If they weren’t cured, then they could never fully be in control. In fact, they would be quite the opposite. And then once the venom fully took hold...the beast would consume theirminds.
“No,” Bree said, her voice pained and raw. “I told them about the Starlight. They’ve been searching for months, but they haven’t been able to find any. I swear to you, Norah. None of them would have murdered in cold blood. They just wouldn’t. It’s not their faults that they’ve been infected with this horrible disease. They don’t want to be a Redcap, no more than I did when it felt as though it was ruling my brain. Please don’t go after them. They haven’t done anythingwrong.”
“Bree,” I said, striding toward her and gently resting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not saying they did anything wrong. Hell, they probably didn’t. Like you said, how could anyone get inside of this place without beingseen?”
She gritted her teeth, still refusing to meet my eyes. “The thing is, one of themhasbeen inside of the Academy. She came to visit me a few weeks ago, and I snuck her into my room so that I could show her where I live now. I didn’t think it would cause any harm. She’s been having a rough time, what with not being able to find the Starlight and…” She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. “She helped me so much when I first came to Otherworld. Before I found you. I didn’t know what the hell was going on or even who I was. She talked me through it all. She helped me find you. There’s no way in hell she’s behindthis.”
Silence stretched the minutes. Bree knew just as well as I did how bad this looked for herfriend.
“Listen. I believe you, okay? But we still need to go and talk to her anyway. She could have told someone else how to get inside the Academy without being seen. Maybe she has important information that we shouldknow.”
Bree looked up, a distant, haunted look in her deep blue eyes. “You believeme?”
“Of course I do.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. Even here, in these strange lands, with the beast hiding deep within her bones, she still smelled like Bree. Like lavender and roses. Like home. “I know what it’s like to have a friend who has been unwillingly transformed into something she doesn’t want to be. And I know how it feels to believe that she’d never do a single soul any harm, no matter what she’sbecome.”
“But I did hurt people,” she whispered, her voice rough andraw.
“No.” I shook my head. “You didn’t hurt anyone. The Autumn fae controlled your mind.Theydid that. It wasn’tyou.”
She sniffled and looked up at me. “Well, what if that’s happening again? What if they’re controlling Shai and using her to hurt those at the Academy? They attacked this place once before. Maybe they’re doing itagain.”
I gave a nod. “It’s a possibility. If that’s what is happening here, then we need to find out and put a stop to it. The best place to start? Talking toher.”
Finally, Bree let out a defeated sigh. “Okay, I know where she’s been hiding out recently. I can take you there, but Norah…I need you to promise that no one will harm her. Don’t tell anyone else about this.Please. I know what Hunters prefer to do to Redcaps. Kill them outright, even if they haven’t done anythingwrong.”
“I’m not a Hunter,Bree.”
“I know.” Suddenly, she went stiff and nodded to someone behind me. “But he certainly used to beone.”
I whirled on my feet to find Liam hovering in the doorway with Finn by his side. Even though they originated from the two more lighthearted seasons of the realm, their faces were nothing but grave. There was no telling how long they’d been standing nearby. There was no telling how long they’d been listening. They must have heardeverything.
“Were you going to whisk yourselves away to go and talk to this Redcap girl alone? And when? Were you going to at least cancel today’s training or were you going to leave us hanging and wondering where you were? Rourke and Kael are in the forest, probably wondering where the hell we’ve all disappeared to,” Liam said, his voice low and deadly. “If it weren’t for Finn, I’d be none the wisermyself.”
“Don’t get angry. Bree shared this with me inconfidence.”
Finn arched an eyebrow. “So, you weren’t going to tellus?”
“I would have told you when we got back. Well, as longas…”
“As long as the Redcap girl wasn’t Boyd’s killer,” Liam finished for me. “Don’t tell me you’re valuing the life of a murderer over the life of the victimhere.”
Liam’s voice was sharp, much sharper than I’d ever heard him be before, especially not withme.
I frowned. “Of course not, but we don’t know if she was even involved yet. Bree believes that Shai didn’t do this. She wouldn’t kill Boyd willingly. So, if she was involved, then there’s something more going onhere.”
Something like what had happened when I’d first arrived at the Academy. Queen Viola had used the Redcaps against us, hoping she could wipe us all out. Just because she was no longer alive didn’t mean that her supporters would just go quietly into the night. This could be their way of getting back at us. They could be using the Redcaps onceagain.
But that still didn’t explain the bloodied word on thefloor.
“Finn,” I said, turning toward my Spring fae instructor. “Boyd was a Spring fae. What do you know about him? Has he ever been involved in anything that might have led tothis?”
Footsteps echoed on the stone floor, and Alwyn turned the corner down the hallway, her long golden hair billowing behind her. She stopped before us with pursed lips and hands clasped together. Her glittering eyes were sharp, intelligent. Hell, sometimes it felt as if she was all-knowing. Alwyn Adair was a calculating fae. Far more calculating than she ever let on. And I knew she’d sentence Bree’s friend to death in aheartbeat.
Unfortunately, the look on her face suggested that she’d heard everyword.
“Bree.” Alwyn gave my best friend a nod. “I was just coming here to have a word with you, but it looks at though Norah beat me to it with her misplaced belief thatsheis the one running this Academy instead ofme.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up ahand.
