Nightworld Academy: Term One(Nightworld Academy #1)(47)

"You could leave campus anyway, even without permission?" suggests Ash. "I'm working over half term and could head back that evening. I could drive us all to Maeve's town? I'll ask my dad for the night off and join you. If Maeve thinks something will happen, I want to be there."

"Me too," I add. "We have a connection."

Maeve gives me a sharp look and I instantly regret my words. We haven't mentioned this to anybody yet.

Amelia's mouth drops open. "What sort of connection? I thought—" She stops herself, but I don't miss her look between Ash and Maeve.

"Not that sort of connection, Amelia. Because we're both spirit attuned, I can sense things too."

I rub an eyebrow. "How do you know something will happen to your friend, Maeve?"

She stares into her cup. "Because if I have visions, something happens. Always. This time, I heard my best friend scream. Something awful will happen to her."

Acid fills my stomach, but I say nothing more. Maeve never mentioned this.

"You should come too," Maeve tells Amelia.

Her open-mouthed expression switches to one of glee. "Yes! Oh, definitely. I'd love to see how normal people live."

Maeve's gives her a bemused smile. "Why? Don't you live near 'normal people'?"

"No. In a family home dating back years. Don't look impressed, it’s basically an old farmhouse in Scotland."

"That's why she likes staying here. Home away from home," says Ash with a smile.

Amelia pokes her tongue out. "I'm fascinated to see a normal human town. That's all."

Maeve doesn't say anything, but the small crease created between her brows when something bothers her is back. To me, Amelia's reaction is normal. To Maeve, drinking tea with two witches and a shifter isn't, and Amelia just pulled her out of the illusion we are.

"Do you think you could persuade Theodora to let us leave for a weekend?" Maeve asks. "I’d rather not sneak away."

"I can try. You'd need your parents’ permission too." The crease returns to Maeve's brow. "Do you think they’ll refuse?"

"Probably."

Amelia nudges her. "We'll organise something, don't worry."

"Invisibility cloak?" Maeve suggests.

And she's back again—the Maeve who makes jokes to stay on top of her fear and stress. "I left mine at Hogwarts," I say with a smile.





Maeve brought her history assignment to work on. She finds this subject hardest, as everything is a world away from any history she understands. I read through the work she's completed while she laughs and jokes in the kitchen with Amelia and Ash, as the pair help Amelia bake a cake.

"You'd better not add any special ingredients!" I call as I scroll through Maeve's document on her laptop. I'm impressed; she's a smart girl and her work is good. "Amelia sometimes bakes to 'traditional recipes'."

"What do you mean?" Maeve reappears and sits beside me. Flour dusts her nose and I resist the urge to wipe the powder away.

"Amelia's family includes witches with nature affinity. They're skilled in creating unusual potions and know a few secret recipes too. Sometimes Amelia slips a few unusual ingredients into food."

"I do not do that!" Amelia calls from the kitchen.

"Uh. You do," retorts Ash. "Remember the time you added goldwort to your cupcakes and gave them to members of the Gilgamesh house?"

"The ones who bullied the little kids? Okay, I'll admit to that. They deserved it."

"What happened?" asks Maeve.

"They couldn't talk for twenty-four hours," I say.

Maeve blinks at me. "You can create food to do that?"

"I can't. Some witches can, but usually it's a potion, because that's easier. Just slip them into people's drinks."

"Plus, cakes get squashed if you carry them around in your pocket," calls Amelia with a laugh.

Her mouth parts. "I've heard of drink spiking, but that's ridiculous."

"Vamps aren't the only ones who have the means to influence others' minds," I tell her.

"I'm never accepting a drink from anybody at the academy now." Maeve rubs her face and the flour spreads across her cheeks. She takes her laptop from me. "How bad is my assignment so far?"

"It's good!" I enthuse, but she looks doubtful. "I think it'll help once you understand the timeline around the Purge and learn the background to the Confederacy creation."

"I get so confused, though." She lowers her voice. "And the more I read about the Dominion, the more worried I become."

"Don't be. You're safe. Oskar assured us, and he’s a man of his word."

I'm aware how concerned Theodora is, and how Sofia's extra lessons with Maeve are to fast track the ability to help the academy, the Confederacy, and herself. Has Ash been asked to keep Maeve in public view? Pushing her front and centre makes her unpopular in the academy, even if it makes her safer.

"The Dominion is a concern, but we can't bring fear into the academy."

"Are you frightened?" Her big blue eyes meet mine and I want to tell her yes. Yes, I'm frightened to know the truth about what she saw in my future.