Academy of Beasts XXXI Read online

  Ren gazed at me for a moment with a frown. “What were you thinking, little fool? Sneaking off campus without one of us knowing. We’re supposed to be a team. We watch each other’s backs.”

  Looking skyward, I sighed. “I was desperate, and I knew that if I brought the idea to any of you, you’d shut me down immediately.”

  “Yes, because we all know that taking hikes in a forest called the Death Forest isn’t a good idea.”

  I pursed my lips. “That name is rather telling, isn’t it?”

  He scowled, probably the most severe I’d ever seen to date. “Little fool,” he repeated.

  Huffing my indignation, I crossed my arms. “You know, if it was one you guys that had snuck off to the Death Forest without a word, there wouldn’t be this much backlash. But just because I’m a girl―”

  “Yes,” he hissed. “It’s because you’re a girl, more specifically our girl. We have every right to be upset.”

  Indignation seeping away, I studied my fingernails. “I know. I love it that I have you guys to care about me. I feel lucky, considering that I have no one else outside these walls. It’s nice to have someone, let alone five someones who lecture me on my safety.” My lower lips quivered, and I sniffed. “My parents… my adoptive parents were always concerned about me too.”

  Ren groaned. “Don’t cry, Fiona. I don’t do well with tears.”

  I laughed. “You don’t do well with emotions in general, lone wolf.”

  “Which is why you wasted your time coming to check on me. I know you came to see if I wanted to talk. I don’t. I have absolutely nothing to whine about.”

  I rolled my eyes. Men. He was going through the wringer emotionally, I could feel it. But Ren being Ren would stoically maintain his composure. How I wished I could do the same. “Fine, tough guy.” I scooted closer to rest my head on his shoulder. “Since I’m not doing too great, I’ll just soak up your company.” I sent him a wave of warmth and comfort, and the tension seeped from his body. If he realized that I’d used my calm powers on him, he didn’t say a word, he just draped an arm around my shoulders. We were quiet for so long, my eyelids drooped. The lack of sleep was catching up, and it was awfully comforting in Ren’s arms.

  “You didn’t just go to see the witches because of your dream, did you?” I tensed, and he glanced down with a knowing look. “Did you even have a vision or was that a complete lie?”

  Gazing into eyes that I felt were seeing right through me, I sighed and pushed away. I already missed the relaxing position. “It wasn’t a total lie. I did have a vision. One I didn’t understand and was convinced meant nothing.”

  “You went to see the witches because of Demetrius, I take it?”

  Hanging my head, I nodded. “I wish you didn’t know about that.”

  “You know I won’t say a word.”

  “I know. It’s just that I feel terrible that you’re keeping the secret from everyone because of me. So, I wish you didn’t know.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Easier said than done,” I snorted. “I worry about it and so much more. Now I have to worry about Dante jumping out at me from around the corner too.” Shoving my fingers through my hair, I groaned. “I’m a wreck. I have been for days.”

  Ren’s expression softened. “Of course you are. I know it’s the secret you’re keeping from Dracus that’s taking more of a toll. You weren’t built for lying.”

  “How do you know?”

  He grunted. “It’s obvious that it’s killing you to lie to Dracus, to all of us... well, the others since I’m in on your little secret.”

  “Which isn’t so little.” I gazed at him, guilt-ridden all over again. “You don’t know all my secrets.” I still refused to mention Leia. I didn’t want him or the others knowing I was communicating with a ghost. I was enough of a weirdo already, in my opinion.

  “Do you intend to tell me what else you’re hiding?”

  “Not today?”

  His eyes narrowed. I thought he’d push, but surprisingly he blew out a breath and turned back to look out the window. “Is it a life-threatening secret? Because if it is, you need to tell me, and everyone else. I mean it, Fiona.”

  “It isn’t life threatening.” At least, I didn’t think so. Who knew what my dreams about my old home in the human world and seeing my adoptive mother and Leia meant. They didn’t seem dangerous, just frustratingly confusing. For the life of me, I still couldn’t figure out what dream Mom and dream Leia meant about finding out the truth.

