Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,95
surprised to see that two hours have passed. We only have another thirty minutes before we need to meet back with the group.
Getting stranded here seems like a very stupid thing to do, especially considering the head-collecting commander’s eagerness to throw shadows into the front.
“Wait.” Mack stops in front of a set of cabinets in the center. “This section is titled SH something . . .” She clears away the dust from the plastic label, “Shadow Guardian Students.”
My heart skips a beat. “Date range?”
“The first drawer starts at nineteen eighty all the way up through . . . two years ago.”
“Bingo,” I murmur as I rush over, my flashlight beam bobbing over the paper strewn floor.
Together we pull out the top drawer and dump the contents onto the floor. Dust billows around us.
Mack lets out a violent sneeze. “This place is going to have my allergies pissed off for weeks.”
Situating my phone to point in my lap, I take a stack of files and Mack grabs the rest.
Countless files later, Mack has sneezed no less than a billion times, my eyes are blurring, and my back is killing me when . . . “Whoa.”
I squint at the file. There are no pictures, just the name Haley Richardson. I quickly scan her information, trying to see what caught my eye.
Seventeen. Five-foot seven. Her high school isn’t listed, which seems strange. Halfway down the form, next to the word Mentor, is the name I’ve been searching for. The one engraved into my heart with a dull blade and permanently etched into my hit list.
Hellebore Narcissus.
“Got it,” I shout, waving the file in the air. “Ladies and gents, we have a name.”
Judging by the way Freesia reacted when I asked about Hellebore’s shadow, and the way he reacted to coming here, this isn’t just a name.
It’s a loaded weapon and my ticket to freedom.
“Thank the Shimmer,” Mack groans, rubbing her neck. “You owe me two full hours with Raynard and his magical, life-altering paws.”
Raynard is a pricey lycan massage therapist in Evernell. “If this ends up taking down Hellebore, you get something even better—my undying love.”
Mack fake pouts as she drags to her feet, making a dramatic show of stretching and cracking her neck.
I carefully fold the papers from the file, silently thank Zinnia, shove them into my breast pocket, and zip it.
It feels right that the information that might screw Hellebore sits directly above my heart. Get ready for war, douchecanoe.
Sending my beam of light around the room, I quickly locate Ruby in the back corner. She’s trying to lure one of the racoons out with candy like a little serial killer. Titania only knows what her plan is for the poor trash panda.
“Ruby! Get your tiny butt over here,” I call, using my sternest tone.
“Hold on. The giant bandit rat wants to come home with us.”
“Hmm. That’s probably why it’s hiding from you.” I roll my eyes. “Don’t make me count to three.”
I’m anxious to meet up with the rest of the shadows before someone discovers we’re missing.
Switching off the flashlight, I quickly text the group chat with Eclipsa and Valerian to let them know it’s done and that we’re heading back. They wanted to come, but we all agreed Hellebore would grow suspicious if they disappeared on the tour.
Mack sighs. “It’s been more like thirty seconds, Mom. Who’s the boss here?”
She’s right. Ugh. Counting always worked with the twins back home. I flick an annoyed glance toward Ruby, prepared to bribe her with candy because, lazy, when two things happen.
One, I realize she’s no longer there.
Two, my Fae senses suddenly go haywire.
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Instinct has me grabbing the iron tipped dagger at my waist. I whip to face the door, stepping between Mack and the danger I feel.
A dark silhouette blocks the entrance. Even before the figure steps closer into the faint light of the sconces, I know who it is.
Inara.
“Hide,” I whisper to Mack. Goose bumps ridge every inch of my body. Inara isn’t here to scare me. She has come to fulfill her threat.
“Screw that.” Mack pulls her crossbow from her backstrap and loads it. “Ride-or-die besties, remember?”
Cold dread cascades down my spine. Inara would never let Mack live anyway. “Where’s Ruby?”
Inara’s heels click against the dusty wood floor as she steps into the buttery light. She’s holding something in her hand. “Looking for this?”
Ruby squirms and kicks in the Ice Queen’s fist, yelling what I can only assume are curses in her native language.