by Holly Ice
Shane hugged me, rubbing my back. ‘We did it,’ he said, his voice so soft I had to strain to hear it. ‘You’re getting out of here.’
‘I hope so.’ I couldn’t let myself believe it yet. I looked over his shoulder, to Julian. ‘I am getting out?’
His eye twitched. ‘They can’t keep you in here.’
I bit my lip. That meant they’d try. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and I held Shane tight.
* * *
Pizza arrived around midday.
Julian offered me a slice, but the greasiness and oozing cheese turned my stomach. The stale pastries from the morning looked even worse.
Tibor hadn’t found a compromise from talking to Julian and the prosecutor.
In the end he’d kicked them out to investigate ‘alternative options’.
What the hell did that even mean, and why was it taking so long? We’d been waiting hours.
The amount Julian’s phone rang suggested the supernatural media were getting twitchy, too. They wanted comment, or some kind of running commentary since they weren’t allowed inside the courtroom. They must’ve heard about the ruling. But even if I wanted to talk, I didn’t know anything. And neither did Julian.
‘Does it normally take this long?’ Shane asked, running a hand through his already messy hair.
I smiled. We’d come full circle, but I was still in this damned room.
Julian put his phone away. ‘No, but this ruling was controversial.’
I swallowed past my tight throat and asked what I’d been avoiding all this time.
‘What do you think they’ll decide?’
‘I wish I knew.’
A sharp rap at the door turned all our heads.
PE Teacher walked in and scanned the room until she found me. ‘Time to go, Wildes.’
Icy fingers gripped my throat. I was innocent. I’d been proved not guilty. I shouldn’t have to go back in there. And yet…
I reached for Shane’s hand and squeezed it, his warmth and strength flowing up my arm and loosening my tight throat until I felt human again. He’d kept me sane through all of this, the family I never had.
PE Teacher glanced at our joined hands.
I glared. She wasn’t breaking us apart.
She sighed and ushered us all through the back corridors.
I nodded my thanks.
The court was darker, closer, with half the candles snuffed out, but it was still packed. And the mixture of pale and frowning faces told me they still wanted a different result than earlier. A harsher one.
I gritted my teeth. With Russell on their side, they’d get their do-over. But not today.
Shane squeezed my hand and moved the other side of the public defence barrier. I shivered at the sudden loss of heat and swallowed past the ache in my throat. But he was right behind me, inches away. He was still with me.
Tibor stood.
I didn’t see anything on his face that told me how things had gone. He didn’t look gleeful, or annoyed, but then he hadn’t through this entire process. He’d been the appearance of fair process, if not the practice.
‘Thank you for your patience today.’ Tibor gestured to either side, taking in his colleagues. ‘It took some time…’ His jaw tensed, his eyes drilling into a few of his colleagues. ‘But we’ve spoken to the prosecution, the defence, law experts, and the WMCF, among others, and we’ve reached an agreement.’
He scanned the public pews and then rested his eyes on me.
‘Ms Nash will return to Wildes Academy to finish her schooling. With passions running so high, we’ve decided she’ll be under the close supervision of two of our best and most highly trained officers at all times, until the retrial period ends.’
Tibor waved at the crowd, but I let their noise wash over me.
I was going back to school. I bit my tongue. As much as I wanted to learn more about my magic, the other students wouldn’t be pleased to have me back. I’d have Shane, but… the others wouldn’t see me as innocent.
And Eugene – why had he agreed to this? He and Russell must want me as far away as possible. Russell promised I wouldn’t make it out of jail. His dark smirk dominated my mind’s eye. I shuddered. The walls seemed to press in, the crowd farther away.
Until a woman screamed that I might murder her precious darling.
I shook myself out of my downward spiral.
Tibor stared her down. ‘Academy students will be perfectly safe. These officers bring in the worst fae out there. And the worst witches. The slightest breach of the law will lock Ms Nash behind bars again.’
