Page 91 of Shadowed Fate

Who? Who would betray us like this? One of the professors? Or it could be a student. That asshole Marius is shady as fuck. And then there’s Brigid.

Could it be someone on the Council? I've spent my entire life obeying the Council, trusting in their wisdom and authority. But now... doubt gnaws at me, corrosive as acid.

I need to talk to someone, need to sort through this mess before I lose my damn mind. Callen. He'll know what to make of all this. Whenever I’ve gotten lost in my head, Callen’s always be able to help me make sense of things.

I head back to our rooms. Students scatter at my approach, my mood evident as I walk by them.

I burst into our suite, finding Callen lying on the couch. He looks up, eyebrow arched at my entrance.

"We need to talk. I think the attack might have been an inside job."

Callen sits up. "What makes you say that?"

"The wards are intact. No signs of breach. And there's something else..."

I pause. Callen's eyes are sharp, expectant. I take a deep breath and plunge in.

"I overheard Dean Charling talking to some woman. It was—I dunno. They mentioned a plan, convergence… shadow magic. And The Morrigan."

Callen's face goes still, a mask sliding into place. "When was this?"

"Before..." The word sticks in my throat. Before the Dean's death. Before everything went to shit. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but it all started when Brigid got here. It has to be connected."

Callen's gaze is distant, like he's looking through me to some hidden truth. When he finally speaks, his voice is careful.

"Lochan... the Dean had to know about Brigid before her powers awakened."

"What?"

Callen leans forward, his eyes never leaving mine. "Think about it. He ordered you to bring her in before her magic manifested. How could he have known? The wards wouldn’t have detected her until her powers awakened. "

The realization hits me. How did I let that little detail get by me? My mind reels, trying to make sense of it all. "But... if the Dean knew... was he behind all this? No, that can't be right. He's dead. Unless..."

"Unless someone else is pulling the strings," Callen finishes.

I sink onto the couch. I need to find out who the dean was talking to that night.

Callen's eyes lock onto mine, and I see a hesitation in them that is very un-Callen.

"There's something I need to tell you, Loch."

My muscles tense. "What?"

Callen rubs his hands over his eyes and takes a breath. “There are people who are working to return shadow magic to the world, to bring it back."

“What the fuck does that mean?” Bring back shadow magic? Who could be that stupid?

“It means that not everyone thinks that it’s a good thing that shadow magic was forbidden. I've been in touch with a group like that."

The words hit me like a blast of icy water. My vision tunnels. Rebels. Shadow magic. The very words conjure images of blood and screams.

"What the fuck, Callen?" I snarl, leaping to my feet. My right hand forms a fist, itching to connect with his highness’s perfect fucking face. "Why? Why would you do that?"

Callen doesn't flinch, just watches me. "It's not what you think. I'm trying to understand what's really going on. There's more to this than we know.” His jaw tightens. ”I had to know the truth.”

The room spins. I see my family, torn apart by shadow magic. My fathers’s blank eyes staring up at me. The rebel's laughter as they vanished into the night."The truth?” I spit. “They're murderers. Monsters."

"Some are,” he agrees. "But not all. There's more to this whole thing, to what we’ve been told to accept as truth."

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