“Yeah, yeah,” he answers.
Wanker.
I strip, pulling on some sweatpants before dropping onto the bed, not bothering with a shower, and close my eyes.
At least let me fucking sleep tonight,I say to no one in particular, but those faces will return, like they do every damn night…
I wake suddenly.Something in the air feels off. My heart begins racing when I realise it’s the same darkness I felt on the night Ares was killed.
I get out of bed, the worst coming to mind. Cage is snoring in the other bed, and I activate my powers, letting the mist curl around me as I silently but swiftly leave my room. Pink’s sitting there, reading, unaware of me as I walk through the dorm and step out, the door shutting quietly behind me.
Magic. Power. The Unseen. These are things that even the best of security can’t trump. And that’s the weakness… That’s the power that anyone might secretly possess, just like me. I could walk into any dorm room if I wanted, and most wouldn’t even notice. The security wouldn’t always capture these things either.
Yo, are any of you awake?I push into my brothers’ minds, needing to know they’re ok.
Yeah, why?Jayce answers.
Trying to sleep,Renji’s sleepy voice comes.
Fuck off,Ares says ever-so kindly.
Getting ready to sleep; it’s past 1am, Theo,Carter adds in a patronising tone.
Alright, alright, keep your tits on, man, I was just asking. Kinda weird being back, right?I say as I try to follow that darkness, but it’s disappearing.
Kind of,Jayce answers.
I kick the other wankers from the conversation and mind-link Jayce alone.I can sense something, like an aura that feels off. I felt the same shit the night Ares was attacked,I say.
Where?Jayce’s voice sounds serious now.
I’m heading towards the study hall, but I can’t really…I trail off when I see a shadow not far ahead. Someone’s here. I see them creep down the hall, sticking to the shadows. It could be a student sneaking around, but that aura is stronger here…
Theo? What’s going on? I’m coming,Jayce says through the mind-link.
Don’t. I’m following. I’ll let you know,I answer. I need to find out who it is. I speed up, but the aura completely disappears when I turn the corner and stop. The man ahead is wearing black sweatpants and a black hoodie, but it’s his back that I’d recognise anywhere. I mean, I’ve fucking grown up around him.
Renji.
Oi, you gone to bed yet or still awake?I ask Renji via the mind-link.
Almost, you ok, Theo?he asks in a sleepy voice, and I glance at the man slightly up ahead.
Yeah, yeah, just out of fags, man. Need one to sleep,I reply, my voice light as normal.
Sorry, I don’t smoke. Goodnight, Theo,Renji laughs.
Night,I reply, frowning as I watch him turn the corner and disappear from view.
For a moment, I tell myself I’m tripping, but… it was him. There’s no doubt about that…
But what the fuck is he doing?
I scan around for that aura, but it’s completely disappeared.
Welcome back to Midnight Academy, Theo, where shit gets stranger and stranger.
We are allfucking gathered outside the Head Commander’s office.
