Page 135 of The Holy Academy of Witches

“Why do you think I’m trying so hard to protect you? Sage! I know the signs, I’ve been through this before! I just don’t understand why you won’t trust me! We’ve always had each other’s back. Just… let me have yours now, please.”

I stopped, his genuine concern and worry ringing through me. It was true, he’d always had my back. It was why I’d survived carrying my curse this long, he’d kept me safe. I trusted him more than anyone, didn’t I? I’d told her my secrets,allof my secrets… and she had never reciprocated. I remembered the first few months I was here, how my room mates had only ever agreed on one thing… Adeline Alva was to be avoided. Something I’d been all too eager to ignore when she’d been so helpful with my own tutoring and… The Book. That’s when we’d really started connecting. When she needed something from me, and I’d given it. I’d given it all. Not to mention her late night disappearances and the dark circles growing under her eyes. I looked back at Theo, growing dismay and fear at what was now becoming increasingly clear…

Adeline was not who I thought she was.

Seventy-One

Sage

Ileft Theo in the dining hall along with his portly headmaster that was frantically swivelling in an attempt to see and hear all the questions being thrown his way. When my scan of the room showed no sign of Cillian I made my excuses to Theo and left.

Adeline would undoubtedly be in the medical wing, waiting to be cleared, which meant I’d need to avoid it like the plague. The further I got from the dining hall the more my fear drained, quickly turning to rage. Did she really think she could milk me for my secrets and then stab me in the back? What kind of bullshit was this?

Who was she? Was she planning on selling me out? Using my secrets as a way of working up the social ladder like the man in my vision? Was any part of our friendship real? And how did I find out what was happening without potentially speeding up her betrayal. I couldn’t trust her until I knew, so what was I meant to do?

The door swung open and I stomped inside, headed for a shower to clear my head and get the dirt and swamp off of me. I made it to the kitchen island before I froze. There she was, staring at her laptop while laid across the couch, her black silk pyjama top contrasting with the light blanket thrown over the rest of her. At my continued attention she closed the laptop, giving me a look that was her way of silently asking what I was thinking in a language I’d come to anticipate and understand. I hated that I understood it, and at this moment felt no joy from it.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out before thinking. So much for coming up with a plan.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you’d be at the Medical Wing.” I said openly annoyed. I didn’t want to try and be clever or wise right now. I was exhausted and emotional.

“I was… But I don’t need to be held there against my will like some kind of invalid. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my own injuries.” She stated simply, attributing my annoyance to exhaustion or ignoring it altogether. She moved the blanket aside to show me bandages lined with runes to speed healing wrapped around her ankle and foot. She said nothing more, waiting for me to go on, the way she always did. Why had it never felt suspicious before?

“And you’ve been here? Since you were disqualified?”

“Yes? Why? Were you disqualified as well?”

“Can anyone else confirm you’ve been here? Did anyone escort you? Bring you something?” I continued, my voice raising with each question.

“No, of course not. Sage, are you okay? What are you going on about?”

“You’re here!”

“Yes, we’ve established that. Why are you pacing?”

“Because I don’t know what to think!”

“About what?!”

“About everything! You’re so clever Adeline. So much more clever than I could ever hope to be, so maybe this is just me falling into another of your well laid traps but why don’t you explain it to me. Explain to me how the cleverest person I’ve ever met was one of the first disqualified in the run? Explain to me why soon after your disappearance the boys school bursts into flames. Explain to me how you’ve been close to or connected to every explosion within 30 miles. What am I supposed to do with this information, Adeline? Is there some sort of spell you can use on me to forget it? Or am I already under a spell? I must be, to believe that you would want to be friends with me. To believe that I could trust you with all my secrets without demanding any of yours as leverage. I guess the joke is on me now, either way. Everyone told me to avoid you, that you were nothing but bad news. But I thought I saw something in you. I thought I recognized the pain I’d been feeling my entire life. With you, I felt truly seen in return, like our sharp edges fit together into something better… and for once in my life I didn’t feel broken. But I guess I always was one for seeing pretty pictures in a winter breeze. So please, for my fraying sanity’s sake, explain it to me.” My cheeks were warm with rage, stinging where the tears I didn’t mean to shed were currently flowing. I hated that I couldn’t appear strong when I needed to. I swiped at the moisture angrily, pausing at the smeared blood and muck left behind. Why couldn’t she have been at the infirmary? I could have prepared the perfect speech, or set of questions to ask. I could have been composed and dignified… instead I’d just poured my heart out to a potential murderer.