But would they protect me? I nibbled on my lip. I doubted it.
Shane called my name. Probably not for the first time. I caught his hand. Whatever the details, we’d done it. Somehow, I’d avoided the worst.
He kissed me, pressing my lips to his so hard I felt my heartbeat.
Heat swirled through me, and the weight of my trial eased.
‘You’re getting out,’ he whispered, holding me to his chest, a lightness to his face I hadn’t seen since I was imprisoned.
I fastened my hands around him. No more PE Teacher. No more cells. I’d still have to watch my back but I’d have my own bed, a thick blanket, and endless time with Shane. I’d even get to call Finn and Rhea.
I smiled then, wondering what silly photos they’d sent me while I’d been in jail.
‘Bianca, Shane, we should get out of here,’ Julian said.
When we broke apart, I saw why. The public had gotten over their shock and a fair portion were pushing towards us.
Shane jumped over the barrier into the defence area, and Julian ferried us out the same doors the coven took.
The officers on the door didn’t try to protect us but they didn’t let anyone else through the doors either. And I understood. They wouldn’t go out of their way to help us but they wouldn’t hurt me either.
And again, what did that mean for my new watchers? Because back in the academy, I was going to need their help.
These witches wanted my blood, and I’d be confined with them for the next three years. Attacking them, even in my own defence, would probably put me behind bars again.
I shivered, thinking of all the magic practice, the dead-end corridors, and the ‘accidents’ that could so easily be arranged. A death sentence might’ve been cleaner.
Chapter 9
We met PE Teacher at reception. My things were already piled on the counter.
She threw my normal clothes at me, the ones they’d taken during processing.
I caught them awkwardly, ruining the neat folds, and glared at her.
Shane rubbed my shoulders, and Mira stood beside me, hissing at my old guard.
‘They’ll find more evidence, and you’ll be back here soon enough,’ she said.
She waved her hands over my magical bindings and said a few words. Then the man behind the counter did the same.
The brightness of the magical bracelets dimmed until my wrists were bare. I flexed my hands. They looked the same, and moving them felt the same, but I could defend myself again.
I was going to thank her, but PE Teacher had already stalked off.
And I’d been thinking she cared more than the others. Showed what I knew.
The older man behind the reception desk nudged my other things towards me with his pencil, like he couldn’t bear to touch them.
Shane raised an eyebrow, but the officer had his back to us, reaching for the printer.
‘I need you to sign for your things,’ he said, putting a stapled wad of paper on the counter.
A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and dripped over his chin to land on his shirt.
I didn’t like him not meeting my eyes.
He circled the lines I needed to sign.
I flicked through to the start, but it’d take me an age to wade through the legal mumbo jumbo. I’d never see what it really meant.
‘Julian? Can you…?’
He stepped forward.
He skimmed the wording, then turned back to the signature page. ‘It’s a standard release. You can sign.’
So they hadn’t tried to trap me. I smiled, shrugged into my coat, and pulled it around me, savouring the subtle scent that, unlike the prison-issue detergent, didn’t tickle my nose with an overbearing fragrance.
‘Please sign, then take your belongings.’
I rolled my eyes and shoved my phone and wallet into my pockets. Then I signed, printed, and dated his stupid log.
He moved to the cabinet to file them.
I blinked at his back. This was too easy. ‘Is this all I have to do? I’m good to go?’
‘Now Peregrine is here, yes,’ he said over his shoulder.
‘Peregrine? What kind of name is that?’
A deep voice cleared their throat on my right.
I jumped, my heart pounding as I turned to meet the intense stare of a rugged older man. He towered over me, so broad-shouldered I felt petite. And soft.
The air around him buzzed with dark energy.
I retreated a few steps, closer to Shane.
The stranger’s shadowed eyes were on the exits rather than us, but he had that coiled stillness of a predator. Much like Mira.
The hairs along my neck rose when I counted two knives and a gun. No doubt he had more hidden under his baggy black clothes.
