Page 34 of Splitting Secrets
“You can’t seriously expect that we’re going to be safe from the Midnight Syndicate in a cabin that belongs to the man whokillsfor them,” Beatrix argues again. She looks me up and down through furrowed brows, as if she thinks I’ve lost my mind.
“Seems like our best option.” Jonah shrugs.
“It’s the only plan we have,” Ava agrees. “Let’s make sure we can get through this before we argue anymore.”
We each nod, and Ava reaches forward to touch the doorknob, her eyes widening in surprise when it turns without resistance. Jonah snuffs out his light just as she pushes it open, and we get our first glimpse at the Landry ballroom.
19
Sonny
There is no one guarding our exit.
The ballroom is completely empty and void of any lights when we slip through the door that’s been camouflaged into the wall. It looks so different from when I was here for the Falconry ball. So empty and plain. All the mystical allure has been stripped away, just like everything else at this place now that I know the bloody history behind Ravenshurst.
The four of us move within the shadows. We hug the walls until we reach the opposite end of the ballroom, where there’s a door that I’m almost certain leads to the back hallways of the castle. It’s the same one Hayes took me through to get to Raze’s office that night.
I don’t trust myself to remember the back way James took to bring me in here, so that’s the best option.
It takes us five whole minutes to muster up enough courage to open the door and check the hallway. Eventually, we force Jonah to do it and take a collective sigh of relief when he confirms that it’s empty.
“Finals must have passed,” Ava guesses, and I don’t miss the way her brows pinch together in worry over missing hers. It has to be hard, knowing this is her last year here and she’s being forced to give it all up.
Better to lose her degree than her life, though.
“I think there’s an exit to the back of the castle through here,” Beatrix guesses, pointing in the same direction as Raze’s office and the counseling offices.
“Are you sure there’s not another way? What if we run into someone?” Ava gestures toward her soiled clothing and messy hair. “We look like we’ve just clawed our way out of our graves.”
“We have,” Jonah mutters.
“She’s right,” I tell them. “There’s no way of knowing who is on the Syndicate’s side. They could march us right back down those steps, and then we’rereallynot getting out.”
Beatrix gnaws on her raw bottom lip as she considers us for a moment. “I just don’t want to take the risk of wandering around and being wrong.”
“There’s no telling how much time we have before they realize we’re gone,” Jonah agrees.
“Then we’ll take the guaranteed route,” I offer, glancing between the three of them for confirmation. Once they’ve all nodded, we don’t waste any more time.
It feels so odd, walking around the campus we considered home with nothing but fear now. This is the same hallway I walked so many times to work for Raze without a second thought. The people who made us feel safe are now nothing more than a threat to our lives. Every doorway we pass feels like it’ll be the one that gets us dragged back underground.
Most offices are closed, proving Ava to be correct. Winter break must have begun and most people have returned home for the holidays. By the grace of some invisible force, we make it tothe end of the hallway and up to the door without running into a single soul.
Until we hear a voice calling out my name right as Beatrix is twisting the lock and pushing the door open to the crisp, winter air.
I look over my shoulder to find Abigail Mercer standing in the doorway of her office, about twenty feet away.
The four of us freeze in our tracks. If we ignore her, she could report us to the dean. Or worse, she could try to follow us. If we stay back to talk, we risk being seen by someone else, too. Someone connected to the Midnight Syndicate.
In fact,shecould be connected to the Midnight Syndicate.
We glance at each other and nod knowingly, as if we’ve all reached the same conclusion: We can’t stop.
Beatrix is the first to take off, with Jonah following right on her heels. Ava raises her brows at me, then grabs my hand and follows them, tugging me along with her. Abigail yells after us, and I look over my shoulder to see the confused expression on her face.
I don’t watch long enough to know what she does next. Instead, I turn forward and focus every ounce of energy I have on putting as much distance between myself and that hellish university as possible.
We break through the tree line within minutes, but none of us stops running there. We leap over fallen logs and push through overgrown foliage for another five minutes. We ignore the scrapes and cuts on our arms and legs as branches and twigs snag our threadbare clothing. I assume Beatrix is heading North East, the way Raze told us to go, but I don’t have my bearings enough to know for sure. If not, and we continue running aimlessly into the woods, we’re going to have a hell of a time finding our way out.
