I stayed still as a statue as she passed the barred door that I was behind, her footfalls echoing into the silence until there were none.
What. Just. Happened?
My knees hit the floor, tears wetting my skin. Was I having a hallucination? What poor timing. If she saw me, she would’ve destroyed me.
I leaned against the wall and breathed.
That was intense; it was almost like someone had been holding me down.
I pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter.
The realization that Blake and Melanie had a far more serious relationship than I thought made my stomach drop. Close enough to have had a serious falling out. I swallowed, trying to focus my mind. I wasn’t here to flirt in the woods; I came here for a reason and tonight revealed more than a history between them—it meant their families must have been close. Caelan was nothing like them.What did that mean?Were these families spread across the world? Were there different secret societies other than Nightfall? And what were they doing? There was a class structure among them that I didn’t understand. They were all powerful, but some of them were…morepowerful—as in the kind of power that made people disappear.
I stood up. But Blake didn’t seem that way—at least until tonight. He felt… safe, but the truth was, I didn’t know him. Not at all.
I shoved the thought away.
I had to get closer to them.
The Aurkai.
They knew Nightfall’s secrets, but were they my friend or my enemy?
As I slipped out, I saw the couple that had been hidden in the shadow before. This time, a candle lit their faces.
It was Malakai and Skylar. They were deeply entwined on the chaise lounge; her skirt lifted to her hip. Malakai slowly ground his hips against her, eliciting soft moans from her. Malakai pulled away from her mouth for a moment. There was something feral in him—it was the complete opposite of what I’d felt in Blake’s presence. The fire glowed in his pale green eyes, heavily lidded, his dark lashes nearly touched his cheekbones. We connected, and a foreboding tension took hold of me.
Something about him had paralyzed me. A sense of danger crept through my mind as I thought of Skylar, but what could I do?
I shattered the connection between us. There were too many shadows here. I’d stayed too long.
So I ran.
Chapter 13
Everyone Knows It Sucks to Be Right
ANNA
Istared at the gentle waves of my deep purple canopy.
The first few weeks of classes had been a blur. Training was getting monotonous, and I was no closer to any answers than when I’d gotten here. Thoughts paralyzed my mind. I imagined them floating through the air, wispy beings that refused to quell as they danced to a haunting lullaby. If they would still, perhaps I could see what they meant, but they were unwilling to coalesce.
Just like the Aurkai. They were in this together—whatever this was.
Skylar’s face formed in the wisps. She avoided me, as she always did. Of all of the Initiates that came in with me, she was the most timid. She would hardly look at a guy without blushing—there was no way she would be so willing to… Malakai was sonearher. My fists tightened. He’d nearly done the same to me. Trembling, I pushed the memory away. He did something. I just didn’t know what.
“If I cannot taste you, may I have you?”
“Yes.”
I jerked to my side; the sheets twisted in my fists.
I should’ve done something to get her away from him. Anything. Scream, punch him, drag her with me. But I didn’t.
I didn’t doanything.
My footfalls echoeddown the corridor as I headed to my next class, The Forged Vessel with Isabella. I hadn’t slept. Light streamed through the ancient arched windows as Isabella chattered away.
