Sofia joins him, but at a distance to match her dislike of him. "All students are to congregate in their common rooms. Nobody leaves their respective houses until the authorities arrive."
Authorities? I attempt to catch Tobias's eye, but he refuses to look at me.
"Has anybody informed the other professors?" asks the security guy.
"Yes. Theodora is contacting Confederacy police. The students must remain in their houses. Nobody may leave the academy."
Shit. I rub a hand down my tired face. Andrei isn't responsible. He can't be. No way did he have time to silently kill a witch and return to his room before I joined him.
"Common room, now!" Sofia claps her hands together, her voice tinged with hysteria.
I hold a hand out to Jamie, who takes hold and struggles to his feet.
"Come with me," I whisper. "There’s something I need to tell you."
I drag my hungover friend to one side. "Does this ‘something’ explain why you’re still dressed in last night’s clothes."
"Partly. Listen. Amelia’s gone."
"Gone where?"
With a trembling hand, I pull my phone out and show him the message. He blinks and re-reads several times, the way I did, as if this would change the words.
"What the hell? Where is she?"
"This is about Matt. It has to be," I whisper.
"She can’t get to Matt. Nobody can get onto Ravenhold island unless they're staff or students."
I wave the phone at him. "What if she does something to get herself arrested and sent there?"
Jamie’s dark-ringed eyes fill with horror. "Oh, shit. No. She wouldn’t be that stupid."
"Haven’t you noticed how obsessed she’s been about him recently?" I ask. "How can Amelia say she’ll be okay?" My raised voice attracts attention from two girls nearby and I give a hesitant smile before lowering my voice again. "We need to tell someone. She can’t be far."
"Agreed." Jamie stands. "Theodora?"
"Shouldn’t we tell Sofia first?" I ask.
"Uh. She’s busy." He leans sideways against the wall. "Do you think Andrei is involved?"
"What?" I shout the word and draw more attention. "How can you ask that question?"
"Calm down," he urges. "I’m asking because it’s possible. The guy is a vampire with a history of violence who threatened her. If he wasn’t involved, he’ll need a watertight alibi."
I smooth the front of my dress and the ache from our night together grows from physical to emotional. I broke a school rule, went against everybody's advice and spent the night in Andrei's bed. This isn't something I planned on telling people about just yet, but Andrei’s life matters more to me than this.
"I was with him, Jamie. He didn't kill her."
"We were both with him, but not all night." I stare at the floor. "Or were you? Maeve? Omigod, don't tell me… you and him. You’re insane."
I moisten my dry lips. "That’s irrelevant right now. I need to speak to somebody. Tobias? He’s innocent."
Jamie places a hand on my arm. "All night? Every minute after we returned to the academy?"
I swore I’d never hide the truth again. Promised I wouldn't lie to my friends, but I can't tell Jamie that Andrei was alone for ten minutes. Not yet. I refuse to believe that Andrei went anywhere but straight to his room. But Jamie doesn't have the faith in Andrei that I do.
"Yes."
Chapter Forty-Four
MAEVE
The Walcott students are herded towards the common room like sheep, and I shuffle along squashed between Jamie and others. I’m several steps from the door when somebody takes my hand and pulls me to one side.
Tobias.
The man who told me he’d never touch me, with his face pale and filled with apprehension as he half-drags me along the hallway. I have a weird sense of déjà vu as he leads us into a study room and closes the door.
Without speaking, he holds both hands on my cheeks. I don't have a chance to pull up a barrier against him, and his mind invades mine, taking enough energy to stop me moving.
"Let me go!" I drag at his hands, but he’s already dropping them to step away. "How dare you push into my mind."
He moves back and sits on the edge of a desk in the small room and holds his hands against his temples. I wait for him to speak, confused by the situation.
"I intended to talk to you. There was no need to do that," I continue.
"I needed to see where you were last night. But I’m not sure I want to see any more than I did," he mutters. "Show me your neck."
I splutter a laugh. "Pardon?"
"Your neck. Did he take blood from you?"
Omigod. He saw me and Andrei. I jab a finger at my throat. "My neck isn’t covered up. Take a look."
Swearing beneath his breath, he stands again and turns to the window. Silent. Closing me out.
"What happened is a good thing for Andrei," I say.
"What? That you had sex with him? Yeah, I’m sure he thinks that too."
"I mean because he has an alibi. Me."
He spins around. "I am struggling to control Andrei and you are not helping."
"He makes his own decisions. So do I."
I flinch as he appears in front of me, breath shorter as he glares. "No. The boy is uncontrolled. Without my influence on his thoughts, he’d kill."
"You control Andrei?" I choke. "Does he know?"
"No. Not control. I’m not only watching him, I’m smoothing over his thoughts. Dampening down his needs. Andrei has immense value to the Dominion and if he does anything that breaks Confederacy laws, he’ll fall into their hands."
"Does he know?" I repeat.
