Page 47 of Shattered & Returned

Beneath my window.

Hours after our very public confrontation.

This wasn’t just murder. It was a message. A threat. A stage set formeto take the blame. Or worse…become the next victim.

And if Ravencrux truly had an obsession with redheads…

Early game.Orren’s words lodged in my throat like ice. Was I the quarry in someone’s hunt?

Acid rose in my throat. There was no escaping this place, its violence, its secrets, and its hungry darkness.

“Move!”

Nero Ravencrux’s harsh command sliced through the crowd. Students scattered as three figures emerged, each radiating enough power to make the air hum.

Headmistress Stardust glided forward, her white gown glowing against the darkness like a fallen star. Beside her, a broad-shouldered man with eyes like polished silver locked gazes with Ravencrux. He must be Professor Carl Kingsley.

Kingsley was carved from ice and steel, pale as moonlight, silver-haired, with a cruelty that clung to him like cologne. His face was all sharp edges. His lips pressed into a blade-thin line of contempt.

Where Ravencrux exuded brutal dominance, Kingsleyvibratedmalice. A giant of muscle, like his opponent, but his power didn’townthe space; itviolatedit. Yet Ravencrux’s energy surged back, muffling Kingsley’s presence. This was his territory.

The hatred between the two powerful males was palpable, a living thing crackling in the space between them.

The collective gasp was nearly deafening. Students stumbled back as if physically pushed, creating a wide berth around thetrio. Oddly, their power didn’t crush me the way it did others, but I retreated anyway, melting into the crowd.

Headmistress Stardust’s disapproving gaze flickered between the two professors before settling on Angelina’s body.

“Violence might be expected,”she said, voice crisp.“Murder is unforgivable.”

My attention strayed back to Ravencrux.

Every encounter revealed another facet of him. Tonight, his hair was damp, robe loose over bronzed skin, as if he’d been pulled from the shower. Orinterrupted.

“He’s dangerous…”Sebastian’s warning about him slithered through my mind. Was I truly considering Ravencrux a murderer? I shoved the thought aside.

Moonlight caught on the hard planes of his chest, turning bronze skin to molten metal. His muscles flexed with each movement, not the manufactured strength of mortals but the terrifying grace of a dark god, though he was no god.

But immortal.

And untouchable.

The headmistress’s sharp voice cleaved through the night. “This is the first premeditated murder in my academy in over a century.” Her glacial gaze pinned both professors before she crouched to examine Angelina’s broken neck, her fingers disturbingly clinical. “I will not tolerate it. The consequences will be irreversible.”

The courtyard fell deathly silent. A sudden wind whipped through, making Angelina’s blood ripple like dark silk. Ravens burst from the tower above, their cries slicing through the heavy air. I hugged my chest as I shuddered.

“All students return to your quarters,” Ravencrux commanded, his voice like steel on stone. “You’ll be called upon for questioning.”

His gaze found Dante and Orren, who moved as one, forming a barricade between me and Professor Kingsley.

Kingsley’s silver eyes burned with barely contained rage. “You’ll answer for this, Ravencrux. My student died in your tower.”

“Then teach yours to stay the fuck out of my territory,” Ravencrux snarled back.

“Enough!” The headmistress’s power of light crackled through the air. “Whoever violated my laws will pay in blood and bone.”

The crowd began to disperse, students breaking off in clusters toward their towers. My bare feet had gone numb against the cobblestones, Sindy’s grip on my arm the only anchor as we moved toward Ravencrux Tower.

Fortunately, Professor Kingsley and the headmistress had their backs toward me as they studied the grim scene before them.

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