Nightworld Academy - L.J. Swallow Page 0,12

visibly swallows. “I’m not.”

Breaking through Amelia’s barrier won’t be difficult. My mind touches the edge of hers and, as I expected, the magic is weak due to her self-doubt. I hold back and allow Amelia to push me away mentally, but she mutters at me to stop and treat her like an equal.

With our gazes locked, I burst through the mental wall blocking my way and seize hold of her last night’s memories. Amelia takes a sharp intake of breath and hits back; I blink and the wall forms again.

She raises a challenging brow. “Not that memory. You don’t get to see what I think of you.”

“I already know,” I whisper.

She doesn’t reply but her eyes widen for a moment. “Try again.”

Deep down, I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t resist delving into Amelia’s past—to see who she is and what created this Amelia.

I dig around until a sharp memory illuminates in the corner of her mind. She sits on a sofa in a small room. The walls are bare stone, like our interior designer recommended for one of our lounge rooms to create a country look. Amelia’s isn’t a feature, but part of an old home where threadbare colourful rugs cover the slate floor and the modern furniture looks out of place.

Genevieve sits with her on a brown sofa. Her sister looks around ten years old; I’m looking through a young Amelia’s eyes.

They’re watching a movie on a small-screen TV. I catch glimpses of a girl with red hair. A tall blond guy. A high school.

“Do you think the academy is like this?” she asks Genevieve.

Genevieve takes popcorn from a bowl between them. “Probably not. This is human.”

“I wish I saw more of the human world. Their lives look exciting.”

“More exciting than life as a witch?” Genevieve laughs at her.

Amelia doesn’t reply.

They lapse into silence, and I’m about to leave her memories alone, when she speaks again. “When’s Dad coming home? He’s away longer this time.”

Her sister stares ahead at the screen. “Soon.”

“I heard Mum crying. Is he dead?”

“Amelia! Don’t say that. Of course he isn’t.”

Through Amelia’s eyes, I see the doubt in her sister’s horrified face.

“But I heard that Confederacy soldiers die all the time. What if a hunter found Dad?”

Back then, Amelia would hear little about the Dominion who’ve grown in number recently. This opposition to our peace-keeping Confederacy are a greater threat than the few humans who hunt us. The Dominion oppose our views. They want to conquer the world that most supernaturals want to live peacefully in.

“Amelia, stop worrying. He’ll be home soon.” Genevieve hugs her little sister closer. “Watch the movie.”

“Matt!” Amelia’s thick cry snaps me out of her memories, and the girl in front of me breathes heavily, her eyes filled with tears. “You promised.”

I blink. “Did you say stop? I didn’t hear.”

“Bullshit!” Amelia’s outburst shocks everybody in the room and not only me, as everybody else breaks their spells, focusing on the quiet girl’s outburst. “That memory was private,” she snaps. “That was a long time ago, and I don’t want to remember that day again.”

Amelia’s voice cracks and tears spring to her eyes.

Shit.

I rub a hand down my face. “I’m sorry, Lia. I didn’t know—”

“Don’t call me that,” she cries out. “How dare you invade my mind.”

Tobias appears by our desk, his eyes glittering with anger. “Are you overstepping boundaries again, Matteo Kohler?”

I cringe at him using my full name. “No.”

“Well, Amelia seems to think so.”

He waves a hand at Amelia, who now covers her face with her hands, breath coming in short bursts.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble, painfully aware how the focus on us makes this worse for Amelia.

Still focusing his anger on me, Tobias growls. “Class dismissed.”

Nobody moves.

“I said, class dismissed.” His loud voice is unusual and enough to send people hurrying from the room.

Tobias stands stiffly, hands behind his back as he waits for the last student to leave. Then he turns away from me and places a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. The sob that escapes her mouth, muffled behind her hands, stabs at my heart.

“I’m sorry,” I repeat hoarsely. “I didn’t think.”

“Not good enough,” snaps Tobias. “You were instructed not to dig too far into your partner’s mind.”

“That was the day we discovered Dad had been seriously injured.” Amelia takes her hands from her face and the tear-filled eyes twist the knife further into my heart. What have I done? “I saw him at the hospital later that day. I barely recognised him. That was the worst day