“I had a sister.” she blurted. I opened my mouth to ask how that was relevant but she continued without looking at me.

“She was younger than me, but Gods was she stronger… Most siblings fight and squabble when they’re young but not us. She had this ridiculous giggle that made her sound like an evil genius. It was so crazy coming out of this beautiful little girl and it made me feel so happy that I would make it my mission to make her laugh every single day, just so I could hear it. She knew that, I think… She just wanted to make me happy too.” Adeline’s eyes met mine as she continued, “She was only four when she was diagnosed with Cancer. It had already spread to other organs… it was‘aggressive’they said. I remember thinking how ridiculous that word sounded when describing my little sister. She had never been aggressive a day in her life. My parents were… detached. Not from her.” She rushed to add, “Never from her. No, from me. All their focus was on her and I was glad. I understood… even at 10 years old… 11 years old… 12 years old. I understood. But I…” She swallowed, wiping the hands that were now trembling in her lap.

I held back the tears that were begging to be shed at this unexpected tragedy. I’d never seen her look so vulnerable, I wanted it to mean something, I wanted to trust her. But this could still be a trick, a ploy to gain my sympathy or derail my inquiries. So I bit my lip and clenched my fists, holding back the desperation my heart felt to empathise.

“I was Sixteen when she died… I was Sixteen and I had no one. My parents didn’t know me, they didn’t want to know me. They just wanted their little girl back… and I wasn’t her.” She swiped away a single tear which had begun its descent down her cheek. “My family are wealthy, Sage. I know you know that, but they are obscenely wealthy. With my mother as the headmistress of the most prestigious Academy for Witchcraft in the whole of Europe and a father who is high up in the government you become used to having people around you who are only there because of how it looks, or who it affects, and what can be gained. Do you know what it’s like to lose the only person in the whole world you care about, experience the worst day of your life, and the very next day the people you spend most of your time with don’t even ask if you’re okay? I do. I have spent every minute of every day surrounded by people who are using me for money, popularity, fame, power… The only reprieve I get is when I see Cillian but he isn’t here and he isn’t her. And you… You didn’t know me. You came wandering into this school with your messy hair and your accent and you looked at me like… like you sawme. You didn’t know I had money, or social standing, or what my family means in this society. I knew your eagerly awaiting room mates would fill your head with vile gossip about me and I thought that would be that. But instead, you still gave me that same look… You wanted to know me. You wanted to knowme. And I didn’t even know how to be that person any more. The one who makes friends… real friends. I haven’t had anyone real in my life for what feels like a long time, Sage. So no, I haven’t shared secrets with you, but it isn’t because I don’t want to. It’s because I don’t knowhowto.”

She straightened her shoulders and turned to face me fully, despite the pain she must have felt in her body if what she said about her injury was true. “Now, to answer your questions.”

Adeline’s previous ranting came to mind,‘I don’t get sad Sage, I get mad.’

“-I was poisoned. Nightshade if my suspicions are correct, which they usually are. I also suspect it was Silva. Quite clever of her, really. She made me think she was offering a tainted cup when in fact mine was the dosed drink. I’d congratulate her If I wasn’t filled with rage. My mind became compromised not long after starting The Run… I saw… Well, I saw things. I tried to get back to the starting line and I fell, breaking my ankle in the process. I blacked out and woke up in the infirmary. They’d cured my poisoning and were almost done with my ankle but for obvious reasons I like to deal with my own health problems. So, I discharged myself and came back to the dorm. I considered watching The Run but quite frankly I felt a little bitter and I didn’t want to see my mother after being disqualified so early. Despite it being by sabotage. If you are still unsure of what to believe then let me offer up a secret of my own…” She swallowed and turned her computer to face me.

“What am I looking at?” I asked, squinting at what looked like an email to someone.

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