More glass. And then Dom’s face appears on my other side beside Stefan, his eyes sweeping over me, over Stefano. He stills. “Dante!”
There are hands on me from the other side, and I struggle against Luc as he drags me out. There are tears on my face as he grips my cheeks, turns my head back and forth. “Are you hurt?”
“Stefan—,”
“They’re getting him.” He’s pale. “Merda, Cat, when I saw the car flip—,”
“I’m okay,” I say through numb lips. But I’m not.
He has to wake up.
I pull out of Luc’s arms, darting around the car. They’re lifting him out, and I step back to give them space. Dom presses his fingers against Stefan’s neck. “He’s breathing, Cat.”
My knees couldn’t hold me up if I tried. I crash down beside him, leaning over to check for myself as the buzzing in my head begins to recede. “Just knocked out?”
Dom nods. “Looks that way. What about you?”
I glance down, making a brief assessment before dismissing the light cuts. “I’m fine.”
“For the record, this wasnotone of your better plans.”
Beneath my hands, Stefan coughs. His eyes open slowly, pupils wide as he starts to struggle. Dom pushes him back down. “Steady. Take a minute.”
His eyes dart around before they land on me. “You hurt?”
My mouth feels dry as I shake my head. Luc’s hand lands on my shoulder. “Your phone is ringing.”
I glance down at Vincent’s name, my voice hoarse as I pick up. “Yeah.”
Frowning, I try to hear him over the noise in the background. “What?”
My entire body goes cold. “We’re coming.”
Dom is pulling Stefan to his feet, helping him find his balance. “What’s happened?”
But it’s Luc that I turn to. “We need to get to campus,now.”
26 – Domenico
Istare out of the window as we pass through the campus gates.
Home.
Months, since I was last here. And I expect to feel out of place, as if everyone here carried on as normal while we were going through hell. As if I no longer fit here at all.
Instead, it looks… neglected.
The shrubbery, the neat bushes and trees that normal line the road in immaculately maintained lines is overgrown and browning, branches brushing against the car as we pass. I don’t see a single person, not a single sign of life anywhere as Gio pulls into the parking lot.
But a heaviness lingers in the air. As if we’re entering a ghost town.
My hand slips down to check my gun as Cat does the same, perched on my lap. I can tell she feels it too, her brown eyes lost in thought and grief as she wipes over her daggers again.
This is not the same place we left. That much is clear as the doors slam behind us and we make our way down the path, toward the Courtyard.
Cat throws her shoulders back and strides ahead, Luc beside her, his jaw tight with anger. Gio and Dante fall into place on either side of them, a half-step behind.
The message sent is not for them. But they’re a sight nonetheless, the four of them striding onto campus together after months of separation.
