Nightworld Academy: Term One(Nightworld Academy #1)(43)

A girl screams and I glimpse Tess’s open-mouthed terror. The sound echoes and the image becomes black, as I’m dragged away from the scene to reality.

I swear again and sink back against the chair in exasperation, breaking my focus when the inky shadow refuses to clear. Jamie cocks his head and looks at me.

"What did you see?"

"She's at a Halloween party in our home town. There's a guy there I don't recognise. I didn't get a close look because the moment I saw him, Jamie—" I halt.

"Jamie did what?" ask Sofia.

I rub my eyes as the tiredness grows. The vision exhausted me, especially as it's the second tonight.

"Was I there?" he asks sharply.

"No. The images faded, then your leg touched mine and things became clearer." The scream still echoes in my ears, but I say nothing. This has changed everything—I no longer want to go home on Halloween. I need to.

Sofia claps her hands together. "That's wonderful! I knew there must be some connection between you. I can feel it—I did from the first time I saw you together. We must speak to Theodora about this."

Now it's my turn to move in my chair, awkward. I presumed the strange buzz I felt was the connection between myself and Jamie from the future I saw. Sofia is right—something more exists between us. Jamie is another witch who I saw in my mind before I met him. A guy with an affinity to spirit as I have.

One whose open and friendly nature, coupled with his good looks, drew me to him.

Jamie already means more to me than he should considering we've known each other for such a short time. I've built a wall and attempted not to care, but I'm failing.

"Tomorrow," says Jamie firmly. "Maeve is exhausted. We need to sleep."

Sofia pulls out a book and scribbles notes, the way she always does after my extra tuition. Sofia’s excitability amuses me, but I appreciate her care and dedication to the academy and Walcott. I've voiced my fears that I won't live up to what the academy expects, and about my powers in general. Sofia reassures me I can and will grow into my powers and help.

I haven't forgotten the attack on me by the strangers and need more information on the mysterious Dominion. My powers have become a focus for many teachers here. Other students begin to notice that the extra attention I receive isn't due to the fact I lived my life as human.

The rumours I'm future-sighted spread beyond my circle of friends.

Relieved the evening is at an end, I step out of Sofia's office with Jamie beside me. He's silent on the short walk back to Walcott house, and I'm lost in my own thoughts too. We reach the dorms and, as I say good night, Jamie takes my hand.

His fingers wrap around mine and although he surprises me, the touch feels natural. "Maeve. I need to know the truth."

"About what?" I reply, feigning ignorance.

He encloses my hand by placing his other over too. "Was the vision in class about me?"

My heart beats faster as I look into his troubled eyes, and my chest aches with the need to say something. But how do I tell somebody I saw them die?

"Yes." My reply is barely audible, and I want to reach out with my other hand to touch his face, as if allowing myself closer would keep him safe.

"What happened to me?"

I ignore how hard my heart now hammers against my chest, relieved he can't read me the way Andrei and Tobias could. "I didn't see everything. You know my visions aren't clear."

He swallows. "You saw the Death card and freaked out. Something bad will happen to me, won't it?"

One perfect side-effect of spending my life hiding my weirdness from people is an ability to lie convincingly.

I place my hand over Jamie's as we stand together, and my determination grows. "No. Nothing bad will happen to you."

Because it won't. I've stopped a vision coming true before. Denny survived.

And so will Jamie.





Chapter Twenty-Four





MAEVE



In the past, if someone told me to visit the headmistress’s office, I’d worry what I’d done. Now, I worry about what I'll discover about the world next. Since the night of the attack, I’ve refused to walk the academy grounds alone, confused by how big a threat the Dominion is to me and the school. I accepted the hush-hush reaction from Theodora and accepted her belief that there’s no threat, but the anxiety niggles. Someone attacked me days after I arrived here. How can I not worry?

I arrive at Theodora’s office and tense when a stern-faced Tobias opens the door. He switches to one of his charming smiles and gestures for me to enter. Inside the large office, my three friends sit with Andrei. Theodora sits behind her desk with Sofia standing one side of her and a man I don't recognise on the other.

"Please, sit down." Theodora waves a hand at the spot on the sofa between Jamie and Ash.

They look as confused as I am, and Amelia gives a small shrug, but she’s pale. Who is this man?

He’s tall and slender with slicked back black hair which accentuates his angular features. His eyes are the same colour as Andrei’s, as is his skin, and unnaturally long fingers curl around the cane he holds which has a bird made from silver sitting on the top.

The man’s brown suit and waistcoat look more suited to Victorian England than the twenty-first century but doesn’t look out of place in the dark oak room with the nineteenth century touches.