"Yes. And putting direct temptation in his way is both unfair and unwise of you."
"Andrei didn't hurt me."
"This time."
I grit my teeth. "Maybe give me the Blackwood pendant to protect myself," I throw back. "Oh, wait. You gave that to Jamie."
He straightens. "How do you know?"
"Because he caused a scene in the club last night and the pendant deflected an assault on him. Now Andrei has it. Do you think he needs it?"
"I’m not discussing Jamie with you. That’s not important right now. Did Andrei kill the witch?"
"You too?" I choke out at his blunt question. "How can you ask that?"
Tobias leans closer. "Perhaps because you awakened Andrei’s desire for witch blood, and he couldn’t take from you, he went elsewhere."
"That’s ridiculous! We were together. All night." He stares at me long enough to fill me with dread. "What will happen to him?"
"I’m headed over to Petrescu once I’m finished with you. I can speak to the Confederacy but there’s panic in the academy. He won't be able to stay."
"Ravenhold?" I whisper.
"I will do what I can to prevent that."
Ravenhold. Another thought bounces into my mind. "Amelia. Did you help Amelia?" I gasp out. "She’s gone."
Tobias’s cheeks redden. "Gone where?"
"She texted me. I don't know where she is. I think she went to Ravenhold. Did you help her?" I half-shout. "She could be hurt. In the Dominion’s hands!"
"Maeve. You're getting hysterical. Calm down."
I shove him with both hands. "Did you?"
"No!" He grabs my hands. "You need to calm down, otherwise you’ll attract attention."
I choke out an indignant sound. "You dragged me in here."
"Because I could sense you were on the verge of losing control. How would that behaviour look to those investigating? Suspicious.”
"Then take my emotions away," I say, voice thick with tears. "Stop this."
Tobias cups my face in his hands and looks me in the eyes. "I will fix this. Everything happening here is connected. Ash and Vincent. Andrei and the witch’s death. Amelia and Matt. Jamie’s future. You can’t give up. We need to fight this, because I’m damn sure the academy is in danger. That’s why I gave Jamie the pendant. That’s why we need to work together
."
Harsh male voices in the hallway call at people to get into the common room. He swears and stands, staring at the door, deep in thought as he drags a hand across his mouth. "We have to leave."
"Yes. The guards will look for me. I’m not where I should be.”
"No. Leave the academy." The strain on his face shocks me. The composed guy who holds us together isn't the Tobias with me right now. "I’ll tell Theodora that I need to get you and Jamie out of here. Amelia is missing, Andrei’s about to be arrested, and fuck knows where Vincent took Ash." He inhales.
"Isn't Ash back?" I hold my hands over my face again. "Oh, god. No."
"Vincent and his group of Gilgamesh kids haven't returned."
"Where are they?"
"Nobody knows."
I sink to the floor. Ash is safe. He can look after himself. "Did Andrei tell you he thinks Vincent is something created by a necromancer?"
Tobias gives a sharp nod. "Yes. Andrei’s experience when he touched Vincent supports a theory I’ve had for some time. That man is not Vincent."
"Have you told Theodora your theory?" He nods. "And does she believe you?"
"No. She won’t listen. We can’t stay Maeve. Somebody is moving closer to their aim to divide you all, and if we stay here, I don't think it will be long before one of you dies."
I look up and clamp a hand over my mouth. He can't be serious. Is Ash in danger?
"And I need to leave," he whispers. "Your alibi will help Andrei, but Confederacy investigations will lead to me. I don't have an alibi, Maeve."
"Why would you need an alibi?" Tobias holds a palm against his face and shakes his head, and my stomach twists with fear at what he might say. "Your past. Ravenhold."
He nods, eyes pleading with me not to ask my next question.
"What did you do, Tobias? Why were you sent to Ravenhold?"
He pauses before he answers, but looks me straight in the eyes. “I killed a witch."
The room lurches and fear leaks into my body. "What? Who?"
"More than one." His voice is flat and emotionless.
I struggle to my feet. "What the hell are you doing at a school full of witches if you kill them?"
Tobias closes his eyes. "I’m not dangerous anymore, Maeve. There’s a block in my mind that stops me wanting to consume their energy. I no longer chase that high."
High.
"But you want my energy." My palms slick.
"No. I can’t look at you without seeing the faces of the witches I killed, Maeve. Without the guilt eating into me and reminding me how depraved I was. That’s why I push you away."
I can barely look at him, the trust I’d built for him shattering in this moment. Tobias’s horrific confession should terrify me, but I sense his guilt. His pain. The endless struggle he must face.
But that doesn't stop me wanting to run screaming from the room.
"Did you kill Lorna?"
"What?" He’s hoarse and shocked. "No. But Theodora knows what I did in the past. So do others. I’m not safe."
I squeeze my eyes closed, wanting to believe him, but my head is a tangled mess. "Do you think somebody is trying to frame you—or Andrei?"
