Page 131 of Her Tortured Beasts

Xander

When the Party’s Over — Billie Eilish

I’m flying over the dark, empty regional road that eventually leads to Animus Academy when a familiar, tiny, black spot on the earth makes me do a double take. The small creature is attempting to drag itself over the dirt.

My magical sight shows a red-grey aura. This bird, nothing more than roadkill, is close to death. But I know how much he means to Aurelia and Savage.

I dive towards him, tucking in my wings and spearing towards the sorry bird. At the last minute, I snap my wings out and bank. As I near the ground, I shift into human form and fall the last few feet, landing in a hazy dust cloud. I drop the duffel bag that holds my pants and T-shirt.

“What on earth are you doing?” I say in disbelief, crouching down and peering at his tiny, bedraggled body.

Eugene is covered in dirt and blood, his eyes half shut. His wings reach out to the sides and they tremble with exhaustion. He’s terribly dehydrated, and no doubt has heatstroke with the summer sun beating down on him for unknown hours.

“Did you walk all the way from Drakos Estate?” I say aghast, brushing the ants climbing all over him.

He makes a feeble, squeaking sound. The vicious predator in me wants to squash him, but I know Aurelia wouldn’t like that.

“Fool of a bird,” I mutter before sending my power into him.

Only when I’ve swept Eugene away from death’s doorstep do I shift once again, then take him in a gentle claw and fly towards the academy.

An hour later, I find Lyle’s SUV speeding down the road and I’m only satisfied to leave when I see them drive safely through the gates of the academy. For the first time, I tense as I approach the protective dome that surrounds the entire place. Its magic vibrates as I near it, shimmering dangerously in warning. I rear up before I hit it, staring at the lethal magic my instincts are now telling me will fry my skin.

Something crucial sinks in my stomach. I make do with patrolling around the barrier a few times and once satisfied, I leave for the night.

I head towards the small town nearby and don’t bother dressing when I enter the sole hotel in the town. I’m too irritated by the wheezing bird under my arm and the fact that this place is only three and a half stars. I wave my credit card and the manager hastily gives me a key without asking for my name or ID. I take the stairs instead of the elevator because despite the flight, I’m wired to the bone.

In my room, I set Eugene in the bathroom sink and force water down his throat, before ordering room service and washing the creature.

Apparently, my new occupation is a nurse. But instead of being angry at Eugene, I find myself wondering what Aurelia would look like as a chicken. What colour would her feathers be? Would they be a combination of colours or solid black like her wolf form?

The food arrives, and I set Eugene to sleep on the sofa as I take my plate to the window and stare at the night outside, thinking about what must be going on at the academy.

I stand by the window the entire night, not wanting to go to sleep and have Eugene accidentally die on me. I heal him twice more and make him drink until his heart’s rhythm steadies and his lungs sound dry.

By the time morning comes, he wakes up and gives a merry crow, although his voice is scratchier than normal.

“It’d still hurt a basilisk,” I reassure him when he gives me a worried look. “Anyway, I need you to do something for me.”

I take him to the academy with a written message tucked into his beak. From afar, I see that the guards let him in without question, on instructions from Savage when we first arrived here.

That seems like an entire lifetime ago.

An hour later, Eugene roosters out of the front gate with a new piece of paper in his beak. I take it from him with apprehension, but the news is good.

By some miracle, Celeste Agnis agrees to meet with me in town. After circling the academy a few times, Eugene and I wait for the headmistress in the hotel restaurant. The rooster gets his own spot on a booster seat adjacent to me, and I slide a plate of greens towards him.

When Celeste arrives, I stand to greet her.

“You look as awful as I feel,” she mutters, sitting down as I hold her chair out for her. Despite the summer warmth, she wears a heavy orange-patterned shawl.

“Serves me right,” I mutter in turn.

She doesn’t actually lookbadper se, in her usual white suit and shining red hair. She’s always been a nice-looking woman, she’s just pale and slow-moving today. But that does worry me, because we can’t have her acting like prey at a time when powerful beasts might be coming after the academy. After Aurelia.

“I know my presence here is unwelcome,” I begin.

She neither confirms nor denies, which is confirmation in and of itself. Her golden eyes study me in a way I find unsettling. “I can’t imagine what I can provide for you.”

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