  Ren’s eyes practically bore into me as if he was searching for the truth. “Okay,” he accepted, “I’m here when you’re ready to share then.”

  My heart turned over. I almost blurted out that I loved him. Who wouldn’t fall for him after getting to see the person beneath the stoney mask? “Thanks, Ren, that means a lot. You can talk to me too.”

  “I know.”

  “But you have nothing to say? Still?”

  He fell silent and proceeded to brood. I took that to mean he’d maybe want to talk some other time. I understood, not everyone felt comfortable spilling their feelings when wounds were so fresh. Ren’s family was taken away from him years ago but I imagine hearing about Dante running free again scratched at the barely healed wounds and had them bleeding again. I snuggled closer once again to at least offer comfort with physical contact. Soon my eyes fluttered closed, and I drifted off into a much-needed sleep.

  Chapter 4

  My eyes fluttered open, and I frowned.

  “Ren? Where did you go?” I didn’t feel him beside me. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn’t in his room, snuggled up with him as we waited for word from the Officials. I was still seated on the sofa, but he was gone and the room looked different. It was gray and drab and cold. One minute I was engulfed in warmth, the next, I was freezing. Shivering, I stood up and looked around.

  “Crap. This is most definitely not Ren’s room.”

  I sighed, quickly realizing that I was probably caught up in another vision. I didn’t really freak out when I found myself in strange places anymore. It was all a part of the process I’d gotten accustomed to. I’d see whatever I had to see and then wake up. No big deal. Hopefully, this wasn’t a mini horror flick that had me waking up washed in a cold sweat.

  Calmly, I rose and walked to the window. Instead of the view of the campus from Ren’s bedroom window, I was looking down at a severely damaged room. The place looked to have been destroyed by fire. It looked so familiar. Blinking and squinting into the fog of still rising smoke, I gasped. It was familiar because it was my home. I was back in my parents’ house, staring at the remains once again. Why did I keep coming back here? I hated returning there. Seeing the charred remains of my once beloved home was always hard.

  Memories were stirred up. I was reminded of what I’d lost. I always felt an ache in my chest revisiting the night that my parents were killed. It was so frustrating too. I could never fully see what happened. It was like no matter how much I tried to remember, there was this mind block. Maybe because I didn’t want to remember. Maybe I’d witness something so terrible, my subconscious had kicked in to protect me from the memory.

  I sighed and massaged my forehead. A headache was already emerging. “Here we go again,” I grumbled. I supposed I should make an effort to get used to the physical effects of my visions too. A few more seconds in my dream state, however, I started to get the feeling that I was really here. This one felt different from the others. Strangely, it felt as if I was physically present at that moment. As if it wasn’t just my mind caught up in a dream.

  “Weird,” I mumbled as I took another step forward. My foot lingered over air and I gasped and pulled it back. Wide-eyed, I stared down at the first floor into the living room―well, what was once the living room. It was nothing but a charred mess now.

  “It’s time for you to see, Fiona.”

  The soft whisper had me spinning around. “Who’s there? Leia, is that you?” It coul
d be Mom too. I’d had this dream before... sort of. This part, me standing on the second floor, was familiar. Yes, I’d definitely been right here before. I hadn’t even thought of that dream in weeks. Yet, here I was again at this exact spot. This must mean something.

  The voice said it’s time for me to see. See what? Frankly, I thought I’d seen enough. It really sucked having to see my destroyed home over and over. It was torture.

  “I don’t want to see anymore,” I whined to the disembodied voice. “Seeing what little I have seen really messes with my mental health. So, stop bringing me back here.”

  I didn’t know why I said that. As if I was sure I’d been brought here by someone... something, and it wasn’t just a vision. “Do you hear me? I’d appreciate it if you stopped bringing me here. I don’t want to see.”

  “You have to.”

  I huffed. “Why?” What else was there to see? I already knew the slayers killed my parents. What? Was I supposed to witness exactly how? Was that why I kept having this vision? If that was the case, whoever wanted me to see that was a very sick soul indeed. No kid should see the murder of their parents, for crying out loud.