But the long, red twists of the puckered scar across his neck made me want to put serious space between us. Surviving that wasn’t easy.
Tibor said they’d send their best, but I hadn’t thought he meant battle-hardened veterans.
‘Are you my minder?’
‘You do what I say, when I say, at all times, or it’s back to the cells. I won’t hesitate to report you. Understand?’
I narrowed my eyes. However big he was, I was innocent.
‘You can’t boss her around like that,’ Shane said, his jaw clenched.
I looked to Julian.
He shook his head. ‘Later,’ he mouthed.
I pursed my lips. Fine. I’d rather get out of here than spend the next thirty minutes arguing anyway.
‘Can we go?’ Shane asked, his voice seething.
I nodded. ‘Can we?’
The wind waited, and the sun, and the moon. I wrapped my arms around my middle. Everything out there would feel new after so long without.
Peregrine nodded. ‘We’ll go out the back way, avoid the crowds.’
I clenched my hands. ‘No one thought to tell me about the back way before my hearing?’ When the crowd were throwing rocks at us.
He shrugged. ‘You’re welcome to lodge a complaint with the WMCF complaints board.’
I snorted. Fat lot of use that’d be, but… ‘At least you have a sense of humour.’
Julian peered out a window. ‘I’ll go out the front way, distract the media. But I’ll be in touch about our retrial strategy.’
I laughed, having no doubt I’d need him earlier than that. ‘I’ll keep you on speed dial.’
And as he walked away, I felt I should do something to thank him. He may have needed the Delvauxs’ help to spring me from my cell, but he was loyal, and his magical thinking played a big part in turning this trial around. He deserved a reward. Maybe a new waistcoat and briefcase.
‘You know, I’ll miss him,’ I said.
Shane nodded, his eyes fastened on Peregrine. ‘Me, too.’
* * *
We’d argued with Peregrine about the best time to arrive at the academy. He wanted to wait, make a quiet arrival, well outside normal hours. I didn’t want to fall asleep in the car. I hardly knew the guy, and most the WMCF officers I’d met weren’t the most upstanding people. Even with Shane offering to watch him, his hair-trigger presence worried me. What if he hurt Shane to get to me?
But Peregrine also ran on caffeine, and the last café before Cesvaine was open until midnight. So we waited there until it shut, Shane refusing to let me pay for anything. He even bought me a cookie, my first taste of chocolate since prison. I smirked, remembering his goofy grin. He’d been so happy to look after me.
When the café shut, we drove around until Peregrine deemed it a good time to pull into the academy.
I’d thought it’d look different, but the pointed towers, double-sized wooden doors, and the long, sweeping driveway hadn’t changed. Just me.
I opened my door.
Peregrine was already out and marching to the doors, the crunching gravel getting quieter and quieter.
Shane stayed glued to me. Like a bodyguard. Warm fuzzies took over my stomach. Having him and Mira at my side for my first steps on enemy territory was exactly what I needed.
The foyer was so dark it took a good few seconds for me to adjust.
No one was waiting for us, but we did get a welcome. Of sorts.
A banner hung from one end of the foyer to the other. Large, all-caps lettering spelled out: ‘Murderers aren’t welcome here’.
My heart squeezed. I shoved my hands in my pockets. They’d gone out, bought the banner, the paint, and worked together to hoist the sign to where I’d see it the moment I arrived.
But I refused to let them get the emotional reaction they wanted. It was a sign. I’d faced worse.
‘Bastards,’ Shane said.
Mira rushed from one end of the foyer to the other, peering into each exit, but didn’t find anyone to blame.
‘Shane?’ I held out my hand.
He took it and squeezed.
A waft of his body spray caught my nose, and I smiled. The students may not want me here, but Shane did. That was enough.
Peregrine beckoned for us from the stairs.
I bit my lip. That was twice he’d surprised me. Already. If he ever wanted to hurt me, I wouldn’t hear him coming.
