ONE
Wren
Thefrostofaparticularly stubborn winter hung in the air, and the arctic shifter in me chirped wildly as the refreshing cold seeped into my bones.
“I have no clue how you’re wearing the summer uniform, babe.” Trixie shivered, rubbing her hands over her long-sleeved navy blazer.
“I don’t understand it either,” Callie agreed, blowing out a visible breath as we ambled off the snow-dusted stone path and cut through the center of campus. “It’s freezing outside, and you’re only in a skirt and short sleeves. I know you’re an arctic shifter, but the siren in me is crying a bit.”
“I thought sirens could live in arctic waters?” Trixie flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Just because we can, doesn’t mean we want to.” She patted her thighs that were clad in the uniform pants.
Callie had fallen seamlessly into our friend group over the last couple of weeks, and I was grateful for it.
Uneasiness wedged its way into my gut as we passed by the Natatorium. I willed my gaze to focus on Arcane Hall in the distance. Anything Trixie and Callie said faded as static buzzed through my brain.
I shut my eyes tight, but my attempt at staying calm dissipated. My knees locked as fear spiked my heart.
My mates, both bonded and potential, had kept me locked away for the remainder of last term, but today was the start of a new term. They had to let me out from under their watchful gazes for me to attend class.
I’d underestimated how it would feel to pass this part of campus. The encounter with the human experiment, or whatever was called Specimen 452, burrowed deep in my memories. It happened right here, in broad daylight.
I’d been shot—just like my parents. Bile inched up my throat, but I forced it down. Taking a deep breath, I peered between my lids to find Trixie and Callie standing in front of me with concern etched on their features.
“Babe, you okay?” Trixie landed a hand on my shoulder.
“Do you need to go lay down?” Callie’s bright blue eyes scanned my face. “I’m sure the professor would understand.”
I shook my head, adjusting the strap of the bag Thorn had gifted me on my shoulder. “No. I’m fine. It’s just that this is where… This is where the human…thing… attacked me.”
Trixie’s lips curved into a deep frown. “Shit. I’m sorry. We should’ve taken the stone path instead.”
“I’m okay, really. Let’s just keep going.” I wrapped my arms around my center and kept walking.
They hesitated before falling into step beside me.
“Rowan killed him. Hecrushedhim, but someone brought him back,” I whispered, watching the way my breath danced into the air as wisps.
“The human that attacked you?” Callie gasped. “I knew there was a zombie on campus, but I didn’t know it was the human…”
“That’s the thing.” I breathed out a stuttered gasp. “The man wasn’tfullyhuman. It was something else to start with.”
“But how did someone bring him back if he was crushed?” Her eyes widened with horror.
I smoothed down the hem of my skirt as an icy breeze blew through campus. “Kian said reanimation can take place if the brain isn’t completely destroyed, and from what I understand, his brain was mostly intact. Norman was studying it before it happened.”
“A lot of people have been talking about it. The zombie, I mean.” Trixie frowned. “Nate told me that the zombie’s incredibly strong. Necromancy has a way of bringing the dead to life, but in a very…deadkind of way. He said it wasn’t like a normal reanimated corpse.”
“How would Nate know?” Callie fumbled with her bracelet as goosebumps graced her arms.
A knot formed in my belly as I furrowed my brows. “The zombie is locked away in the basement of Dragon’s Reach Library and kept within a magic circle. Nate couldn’t have seen it.”
Trixie’s gaze flicked to the left as she sighed. “He said he was there when they trapped it in Mr. Vespertine’s classroom.”
The mention of Alister made my heart flutter, but my suspicion of Nate didn’t disappear. I made a low hum in reply.
“Tabitha was the one who cast the magic circle,” Trixie explained. “She told me something was wrong with the zombie. Apparently, Norman is studying it. That’s another reason I know it’s not a normal reanimation.”
