she came back, she didn’t put any clothes on. She slipped underneath the covers and pressed herself against my body, nestling her head onto my chest.
“Ethan,” Emma whispered. It was like she was on the verge of spilling secrets out of her that she’d kept inside for too long.
“Not tonight, onawilke.” I kissed the top of her head. “Rest.”
She quieted, and for that I was grateful. I was too vulnerable at that moment. If she spoke again, all my secrets would come tumbling out, and I’d tell her I was the Phantom. I’d break my own promise not to let her in.
Though I was certain I already had, for that night, Emma fell asleep in my arms.
We were awoken from our sleep by a horrible screeching noise. It was bloodcurdling, yanking me from my dreams into a reality of a nightmare.
Emma startled next to me. I sat up so fast it caused the blood to rush to my head, and I went dizzy. The wicked screaming continued— Emma scrambled out of bed, but I grabbed her wrist.
“Emma, wait for me.” I hurried to fasten my prosthetic. Once I had it on and thrown on some pants, I rushed after her. I didn’t bother to put on a shirt, though thankfully Emma had slipped on a pair of my pajamas, so she didn’t go running into the hall in her underwear.
Many students were clustered outside, sleepy and alarmed. We hadn’t been the only ones awakened by the horrible wails. People looked around, confused as to where it was coming from. It was still dark outside— only hours had gone by since Emma and I had passed out.
A door sprung open— Gabby’s dorm. She came crashing out, scratching at her arms. Black spots like burns were spreading over her skin. She itched at them frantically, trying to get them to stop.
My stomach turned watching her. The black spots bloomed like mold, eating away at her skin. They spread from her neck up to her cheekbones, growing over her body and morphing it into nothing but pain. Gabby’s eyes turned pitch black, and she screamed even louder.
Her friends, Melissa and Morgan, didn’t rush to help her, only watched in horrified terror. The only one who went to aid her was Elijah— he was in nothing but his boxers as he ran to his mate. He went to touch her, but his fingers on her arm must’ve caused pain, because Gabby screamed even harder. She began sobbing, her fingernails bloody as she tore at her skin, trying to get the black blossoms out.
“Get the hell out of the way!” Elijah snarled. He picked Gabby up in his arms, though she wailed in agony, and carried her out of the dormitory. Even as she left, you could hear her desperate cries from the first floor, pleading for Eli to make it stop.
Many students were ashen. A couple looked like they might throw up, but no one went back to sleep.
My eyes were stuck on Kiara. She’d watched the whole scene with a satisfied smile on her face.
Emma reacted before I did. She stomped forward. As people turned to conversation, gossiping about what could’ve happened, Emma yanked Kiara into her dorm. I had seconds to slip in after her.
“What the hell did you do?” Emma hushed in a low voice. My heart thudded in fear, wishing this wasn’t what I thought it was.
Kiara’s expression was cold. “I taught Gabby a lesson. She won’t lay a finger on Alexei ever again.”
“Gods, Kiara, does she know it was you?” I choked out. Kiara would be expelled.
“No. I cast the curse when everyone was in bed, and got rid of the evidence after,” Kiara hissed. “I’m not stupid enough to get caught.”
“But they’re going to suspect us!” I shouted.
“Let them!” Kiara shrugged. “I’m tired of being on the losing side. They’ve done so much, but there’s never any proof to confirm it, so we can never catch them. I decided to take a page out of their book and do the same.”
“I can’t believe you did this. It isn’t like you,” Emma said weakly.
I agreed. Kiara was so shy, sweet and soft— the person before us was ruthless. It was hard to picture her in such a way.
“The spell isn’t going to kill her. It’s just a warning,” Kiara seethed. “Next time, she won’t be so lucky.”
“Kiara, you can’t do this again,” Emma pleaded. “It’s wrong. Even for Gabby.”
“I will do anything to protect Alexei,” Kiara snapped. “She finally