by Kant, Komal
“Good morning, students, and welcome to your very first mid-term exam, Supernatural History. I hope you have all studied your hardest and will try your very best. There are fifty questions that you have two hours to complete. There is to be no speaking or use of phones, technology, or powers during the exam.”
She looked out at all of us and continued. “Do not try to cheat because we will catch you. You may leave once the two hours are up and your paper has been collected. If you need assistance, raise your hand until you are attended to. Now, I wish you all the best of luck. You may begin.”
“Good luck,” Talon whispered.
Acting like I hadn’t heard him, I opened up my questions booklet and flipped through it, trying to get an idea of what was to come. My heart sank. Unfamiliar names popped up, asking me for dates that I had no clue about. Nothing was jumping out at me until I got to page 5.
My mouth went dry as I read the question, and then re-read it.
Question 33: In the 18th century B.C, legislation was passed in Parlum regarding interracial relations. What were the specifics of this new law? (Answer in two pages or less)
An image of Tyrone and Veritas, with their arms wrapped around each other, entered my head. It stayed frozen there, like someone had put it on pause and the batteries of the remote had run out so I couldn’t move forward.
Tyrone and Veritas. Veritas and Tyrone. Veritas. Tyrone. The legislation forbade angels and demons from being together because they were from opposite races. Their powers, their morals, and their backgrounds were too opposing. The punishment for breaking this law was death.
Yet Veritas, a SRECON agent who was so strict about protocol, was breaking a law, and not just any law. This law could sentence both her and Tyrone to death. Playful, carefree Tyrone; one of the coolest people I knew. How could I let something like that happen to him?
Without realizing it, I had written Veritas and Tyrone down as the answer. I blanched, quickly scribbling the words out with my pen, thankful that no one had noticed.
I looked up and froze. Somewhere in the midst of my internal conflict, Veritas had entered the hall, and was now staring right at me with fire in her eyes.
Shit. I was wrong. Very wrong. Someone had heard me.
I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that Veritas had read my thoughts.
* * *
“Pens down, please,” Elba said.
Loud groans and rustling papers echoed around the hall.
“I said pens down, Mr. Woodcroft.”
From somewhere behind me, Nate’s friends laughed at him for getting caught out.
I was too stressed to care, and waited impatiently for my paper to be collected. There was no way that I had passed the exam. I had skipped so many questions and written so many short answers that I was quite positive I had failed. Maybe I should’ve studied more.
My stomach turned as I realized Veritas was collecting the papers in my row. She wasn’t looking at me, but we both knew the reason she was in this row. She wanted to talk to me.
Crap.
I tried to assume the picture of innocence as she reached my table and gave me a tight smile, pausing as she leaned over to collect my exam.
“Take this,” she said, sliding a key onto my desk. I quickly covered it with my hand. “My room is 218 in the staff quarters. Go there immediately and wait for me. Make sure you’re alone.”
Veritas moved on, bringing Talon into my direct view, as I slipped the key into my pocket, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
Talon’s eyes followed Veritas as she walked away. “She’s something else, huh?”
“What?” I asked too quickly. Talking about Veritas was making me paranoid.
“The angel.” Talon nodded his head in the direction Veritas had gone. “All the guys have a thing for her. Too bad she’s not a demon.”
I gave a false laugh. “Yeah, too bad,” I echoed, hoping I sounded convincing instead of terrified.
“So, how’d you do?”
“Pretty bad, you?” I was freaking out so much that I was forgetting to stay mad at Talon.
“The economic downfall killed me. I couldn’t remember what year it happened.”
“Yeah, I know.” Actually, I didn’t know. I couldn’t even remember coming across that question.
“By the way, I meant what I said the other day,” Talon said softly, staring down at his desk. “I’m going to do what I should’ve done since the beginning.”
“Huh?” I said, noticing that Tyrone was also in the hall and that his eyes were fixed on me.
Damn it. Judging from the way he was looking at me, it was clear that Veritas had told him what she’d heard in my thoughts.
Was it illegal if you knew about a demon and an angel who were engaged in an inappropriate relationship? Was this something else I could also be imprisoned for?
“I’m going to talk to the headmaster today,” Talon explained.
“What?” I stared at him. I’d almost forgotten he was there. “Why?”
It looked like he was going to say something, but before he could continue, he was interrupted by Professor Elba. “You may leave in an orderly fashion. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I was the first to jump out of my seat and run out the door. It sounded like Talon had something important to say, but there was too much going on right now for me to really listen.
Ducking into the nearest corridor, I didn’t stop to look back just in case Anna or Misha caught sight of me. I hated avoiding them like this and keeping Veritas and Tyrone’s secret from them, but I had to speak to Veritas before I did anything irrational.
Voices erupted in the hallway behind me. Luckily, I had just missed the crowd coming out of the hall. Taking a right, I put myself back in the direction of the staff quarters. They were located near the main courtyard, sort of central to the student dorms.
I didn’t meet anyone on my way there, probably because the rest of the school was in second period, and my grade was now relaxing or studying for their next exam. That’s probably what I should’ve been doing too. I couldn’t afford to fail another exam.
