Page 8 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

I had to tilt my head back to keep looking into his mesmerising eyes. I wasn’t short, but he had to be at least a head taller than me.

“Is it Latin, like the school motto? I never studied it,” I replied. I’d never thought Latin was particularly useful, being a dead language. But right now, I wished I understood.

“It’s the name given to the inner region of a shadow cast. Another, more chilling, translation is darkness.”

The way he emphasised the words gave me goosebumps.

The term didn’t seem familiar, but the meaning… I knew what it felt like. I’d experienced it.

“I apologise for interrupting whatever tension you’ve got going on,” Jesse interjected, “but I must remind everyone that we are currently ten minutes late for our next class.”

“Try not to get yourself killed,” Archer said as he turned on his heel. It almost sounded like a challenge. “I might not catch you next time.”

One by one, the others followed him out, leaving Maisie behind.

“Are you coming, Maisie?” Her lover asked from the doorway.

Maisie shook her head. “Could you tell Mrs Fanning that I’m not feeling well and needed to rest?” Her voice was melodic.

The tall boy nodded. “Be careful,” he said before closing the door behind him. His concern for the small blond was touching, even though I wasn’t aware what he meant by the phrase be careful, since I didn’t consider myself a threat.

“Are those your friends?” I asked, though the answer was obvious.

“They’re my family,” Maisie replied as she sat on the edge of her bed. “We have a connection far deeper than friendship. Especially Nathaniel and I.”

Nathaniel must have been the name of the boy who had stood next to her the entire time.

“Did anyone else see me?”

If the headmaster or my new psychologist found out that I’d seemingly tried to take my life on the very first day at Aquila Hall, I’d probably wish Archer hadn’t stopped me.

That would be the end for me.

Being called crazy was hard enough, but suicidal… I couldn’t go through that again. No one would believe me.

Maisie shook her head. “We went outside during our five-minute break. The professors don’t like it when we do, but we had to talk, and then suddenly, there was you on the balcony. It was terrifying. Archer pulled you off the railing the moment you began to fall. I’ll lock the balcony doors from now on, is that okay?”

I nodded because I knew it would make her feel better, knowing I was safe in our room.

My heart pounded as I looked at the spot that had nearly caused my end. It was terrifying.

I’d had many dreams before.

Blood, death, and so much more had haunted me over the years. I had seen it all. But I’d never been the one dying in my dreams. The observer. That had always been my position.

Never the puppet. Never until today.

No one could possibly be as scared as I was after what had happened.

This was going too far.

“Maisie?”

She brushed her palms over her skirt and looked up at me, “mmh?”

“Do you know if there was ever a tree next to the balcony?”

She didn’t answer for several seconds, but then her voice sounded slightly frightened, “Doe, I think the tree was there fifty years ago.”

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