  “I don’t want to see!” I closed my eyes and shouted, on the verge of hysteria.

  Silence.

  I opened my eyes just in time to see someone rush towards me. Or maybe it wasn’t someone per se. All I could glimpse was a flash of white and a hand. So, maybe it wasn’t even human. The hand landed on my chest, shoving me to the lower floor just like the first time when I had the similar dream. Like before, my terrified scream pierced the air as I rushed to meet the floor.

  “Fiona!” A female voice gasped.

  I didn’t hit the floor as hard as I expected. In fact, not at all. I stopped mid-air and gently floated downward.

  “Nothing can happen to you here,” the voice said again. This time it was close, and I knew it was Leia.

  Nothing could happen to me here? Did she mean in my vision?

  “Fiona!” Leia’s voice deepened, and I frowned. She suddenly sounded an awful lot like Ren.

  “Fiona, where the hell are you?”

  My eyes snapped open and I immediately found Ren’s face. He was a little pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Hell, maybe he did. Maybe Leia showed herself to him. But why would she do that? “What do you mean, silly? I’m right here.” I frowned. I was stretched on the sofa and he kneeled on the floor, hovering over me. Last I remembered, he was sitting beside me and was leaned against him... quite comfortably.

  “What are you doing down there?” I asked.

  He gawked at me. His stunned expression was a little comical.

  I blinked. “Ren, why are looking at me like something that just landed?”

  “Because you did.”

  My smile dropped. “What?”

  “I mean, not exactly, but it was just as freaky.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. Every trace of amusement I felt vanished because there was no mistaking the abject terror on his face. “Ren, what do you mean?”

  “Fiona, you were gone, and then you... reappeared.” I scrambled to sit up and pushed at my shoulders. “No, don’t get up. There could be something seriously wrong here.”

  Batting at his hand, I reassured, “I’m fine. I’m just confused. What do you mean I was gone?”

  “You disappeared. One minute you were right here in my arms then you... faded away.”

  I gulped. “Like abracadabra disappeared?”

  “What the fuck does that even mean?” he growled.

  His agitation was obvious, and it was making me edgy. The last thing I needed was for more freaky shit to happen to me. I couldn’t take it anymore. Not now, when I had so many other things to worry about. My lower lip quivered. “Why are you angry with me? I don’t even know what happened. All I know is that I was sleeping and dreaming…”

  Ren blew out a breath. “Fiona, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take that tone. It’s just... I was scared.”

  I blinked away my tears. They weren’t a result of his angry tone. They were really from my own fear. He said something happened to me and I didn’t know what. “You’re never afraid,” I said in a small voice. So, that means whatever happened is serious.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” he breathed. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know, I swear.”

  Seemingly finding his composure after several deep breaths, he stood up. “It’s okay. You’ll be fine. We’re going to find those damn witches and demand to know what they did to you.”

  My jaw dropped. Gazing up at him, I shook my head. “You don’t really think they did something to me?”

  “Of course, they did. This has to be their doing. People just don’t fade away and come back, Fiona.” He snarled. “If they don’t fix you, I’ll kill them all, I swear.”

  That wasn’t Ren talking. It was the deep distinct voice of his wolf taking over because he was afraid and severely pissed. Standing, I rested a hand on his arm and projected a wave of calm. “They didn’t do anything to me, Ren.”

  His glowing golden irises returned to their normal cool blue. “How can you be sure?”

  “I just am. They wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. It’s weird when I was in their presence, I felt connected to them somehow. Safe.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know. This happened right after you paid them a visit. That’s pretty suspicious.”

  Dropping back to the sofa, I let out a long sigh. “I don’t need this right now.”

  Ren sat beside me. “You said you were dreaming?”

  “Yeah, just my regular vision.” I sat upright. “Only, this one felt a little different. It felt like I was really there. My body. I don’t know how to explain it. Then you tell me I disappeared. Gods, what if I was physically in my vision?”