Once I reached the staff quarters, I slowed down, trying to figure out where room 218 was. 215. 216. 217. I stopped. There was 218. Taking the key out of my pocket, I unlocked the door and slipped inside.
Veritas’ room was simple and bare, just like I had imagined it to be. She had the standard bed, wardrobe, and basic amenities that the school had provided, but hadn’t added many personal touches of her own. There were a few pictures on the bedside table, so I walked over and studied them out of curiosity.
The first picture was of her and who I assumed was her family. The second one was of her with Loire and Tyrone—they each had cheesy grins plastered across their faces. I’d never seen Veritas smile before.
The final photo was of a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who looked like she was in her early teens. She’d also been in the family picture and resembled Veritas so much that I was pretty sure it was her sister.
Looking at the images, I couldn’t help but picture Veritas with actual emotions and feelings, as hard as she tried to hide them. There must be some part of her that was vulnerable, human even.
“My sister, Lysantha,” Veritas said softly from behind me.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I’d been so entranced by the photos that I hadn’t even heard her come in. Or maybe she was just very stealthy.
She wasn’t alone. Tyrone was with her.
“How did you get in here?” I asked, startled.
“You didn’t lock the door,” Tyrone said. “That’s a basic skill you learn when you’re four.”
He was right—I had forgotten to lock the door, but hadn’t really seen any reason to do so. I guess they were both used to taking extra precautions whenever Tyrone came over for a romantic interlude.
Veritas’ face went red and I realized that, once again, I had been thinking carelessly and she’d heard my thoughts as clearly as if they
’d come out of my mouth.
“It must get annoying being able to do that all the time,” I commented.
She shrugged, almost seeming shy. It hit me that I didn’t know much about her. I knew her the least out of her Triad. In fact, I had disregarded her simply for her stiff and withdrawn personality without considering that there might be more to her than her composed front let on. Hell, I was always being judged by everyone else that I should have known better.
“You get used to it,” she said after a while.
An awkward silence filled the air, and I decided that maybe the easiest way to get all this out was by a gentle prompting with my thoughts.
“Is there a reason why you wanted me to meet you here?” I asked mentally.
She paused and then, with a thrill, she was inside my head. Literally, she planted a thought into my head. “I think we both know what that reason is.”
“Wow! How did you do that?”
“With practice. It’s a progression of telepathy. I’m a Level 4, the youngest of my age.” Her face revealed that she was proud of this achievement.
“That’s insane! I wish I had power like that.”
“Power is a funny thing. You want what you don’t have.”
I tilted my head in thought. She sounded so wise—I’d never known how insightful she was, but I guess it came with the territory. Plus, I’d never really given her a chance.
“I guess you’re right,” I mused. “Are you always reading my mind?”
“No, of course not. Sometimes thoughts are projected louder if you are thinking of me, like you were today. It comes up like a red flag in my mind.”
I hesitated. I didn’t know how much I could ask before Veritas directed the conversation back to what I had seen last night. I wasn’t trying to stall her; I was more curious about how her telepathy worked.
“What’s it like? Being in someone’s head, I mean.”
She glanced over at Tyrone, who was watching us curiously, before speaking out loud—I guess she didn’t want Tyrone to feel left out of the conversation.
“Sometimes it’s exhausting, especially if the person doesn’t want me in their head. Other times, it’s harder to let go.”
“Let go?” I wondered.
Tyrone came up behind Veritas and placed an arm around her small shoulders. She glanced up at him gratefully before continuing. It was so weird seeing them together like this, not just because of the law, but also because they had such different personalities. I guess opposites really did attract.
“Sometimes you get so absorbed by someone’s mind that it’s hard to get out. You become lost, entrenched, like you might not escape, and sometimes you don’t want to.”
My eyes grew wide. It sounded like she was speaking from experience. “That sounds difficult.”
“It is,” she agreed with a nod. “But not as difficult as what you saw this morning.”
I felt embarrassed that I had walked in on such an intimate moment between them. I wished that I had never seen them together, or that I could forget what I’d seen.
“You try and have a tender moment with the person you love, but of course Katerina Lyrille ruins it,” Tyrone said, finally speaking.
His tone was light, but his expression was serious.
“You’re in love?” I asked, hardly believing it.
Considering all the times Tyrone had given Veritas attitude or complained about her, it was difficult to wrap my head around this one.
“You complain about me?” Veritas glared at him.
“In a loving way,” Tyrone said with a charming smile.
“To answer your question,” Veritas said, turning her attention back to me. “Yes, we’re in love. We have been for a long time.”
“What about the legislation?” I asked, as an unsettling feeling curled itself around the pit of my stomach.
“Fuck the legislation!” Tyrone growled, looking like he wanted to punch something.
Veritas shot him a look of disapproval, but I think it was more to do with his language rather than his views. “I know our world says it’s wrong, but how can loving someone be a bad thing?”
She was right. There was nothing wrong with their love—there was something wrong with our world when two people couldn’t be together because of who they were.
