Page 18 of Curse of the Shadow

Headmaster Patricia attempted to stifle her smile, but I saw the way her lips curved into a slight smile. There was pride in her eyes as she looked at me.

Anson didn’t bother hiding his emotions as he let out a loud, full belly laugh.

“Looks like Farrah told you off,” Jax whispered to Violet, who only scowled at me.

Clearing his throat, Detective Jameson interrupted our heated standoff. “I think we should reconvene tomorrow. This has been a lot for today and we have a good lead to go from with Farrah’s description of the woman in her vision. We will go back to the last crime scene and gather more details,” he hedged.

Detective Sparks nodded in agreement, and after gathering the evidence from the table, they left the room.

When Anson and I finally left, he walked me back to my room. The academy was still on lock down and I wasn’t sure how long that would go on for. As for now, I knew that I had my work cut out for me.

***

Later that evening, I’m lounging in my dorm room with Candi and Lily as we watch Netflix. Anson hasn’t left my side all evening and even though he should be in his dorm as instructed by the Headmaster, he defiantly remains with me.

The events from earlier were shared with my roommates as soon as we had returned to my room. Candi practically jumped on me when I walked through the door. I was so tired —both mentally and physically — that I had asked to just have some time with no talking. I know it is killing them to not ask questions.

“Are you hungry?” Anson asks, as he glances over at me. He has been keeping an eye on me all evening and while it’s sweet, I’m tired of being treated like a fragile doll.

“Not really. My stomach is doing back flips,” I huffed.

“Can we even go to the cafeteria?” Lily asks. “Stella texted earlier that she thought they were bringing our meals to us.”

Just as she spoke, an announcement blared throughout the halls. “Attention all students. Lock down restrictions have been uplifted for the inside of the academy. You may return to your daily schedules tomorrow, but no students will be permitted outside of the building.”

We all looked at each other after the announcement ended.

“Is that safe?” Candi asked.

“I mean, the murder took place outside, not inside the school. I’m sure the Headmaster knows what she is doing,” I said, biting my lip in worry.

“Do you think the Headmaster will inform everyone about what is going on? Of course, the students will start to have questions about the new students who are the—what—new patrol team?” she questioned.

“They aren’t the new patrol team,” Anson snapped in defense. “They are just helping the investigation.”

I wasn’t about to argue with him, but I think Jax, Violet, and Luke were here to stay for a while. Hopefully, we could stop whoever was after me and the humans before they could get too comfortable in the school.

My stomach took that moment to growl in protest and I knew I needed to go eat. While I still felt uneasy, I needed to fuel my body if I was going to prepare for whatever lay in store for us.

“I think we need to go eat,” Candi giggled.

With Anson leading the way, we ventured out into the hallway with other students. Everyone seemed nervous as we all headed down to the cafeteria. It was strange to see the students acting so quiet and reserved. Usually, the halls were lively, but now they were subdued. After eating a small slice of pizza, Anson walked me back up to my room. Candi and Lily slipped inside while Anson and I said our goodbyes.

“Thank you for everything today. I’m not sure I would have handled things without you by my side,” I told him.

Smiling, Anson leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I will do everything I can to help you. I’m a protector but more than anything, I am your boyfriend and I won’t let you go at this alone,” he swore.

I had no idea how or why fate had brought us together, but I knew without a doubt that with Anson by my side, I would be able to do anything.

Chapter 13

Thenextmorning,Iwoke with a strange feeling of trepidation.

I barely slept and now I had to go on with my day like nothing had happened. I wasn’t sure if I would have to meet with the Detectives or ‘new team’ today or not. Hopefully, I could just go to my classes and not have to worry.

Highly unlikely, I know.

I put on my standard school uniform and walked with Candi and Lily down to our first class of the day. We met up with Kindle and Stella on the stairs and then Lara, Leo, and Anson once we reached the hall where the classes were located. Our team walked together like we were a powerful entity even though right now, I wasn’t feeling very powerful at all.

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