Witch Born - LJ Swallow Page 0,66
about the answer. They put years of their life into shaping me, why would they not fight for my release? Because they’re Dominion. They need to stay hidden.
I scrutinise some of the faces around me. How many are from Dominion families and how many Confederacy? Zeke and his crew; the witches. There must be Dominion sympathisers amongst them—and their incarceration by the Confederacy brings them together.
A shout startles me and I look over my shoulder. One of the guys from my meditation group stands with his hands either side of his head, grimacing in pain. Everybody is too busy staring to ask if he’s okay.
I only know his name—Jared. He doesn’t have many friends because he’s from a high-ranked Confederacy family, but keeps his head down and endures any teasing instead of fighting back. Fortunately, he’s a powerfully built shifter who dwarves many witches and vampires, so they tend to leave him alone. The shifters stay away too. Under Zeke’s instruction?
I glance at Zeke, who has his back to me and the commotion, continuing his conversation as if nothing is happening around him.
Jared yells again and hits both palms against his head, before staggering forward. He steadies himself on a table and slips, sending pots of seedlings tumbling to the greenhouse floor. Dropping to his knees in the spilled soil, he then bends over and continues his pained noises.
“You been sampling the plants, Jared?” asks Sapphire. “Gotta be careful. I hear some have mind-altering properties.”
Others share her hilarity as they look down at him, but Jared seems oblivious to his surroundings.
“Doesn’t anybody care?” I ask and take a step forward.
Oriana grabs my arm. “Dude, he’s built like a tank and behaving weird. If he lashes out, he’ll send you flying through the glass.”
I hesitate. She’s right. If Jared knew me, maybe I’d approach him, but I don’t want the risk. “Where’s Francesca?” I ask Oriana.
“She doesn’t supervise. The mids watch us.”
She gestures at the mid guard who shoves kids out of the way and roughly grabs Jared, dragging him to his feet. “Get up and shut up.”
I tense, ready to watch a fight, but Jared hangs his head, muttering under his breath. Soil sticks to his hands and knees and he leaves a trail behind as he’s pulled from the greenhouse, stumbling after the guard like a toddler dragged away from his mess.
I stride over to the two guys who were with him. “What happened?”
They both shrug.
“Which seedlings are you and Jared planting?”
The brown-haired guy looks at me as if I’m weird. “I dunno.” He grabs a sheet of paper with instructions. “Lettuce.”
No chance of hallucinogenic properties there. Bending down, I pick up the forlorn seedling and examine it. Definitely lettuce.
“Aww, look, the witch is sad because the lettuce got hurt.” He nudges his friend, who snickers.
“Is it screaming?” adds the other.
They both chuckle and I give them a sour look before heading back to Oriana.
“What’s that?” she asks and stares at my grubby hands.
“Lettuce.”
She bursts out laughing. “Not much to eat there.”
“No. I wanted to check what Jared was touching before he freaked out.” I set the leaves on the bench close to us and wipe my fingers on my jacket. Ethan told me to watch Samuel and Jared—the disturbed kids. “This didn’t cause his outburst.”
Oriana wrinkles her nose. “Ravenhold sends people crazy. Too many rats in the cage. He’s not the first to lose his shit recently—solitary is filling up.”
I look to the open doorway and the students sneaking out as the commotion finishes, leaving discarded gloves and tools on the floor.
“Come on, before someone comes back and makes us clear up.”
I tread around the mess after Oriana. “What happens to the kids like him?”
“Depends. Infirmary if they hurt themselves, solitary if they hurt others.”
My stomach lurches. If that’s where the authorities take the kids who go missing, which I’m beginning to doubt.
“And do they come back?” I whisper.
She splutters at me. “Sometimes. Who cares? Come on.”
The mid struggles to support the now-yelling Jared across the grounds towards the door.
As each day passes, a question in my head grows. Is Ravenhold more corrupt than the students?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Oriana leaves along with her friends, and I make an excuse that I want to help tidy up, which is met with scorn. The truth? I want to concentrate on my elemental magic and try harder to manifest something. Time here, around nature, could help that.
I kneel on the soil-covered ground and pick up the forlorn seedlings, reaching upwards to set them