“Does Loire know?” I asked.
They both nodded in unison.
Now Loire’s actions made sense to me. This was why he’d wanted the Mortal Blade, why he wanted a change; the two people he was the closest to were forbidden to be together.
“Kat, you don’t owe us anything,” Tyrone said, “but if anyone finds out about us-”
“They’ll execute you,” I finished.
“I understand if you can’t keep this a secret for us. You could get into a lot of trouble for hiding this from Parlum.” There was a determined look in Veritas’ eyes, like she had been preparing herself for the worst. “I’m ready to face the consequences.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” I said suddenly. A part of me had already decided this a while ago. If I was going to tell anyone, I would have done it already.
“Do you really mean that?” Veritas seemed surprised. “You would do that for us?”
“I mean it.” I gave her a sad smile. “I’ve been with a demon, too. If I can be with one then I don’t see why you can’t. You should have the same rights that I do.”
“Yes, but humans and demons, humans and angels, although it’s discouraged, it’s not illegal. I don’t know why it’s like that, but I wish it wasn’t.” Her voice shook and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Tyrone pulled her into a hug and planted a kiss on her head. “It’s okay; we’re gonna figure this out.”
I walked over to them as they broke apart, and reached out for Veritas’ hand. She blinked away the tears from her azure eyes. “I promise you, Very Tassels, I won’t tell a soul.”
She cracked a smile at that. “Katerina, you have no idea what you’re doing for us. We are indebted to you. Forever.”
“Just don’t ask for our first born child,” Tyrone said, ruffling my hair, “because that’s just creepy as hell.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The first week of exams nearly killed me.
I spent so much time cramming in last minute study sessions in the library with Anna and Misha that I didn’t get a chance to even begin to figure out how to use the Mortal Blade to find out who Melkane’s killer was.
I hadn’t breathed a word about Tyrone and Veritas to my friends. I was waiting to be completely alone with Loire so I could at least talk to him about it openly, but so far that hadn’t happened yet.
I was currently studying for my Tactics class and revising different ways I could use my abilities to beat demons in a fight. I’d already figured out fire, electric, and metal and was now onto earth. Which immediately took me back to my and Misha’s confrontation with Cedee. Misha knew her elements—she just wasn’t great at playing Nancy Drew.
“Good evening, ladies.”
The library was so silent that the voice startled me. Misha, who’d been falling asleep, bolted upright in her seat. We all stared in surprise at the headmaster.
“Hey, Uncle Troy,” Misha said, relaxing at the sight of him. “What’s up?”
As Delware approached our table, the Mortal Blade grew warm against my leg. “What’s up is that I have some news for Katerina. News that will probably make her day.”
Anna closed the book she had been reading and leaned forward with interest. It was extremely rare that the headmaster would go out of his way to track someone down, so whatever he had to say was probably a big deal.
“Spill already,” Misha prompted, tilting her chair back. “We need some good news.”
“Your friend, Talon Kinsley, came to see me a few days ago.” He paused, waiting for my reaction.
I was trying to follow along with the conversation, but the blade was growing so hot against my leg that it was hard to concentrate.
Why was it doing that all of a sudden?
“He’s not her friend,” Misha said immediately, narrowing her eyes. “He’s a stupid, moronic, lying scumbag who deserves to-”
“That stupid, moronic, lying scumbag,” Delware continued, “wrote a statement that said Katerina was with him the night of Headmistress Melkane’s death.”
“No shit.” Misha’s jaw dropped.
“No shit,” Delware repeated, his lips twitching with a smile. “He even had a picture of him with Kat that he took the night of Headmistress Melkane’s death. It was easy enough to have the time stamp of the image checked.”
“He really did that?” I asked, finally finding my voice.
So that’s what he’d been trying to tell me after the Supernatural History exam. He had said he was going to fix things and he’d actually done it.
The heat from the Mortal Blade slammed against my leg, and it took all of my self-control not to scream out in pain. I shifted restlessly in my seat, trying to distribute the heat from the blade.
Anna shot me a questioning look, clearly noticing my discomfort, and I wished she was telepathic so I could tell her what was going on.
“Yes, he really did,” Delware said, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “I sent the evidence to Parlum right away to be reviewed, but thought it was best to notify you when they responded. They contacted me today.”
“What did they say?” I asked, realizing that I’d been holding my breath the entire time. I had to breathe through the scorching heat—I couldn’t give anything away while Delware was still here.
“The charges have been dropped.” Delware’s face broke out into a grin. “You are no longer a suspect. Considering Talon is from the distinguished Kinsley family, his testimony was highly credible.”
Wow. That’s all it had taken—a testimony from a demon. If only he’d done that, oh, three months ago. It might have been too little too late, but I’d send him a message later to thank him anyway.
Now, I just needed Delware to leave so I didn’t get a second degree burn on my leg.
“That’s, uh, great!” I was excited, but my excitement sounded so forced right now.
Delware shot me a strange look. “Are you okay, Katerina? You don’t look well.”