  Ren’s shocked and confused expression illustrated how I felt.

  “Holy hell on toast, Ren, I think I was actually there.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  “We have to tell the others.”

  “No!”

  “Fiona, I’ve kept my mouth shut about your other secrets but you can’t ask me to hide this. Not when it’s something so dangerous to you. What if you didn’t come back?”

  Nothing can happen to you here. Leia’s words echoed in my mind. I gulped. “Look, Ren, I’m worried too, but we have Dante to worry about. The Core Council doesn’t need this distraction.”

  “Protecting you isn’t a distraction,” he bit out.

  “Okay, how about we say something after we deal with the Dante situation?”

  “No.”

  “Ren.” I grabbed after his arm as he strolled to the door. “Please.”

  “You’ll have to be mad at me for however long,” he said. “I’d rather have you mad at me than dead or stuck in some goddamn dream world.”

  He flung the door open and just as I was about to plead with him again, we saw Jasper standing in the doorway. He took in Ren’s scowl and my desperate expression. He lifted a brow. “Lover’s quarrel?”

  “No,” Ren and I chorused.

  Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “We’re meeting with the Officials in five.”

  Chapter 5

  My foot tapped out a rapid rhythm on the floor of the underground chamber. We all waited for The Officials. Tension rose in the air, but it was mostly between Ren and me. Jasper kept eyeing us curiously. I wondered if he’d heard anything when he came to tell us about the meeting.

  “Ren, not that you're usually a ray of sunshine, but what’s eating at you, man?” Theo asked.

  “Yeah, you’re grimmer than usual,” Enrique piped in. “I didn't think that was even possible.”

  Dracus said nothing. He just stared at me as if he knew whatever was wrong with Ren had something to do with me. I averted my gaze and plucked imaginary lint from my slacks.

  “So, did you tell The Officials why we requested a meeting?” I asked, hoping
to draw attention away from myself and Ren.

  “No,” Dracus answered.

  Jasper’s brows dipped. “Really? They just agreed to come at your request? I know you’re royalty and all, Dracus, but those guys cater to no one.”

  “They will to me.”

  If they know what’s good for them.

  My head snapped in Dracus’s direction. God’s, I was really losing it. I thought I heard his voice utter those last words, but he didn’t say it out loud. I must have imagined it. Shaking my head, I rubbed my eyes. There was no way I was hearing others' thoughts. That was just… next level weird, even for me. Weirder than dream hopping? I stifled a groan. Why did I have to give what Ren claimed happened to me a name? Dream hopping. For the love of the gods.

  “Why is that, Dracus? What makes you so special to those robed assholes?’ Enrique peered at Dracus with suspicion.

  “What does it matter? I asked them to come, and they agreed.”

  “I think, for once I agree with Enrique.” Theo sat taller in his chair. “I’d like to know why they'd come at your request just like that.”

  “I told them it was urgent.”

  “Still, usually it’s almost impossible seeing them when we want. They come when they see the need.”

  “Perhaps they saw the need.” Dracus’s word emerged low, menacing even as if he was getting annoyed with being questioned.

  “And you didn’t mention Dante at all?” Enrique asked. “Because that’s the only reason I see them agreeing to meet with us. But if you didn’t mention him, then you must have some pretty big pull with those guys.”

  “They owe me a few favors. Let’s leave it at that.”

  The room went quiet. We all gazed at Dracus with growing curiosity... or should I say suspicion. Favors? Now, what could Dracus possibly have done for The Officials for them to owe him? Eyes flat and cold, Dracus’s eyes swiveled around the room, landing on each face, daring us to question him further. He was always in command, but never had I seen him this cold. The tense atmosphere only worsened with the surge of power signaling the arrival of The Officials. I shrunk back, physically and mentally, hoping that the mixture of energy in the room didn’t set me off. I guess the guys were too distracted by Dracus’s revelation to remember that I channeled their emotions. They were all angry and suspicious. I was a little suspicious too. Dracus’s shady comment about The Officials wouldn’t go unchecked.