat on the edge of her bed. “We have a connection far deeper than friendship. Especially Nathaniel and I.”

Nathaniel must have been the name of the boy who had stood next to her the entire time.

“Did anyone else see me?”

If the headmaster or my new psychologist found out that I’d seemingly tried to take my life on the very first day at Aquila Hall, I’d probably wish Archer hadn’t stopped me.

That would be the end for me.

Being called crazy was hard enough, but suicidal… I couldn’t go through that again. No one would believe me.

Maisie shook her head. “We went outside during our five-minute break. The professors don’t like it when we do, but we had to talk, and then suddenly, there was you on the balcony. It was terrifying. Archer pulled you off the railing the moment you began to fall. I’ll lock the balcony doors from now on, is that okay?”

I nodded because I knew it would make her feel better, knowing I was safe in our room.

My heart pounded as I looked at the spot that had nearly caused my end. It was terrifying.

I’d had many dreams before.

Blood, death, and so much more had haunted me over the years. I had seen it all. But I’d never been the one dying in my dreams. The observer. That had always been my position.

Never the puppet. Never until today.

No one could possibly be as scared as I was after what had happened.

This was going too far.

“Maisie?”

She brushed her palms over her skirt and looked up at me, “mmh?”

“Do you know if there was ever a tree next to the balcony?”

She didn’t answer for several seconds, but then her voice sounded slightly frightened, “Doe, I think the tree was there fifty years ago.”