He looks out of the small window which overlooks the drive towards the gates. "I don't know. But I hope you and Jamie understand why you need to leave. I’m begging with you to come with me. I promise you’re safer with me than if you remain at the academy."
"And Andrei?"
He looks over his shoulder at me. "Once I leave this room, I will locate Andrei and ensure he is not taken from the academy. He’s my responsibility and the guy is slipping closer to the edge."
The world crashes down on me, and I’m on the verge of crumbling to the floor again. Tobias catches my arm as I stumble towards a chair, and he helps me sit.
The tears surge as exhaustion and emotion rise to roll over me like a tsunami. I’m pulled under, gasping for breath through my sobs, as again my world is drowned in the chaos. I’m cursed and everybody who gets close to me at the academy suffers.
Tobias stares down at me in alarm as I slide from the chair and onto the floor, curling my knees tight against my chest and gripping my hair. Pulling. Reminding myself this is reality.
"Maeve." With my arms across my ears, his voice is muffled and my sense dulled.
My whole body shakes as I’m wracked by sobs and I lash out as Tobias attempts to help me sit back on the chair. "I hate this! Call me immature. Call me naive, but I can’t live this life."
"You don't have a choice, Maeve," he says. "You never had a choice. Nobody did."
I gulp in air, aware how childish and selfish I sounded. Like Andrei never had a choice. Jamie. Even Ash and Amelia. All our futures are out of our hands.
“Maeve.” I jerk as Tobias seizes my face again. “Listen to me. Last time we spoke, we planned to work on your magic. Strengthen you. Don’t let these events pull you backwards. Whoever is behind all this shit thrown our way thinks you’re weak. They don’t think you’ll handle what’s happening. Don’t prove them right.”
I stare back into his intense eyes and force myself not to picture a man who kills. “They can’t win,” I whisper.
Tobias nods curtly. “Correct. Are you prepared to let go of your fears and your past? To accept you can do something to help your friends—help us all?”
Am I? Can I? Since I arrived at the academy, I’ve been a boat on an ocean pulled by the tides and caught in the storm. Unable to navigate where I’m headed because I don’t know how to sail the boat.
I’ve looked to people for help, but haven’t made any progress. Am I looking to the right people?
“You believe I can make a difference?” I ask.
He smiles. “I know you can, Maeve. Own your magic. I will teach you what I can. If you trust me, we can beat this together. Not just me and you, but all of your friends too.”
I nod and drag myself to my feet. “You’re right,” I mumble. “Something is stopping me becoming what I need to be.”
The daylight shines through the window catching dust particles that dance in the air around us. Tobias looks at me with a mix of hesitancy and encouragement.
I rub a hand across my mouth and gulp back the hysteria that spilled out a few moments ago. Andrei’s words last night, about how powerful we are together, echo in my head. “They won’t hurt us. I am strong enough. I need to trust I can do this.” I fix Tobias with a harsh look. “Yes, I’ll come with you, but if I think you’re a danger, I’ll take you on too.”
“Understood.” Tobias smiles and his large palm cups my cheek and I recoil. Witch killer. He drops his hand.
Accepting what I am and stepping into the frightening shadows that hold my powers is the only way forward.
I’m Maeve Foster, a future-sighted witch who can control minds. Whoever thinks I’ll crumble doesn’t know the life I’ve led.
I won’t be the one destroyed.
I’m about to put my life in the hands of a man who murdered witches. If that’s what it takes to become stronger, that’s something I’ll risk.
“When do we leave?” I ask Tobias.
To Be Continued
Nightworld Academy: Term Four is now available
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Ravenhold Supernatural Reform Academy
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OTHER BOOKS BY LJ SWALLOW
Nightworld Academy
YA/NA Revers
e Harem Paranormal series
Term One
Term Two
Term Three
Term Four
Term Five
Term Six coming soon
The Four Horsemen Series
Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy
COMPLETE series
Available as two box sets
The Four Horsemen: Books 1 - 3
The Four Horsemen: Books 4 - 7
Or Individual Books
Legacy
Bound
Hunted
Guardians
Chaos
Descent
Reckoning
Companion books
Sinister and Tricked (Halloween Special)
Bright (The Christmas after Reckoning)
The Demon’s Covenant Series
Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy
Held by Magic
Elements of Magic
Coming Soon
Shades of Magic
Daughter of Shadow series
Reverse Harem Fantasy romance
Dragon Soul
Silvercrest Guardians
Ebon Queen (coming soon)
www.ljswallow.com
LJ Swallow is the pen name for USA Today bestselling author Lisa Swallow… if you like contemporary romance then read on!
Books by Lisa Swallow
Do you like contemporary romance? I write those too!
What would you prefer to read?
British rock star romance?
Try broody Dylan…
Summer Sky
Or bad boy Jax…
Cadence
College romance at an English university?
Because of Lucy
Nightworld Academy Box Set 1 Page 67