‘You okay?’ Shane asked.
I nodded.
We followed Peregrine upstairs, then to my old room.
Shane stiffened, and then I saw it.
A skull painted on my door in black paint.
Russell’s threat came back to me, that I’d never get out. Was that why Eugene allowed me to come back to the academy? Were they planning my death?
Peregrine touched the skull. ‘Still tacky.’
‘Can you report it?’ If he didn’t, I would.
He frowned. ‘Of course. I’m not omitting a death threat from my report.’
The sheer confusion in his crooked eyebrows settled my nerves.
Until he opened my door with his braceletted wrist. That meant he could come and go from my room at will, kill me in my sleep.
I eyed him. ‘Do you really need that bracelet?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t have it.’
‘It’s completely unnecessary,’ Shane growled.
Peregrine shrugged.
‘Tell Julian,’ Shane muttered. ‘He needs to talk to him anyway.’
I nodded. I’d call him first thing. My guard needed a lesson in where his boundaries started and stopped.
Peregrine swept the room, checking inside the wardrobes and under each bed.
‘Do you think someone’s in here?’
He’d already shown he wasn’t planning on protecting me, so he must be searching for a conspirator or something. But as far as I knew, I had the room to myself. Kaylee had requested a room change. And after her cutting testimony, I was glad.
Peregrine pulled me into the room.
I shuddered. Unknown people touching me still freaked me out.
Shane yanked his hands off me, his eyes shooting fire. ‘You do not get to manhandle her.’
Peregrine put his hands up, feigning innocence, but my wrist still throbbed from his grip. I rubbed it behind my back. If Shane saw it hurt, he’d see red.
I looked around my room as a distraction. Someone had already dumped my stuff at the foot of my bed. I eyed the spare.
‘Where are you going now, Peregrine?’
‘Home. To bed.’
‘You’re not leaving Bee alone after a death threat!’ Shane snapped.
I bit my lip. Whether they were guarding me or the other students, that was irresponsible.
Peregrine sighed. ‘You won’t be alone. You have a night guard. I can’t watch you twenty-four seven.’
I blinked, my heartbeat still on overdrive. Right. I was being an idiot.
Shane only allowed him a tight nod. He wasn’t about to apologise. He had my corner with every breath and word. I shook my head, smiling. I’d never had someone so supportive behind me.
Peregrine stepped outside, taking his phone out his pocket. ‘Inzi? Yeah, we’re here. Some graffiti by the entrance and on her door. I’ll put it in my report. The room is clear. I don’t think anyone got in.’
Shane checked my wrist until he was satisfied Peregrine had done it no harm. Then he met my eyes, and the concern there slammed into me like a crashing wave.
‘Are you going to be okay tonight? I can stay, if you want?’
He eyed Peregrine’s back, then turned back to me. The meaning was clear: I’d have a bodyguard, all night long.
I bit my tongue. I should say no. If I let him stay tonight, I’d never want him to leave. The school wouldn’t let me get away with that kind of privilege. But it’d been so long since I’d touched him, since we had time completely to ourselves. No watchers, no judgement. The world already felt like it was falling away from us.
So I laced my hands through his and nodded.
He drew in a deep breath, and all the tension left him. He kissed my forehead, sending tingles to my toes.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll get my things and come right back.’
When he’d slipped out, I put the door on the latch to listen in to the rest of Peregrine’s conversation, but he’d already hung up, so I shut the door properly and looked through my phone.
Finn and Rhea were wondering why I’d gone radio silent with all the studying. And I had one message from an unknown number.
Bracing for insults, I opened it. ‘Call me – Shauna.’
She’d only sent the message an hour ago. The WMCF had put the phone on silent, so I must’ve missed it. I could wait until morning to call, but if she’d texted so late, she wouldn’t mind if I rang now. And I had to ken how much she’d influenced my sentence if I was going to win a retrial.