Page 41 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

I wanted them to acknowledge that I was one of them. That we were the same.

Maisie looked like she was trying to find the right answer to my question. “I do have the ability to see. So does Nathaniel, but I don’t think you're picturing my ability right.”

I took her hands in mine, squeezing them once. “Then explain it to me.Please. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to find answers, to find someone similar to me.”

It sounded like a plea. Maybe I was begging, and potentially I’d even considered falling to my knees just to feel seen for once in my pathetic little life.

My roommate swallowed and lost hold of one of my hands before dragging me back to the room where the others were discussing matters, and from what I perceived, I was the matter. I grabbed the candle with my free hand and blew it out to prevent it from accidentally burning down the school because we forgot it in here. Maisie tends to forget she’d lit a fire, and I had to extinguish them on a daily basis by now.

Nathaniel, who was sitting on the armchair next to a painting on the wall and another small bookshelf, stood up in an instant when he saw his girlfriend return. He wasn’t running up to her, he was standing two solid metres away, looking at her closely.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, his voice so soft, I’d only ever heard him talk like that when he spoke with her.

Maisie’s hold around my hand tightened slightly, and she surprisingly nodded. I knew she wasn’t better. It was more than obvious, and since she’s always honest in everything, I had just assumed that she’d tell the boy who means the whole world to her the truth.

Nathaniel stepped closer until he was right in front of her, sliding his hand around her waist, pressing her hips into him so he could lean down and place a kiss on her forehead. “I won’t leave you,Cara,” he whispered, tilting her chin up to press his lips against hers with the faintest touch. “Not ever.”

Maisie nodded slowly, not looking like she truly believed him. I didn’t know what this conversation was about, and I certainly didn’t know what she meant byhisfate. All I could do was hope that whatever scared my friend won’t ever come true.

“We have to tell her, it’s too late anyway, and she deserves to know as much as we do,” Maisie said out loud, cutting into the boys’ conversation.

Archer, who had changed into the same pair of clothes I wore, pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning on. His hairwas still a little damp, but his skin was dry, and all the fake blood had been completely washed off.

“We’re aware. If we keep this world from her any longer, we’ll end up in failure,” he agreed.

His eyes flickered from left to right for a brief moment before he closed them and inhaled deeply, pulling out one of the chairs placed beside the table. He sat down, and it was like a command to his friends, who followed suit behind him. For a moment, I just stood there, waiting until everyone had settled before I took a seat on the chair between Maisie and Jesse, facing Archer.

“Do you remember the word I explained to you the day you arrived?” He wanted to know.

Of course I remembered. I’d thought of him as some kind of madman trying to scare me away.

Frankly, that wasn’t entirely correct because the other thing I’d thought about him that day was interest. I didn’t know him, and I didn’t consider myself someone who developed feelings quickly or fancied people just because they were attractive, but I’d longed for him the moment our eyes met. Maybe, just maybe, I was drawn to him because he’d just saved my life. I think I’d read a study about that a few months ago.

That might explain why his touch felt divine on my skin.

“Umbra, the Latin definition of the dark centre of the eclipse shadow.” I had searched for the meaning of the word afterwards, even though Archer had already explained it to me. There could have been more behind that.

I craved knowledge more than oxygen. The devouring of knowledge was my own kind of addiction. Not being able to explain the shadows must have messed me up.

“I tried to figure out if you knew about this–about us,” Archer responded calmly. “It was stupid of me to assume you did, to think for one second that you were her.”

I frowned. “Who do you mean byher?”

He looked over at Naomi, who pushed her chair back and stood up. She then approached the shelf next to the armchair and grabbed one of the books lying on it.

Naomi let the book slide over the table, and I snatched it before it could fall off the other side.

It wasn’t a typical book. It was a notebook in a black leather binding. A surname was embossed in golden lettering at the bottom of the cover.

Minoru.

“That’s your name, right?” I asked, looking up at the black-haired girl, who nodded.

“It belonged to my grandmother. Open the first page and look at the picture,” Naomi commanded, and I did as she said.

On the first page was a picture glued onto the paper beneath it. The image showed seven teenagers our age standing beside each other. I recognised the building behind them as the front of Aquila Hall.

On the left stood a Japanese girl wearing smart clothes and… gloves. Just like Naomi always did. Which made it obvious to me that this woman must have been her grandmother. She had her arm around the shoulder of a boy with chestnut hair and a bright smile. He reminded me of Jesse a little. Wait, was he Jesse’s grandfather?

---