Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

16. Violet

16

VIOLET

I come to slowly, my head pounding as if I’ve been hit by a truck. As my eyes flutter open, I find myself lying on one of the library’s plush couches, Thorne’s worried face hovering over me.

“What happened?” I groan, trying to sit up.

Thorne gently pushes me back down. “Easy there. You overexerted yourself and passed out. How do you feel?”

“Like my brain’s been put through a blender,” I mutter, rubbing my temples. “But also, different. Stronger, somehow.”

Thorne nods slowly. “You tapped into something powerful, Violet. The amount of energy you were wielding at the end there was incredible.”

I frown, trying to piece together my fragmented memories. “Did I hurt you?”

He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t. But you did manage to break through all my defences and create a shield around us that was almost physical.”

I sit up slowly, ignoring Thorne’s protests. “That’s good, right? It means I’m getting stronger.”

“It is,” Thorne agrees cautiously. “But we need to be careful. Pushing too hard too fast could be dangerous.”

“It’s not like we have much time.”

Before he can respond, the library doors burst open. Flint and Caine burst in, looking like they’ve seen a ghost. Well, considering we go to a supernatural academy, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but they look properly freaked out. Their entrance shatters our brief moment of peace, and I can tell by their expressions that whatever’s coming isn’t good.

“Guys,” Flint pants, his eyes glowing with urgency. “We’ve got trouble.”

I sit up slowly, my body still achy from the immense overload of power. “What kind of trouble? The Convergence? I thought we had a day left?”

“Not the Convergence. Not yet, anyway,” Caine says grimly, leaning heavily on his cane. Ice spreads from where it touches the floor, creating intricate patterns that show his irritation. “The Order is gathering in the forest. Dozens of them.”

That gets my attention. I scramble to my feet, ignoring Thorne’s steadying hand, though I appreciate his constant presence. “What? How do you know?”

Flint waves his hand in a circle, and in the next second, we are standing in a flurry of snowflakes and embers—which is as weird to see as it sounds—on the top floor of the library. “Look.”

I join him at the window, peering out into the snowy landscape. It’s like a picture from a fairytale, but not the nice kind. This is more Brothers Grimm—beautiful but deadly. At first, I see nothing, but then movement catches my eye. Dark figures moving through the frozen trees, their forms barely visible through the falling snow. They move with purpose, with malice.

“Shit,” I breathe, my vampire sight picking up details I wish it hadn’t. “How many?”

“Too many to count,” Caine says, his voice tight with worry. “And that’s not the worst part.”

Of course it isn’t. When is it ever? In the past few months, every time I think things can’t get worse, they do. It’s like some cosmic joke, except I’m not laughing.

“The wards are under attack,” he continues, tapping his cane in the window. “Heavy mage fire from multiple directions. They’re trying to bring down the wards.”

“Shit. This is so much bigger than the frozen wolf-cicles we moved to the mountains,” I whisper, feeling a sense of dread that my time is about to be up before I even get to stop the Convergence.

Thorne moves closer, his shadows whipping up a frenzy at the impending attack. The temperature in the room drops several degrees as his darkness mingles with Caine’s frost and Flint’s weird mix-and-match magick. “Can they break through?”

“Blackthorn says eventually,” Caine admits. “The wards are strong but sustained magickal attacks with only Blackthorn’s power-boosting it?—”

“Will make them fail,” Flint finishes.

“Brilliant,” I mutter, tangling my fingers in my hair in agitation. “Can we help boost them?”

Flint and Caine exchange a look that makes my stomach drop. It’s the kind of look that says they’re about to make my day even worse.

“What? We can’t?”

“It’s not that. Yesterday, or was it the day before now? I can’t keep track anymore, I saw Xaxis and Liam whispering together in the dining hall,” Flint says, his voice tight with barely contained rage. “When I was getting you some blood.”

At the mention of blood, my stomach growls.

We all ignore it.

“Okay, and?”

“It was a little suss. They aren’t the same species, and they have never been friends before that we know of… also, we’ve not been shy about protecting you from them.”

“I didn’t think I needed protection from Liam,” I hiss, glaring at Caine. “He was trying to be nice.”

“Whatever,” Caine shrugs. “I’m not sorry for making him walk.”

I growl at him, but Flint interrupts with an exasperated sigh. “We just caught them near the ward stone on the east side of campus. We have to assume they’re Order infiltrators. They’ve been working against us this whole time.”

“What? That’s a bit of a reach, isn’t it?” I ask sceptically.

“No,” Caine states with a huff. “They were clearly up to no good.”

“What did they do?” Thorne asks, intrigued.

“Well…” Caine and Flint exchange a look. “Nothing, I suppose, but only because we caught them skulking about. But we’re certain they are infiltrators inside the academy, and I bet there are more as well.”

“Okay, we’ll take your word for it and assume foe unless proven otherwise. We need to get organised. Where’s Blackthorn?”

“He’s meeting with the faculty and bringing them all up to speed. We need all hands on deck, judging by the force out there,” Caine says.

“Right,” I say, forcing myself to focus. “Then we’ll have to handle this ourselves. We need to do what we can to strengthen the wards. I have no idea how to do that, so tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

Caine nods, but before he can reply, Flint points grimly out of the window. “Look.”

We turn back to the window. The dark figures in the forest have moved closer, and now I can make out more details. They’re wearing distinctive robes, which I assume are from the Order, but these aren’t like the frozen members we relocated, who were rogues and under Nathaniel’s thumb. These are organised, militant forces, and they look ready for war. Their magick crackles visibly around them, distorting the air like heat waves.

“We need to protect the younger students,” I say decisively. “Get them somewhere safe. They’re not ready for this kind of fight.”

“The Vault,” Caine says. “It’s the most heavily warded place in the academy. If we can get the younger students there, they’ll be protected.”

“Good idea. Flint, can you organise that? Get help from the teachers you trust?” I pause, realising how loaded that word has become. “If there are any left, we can trust.”

He nods, determination setting his jaw. “On it. But what about Xaxis and Liam? They know the academy’s layout. If they’re working for the Order from the inside?—”

A massive explosion interrupts him, rocking the building. We stumble as the floor shakes beneath us, books crashing to the ground.

“What the fuck was that?” I demand, steadying myself against the wall.

Caine’s expression turns grim. “If I were to hazard a guess, the ward stones are being destroyed.”

“Xaxis and Liam,” I murmur.

“Xaxis and Liam!” Flint exclaims, jabbing his finger in mid-air.

Another explosion, closer this time, rattles the windows in their frames, and I hear screams from somewhere in the academy.

“Move!” Thorne shouts, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the window just as it explodes inward, showering us with glass and snow. His shadows wrap around us protectively as we hit the floor hard. Thorne’s body covers mine as chaos erupts around us. Through the broken window, I hear shouts and the crackle of hostile magick. The cold winter air rushes in, carrying with it the scent of battle - ozone from spell fire, smoke from explosions, and underneath it all, blood.