Page 42 of Validus Vale Academy 1
“I’m waiting,” he snarls.
I hate you, Cosmo Drakeward.
“Donovan brought a little box out of his jacket, it had a bracelet in it,” I tell him, picturing the delicate bracelet of chain link and golden stars. “He put it around my wrist.”
I’d worn it for months, even after I realized they were never coming for me. Finally, I’d taken it off, tucked it in an envelope, and it was now stowed with my socks and underwear. I take it out every now and then when I want another top-up of heartbreak.
“And you never heard from them again,” Cosmo says, as a statement, not a question. He flicks a finger to switch on the fireplace and several lamps. The solid wall around his thoughts flickers for a moment, and I get hints of pain emanating from his brain.
I don’t care one bit.
“Correct, I never heard from them again,” I confirm. As I rub my stiff palms together, Cosmo gets himself some water from the huge fridge, then throws himself into a deep, overstuffed armchair, looking the picture of despair. Good. I hope he’s tormented until the day he dies.
“Pass my phone, it’s on the counter,” he tells me. “Then get me a refill.”
I obediently push myself to stand, thighs protesting, and do as he asks before returning to the humiliating position. Cosmo presses something on the cellphone and holds it up to his ear.“Striker? I’ve talked to the dud; she’s got nothing new. What have you found?”
I don’t hear the reply from whoever Striker is, but Cosmo scowls. “Send me the file,” then hangs up.
What file? For once, I actually do want to read someone’s mind, but Cosmo’s brain is a fuzzy white noise to me. I watch as he studies his phone for several minutes, then puts it down and stares off into the middle distance, his expression blank. “They never got onto a flight to Heathrow,” he says eventually. “Striker has the flight manifesto for all Havengard to London flights for several weeks around the time of their disappearance.”
“So, they flew somewhere else?” I say. That’s my working theory.
“Maybe,” he says slowly, “or maybe not. Striker also got the security footage from cameras around the school. We have a time-stamped video of them leaving Electis Tower, but there is no footage of them after that. Nothing. No record of them going through either the main gate or the facilities exit. The wards around the school grounds weren’t breached. Nothing. It’s as if Wes and Donovan Hart never left the academy compound at all.”
“Um, what about a helicopter or something?” I ask.
“Right, because no one would notice that at all,” he sneers, giving me a withering look.
I don’t shrink back; at least I’m trying to think laterally. “What about actually spell-flight? Some people can do that, can’t they? Could they have levitated over the walls?”
Cosmo swallows down the whisky and shakes his head. “The wards would still activate. They’re a dome around the whole property. Anyway, you think those dumbasses could levitate and I wouldn’t know about it?”
“But none of it makes sense. If there is no record of them leaving,” I whisper, “that would mean they’re still here.”
Cosmo looks up, “It would, wouldn’t it?” he replies, glancing at the bulky gold watch on his wrist. “Alright, dud. Fuck off, this is now out of your hands. And understand me when I say this.Wes and Donovan are no longer any of your business.”
Never! He doesn’t get to do that to me. I won’t let him, not on this topic. “N-n-no,” I stutter out, trying my best to fight the command.
“No? And why’s that?” Cosmo’s voice is cruel, but at least his question allows me to answer.
“B-because of… of… l-l-love…” Cosmo is trying to shut me up again, but, giving everything I’ve got, I manage to bring myself to standing. “I-I thought they dumped me. I spent months sulking and feeling heartbroken instead of following my gut. I-Iknewthey wouldn’t just ghost me. So, with or without your help, I’m going to find them. They disappeared nearly a year ago; we should have been searching from day one.”
“Know your place, dud,” Cosmo hisses. “Know your fucking place. Fuck.” He flaps a hand at me. “Fuck off back to Defectivum, and remember,I forbid you to talk to anyone in authority about the twins.”
My feet start moving towards the door, and even though I’m desperate to leave, I’m also desperate to stay. I need to find my guys—and it would be easier with Cosmo than without him.
“GO!” Cosmo roars.
My chest burns with anguish, and I’m out the door.
I may be a powerless dud, but my twins are somewhere out there. I’m going to find them.
Or die trying.
19
I'm on my way to the edge of the grounds when I see Wilson hustling down the pathway from the dining hall.
