Page 6 of We Hunt the Night

I shake my head. “No. I asked about you, but she told me that you were busy and that we aren’t really family, so I shouldn’t expect you to?—”

“We are family. Not by blood, but by this.” She taps her heart. “I wrote every week to you with countless warnings about this place and how to survive it. I was careful not to break the rules and the contract, but I added things like “run at the bridge” and so much more hidden. I knew you’d get in and you’d be smart enough to read between the lines of my letters. You’re smarter than anyone else I know.” She narrows her eyes. “I’m not writing to my mom after this. This is low, even for her abusive ass.”

A laugh echoes out of me. I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it. I’m relieved when she laughs with me. “It seems her age-old game of trying to pit us against each other didn’t work.”

“No.” She stops laughing, and she goes serious. “I’m not allowed to stay long. We’re not meant to converse with the first-years in the first few days. It’s just against the rules, but fuck them. You need to find Aster. He’s a wolf and big with white fur. He’s the brother of my bonded, and he knows all about you. Aster’s happy to bond with you, okay? He’ll keep you safe, and he’ll be an easy bond. He’s not as big as my bonded wolf, but he’s strong and kind, and that’s what matters in the war. I’ve seen most of my class die because of the bond being rejected or going wrong. You need safe, and he is it.”

“Thank you.” I grip her hands.

She looks down. “Living in that house was hell, and it took me getting out of it to realize how much it was ruining me, turning me into her…and I didn’t want that. The war took my father and brother, who were both kind and sweet…and I am doing this for them.” Her shoulders drop. “Well, I guess there isn’t anyone in this academy who isn’t fighting for a lost soul ortwo. I am glad my mother took you in, but we both know that you probably would’ve been better off with someone else and not her. Somehow you managed to stay nice throughout all of it, which makes me…well, I’m grateful. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my only family, and I want to make sure you survive. Listen to me, find Aster in the forest. He’ll be looking for you too, but it’ll be madness when you get in there.”

She pulls out a dagger. It’s silver, and a glittering blade, and she presses it into my hand. “Take this to cut your hand on the bloodstone and to defend yourself.” I curl my hand around it. “Remember this: people will try to kill you in the corridor when you step out tomorrow night, so please run fast like we used to when we chased the ice cream woman down the street, begging her to stop so we could get something. Just run, the academy will show you the way, and trust yourself. Jump off the stairs if you have to. The less competition, the better, and some of the assholes here just like killing for sport and fun. They aren’t allowed to kill you once you bond. Two: do not trust anybody that’s not me. Three: You must not leave this room until tomorrow night, until the sun sets. The academy’s small creatures will bring you food and water. Don’t worry, you don’t see them. They take all your washing, anything that needs to be done around here.”

“Understood.” Wini was telling me the truth, then.

She heads to the door. “Oh, and one more thing. Four: stay away from the dragon shifters. They’re called Valeron Drexan, Kane Ardian, Black Ashveil and Mazikeen Lycidas. They’re mean fuckers and the last four dragon shifters left in the world. They don’t want to bond with any witch, and everyone wants to bond with them. In fact, they hate witches. Most of the idiots here will try to go for them because being bonded to even one dragon would be, well, it would change the war.” She shivers. “They willmake a blood bath of fire on bonding night in the forest. Just run.”

“Okay, stay away from the dragons, got it. Find Aster.” Kane was on that list, and he doesn’t sound anything like the boy I remember. “And run fast.”

She pauses at the door. “By the way, I’m proud of you. I know she wouldn’t have said it, but it’s true. I’ve always known you will be the one to change everything. It all begins tomorrow, sister.”

Sister.She has never called me that before. I lift my head, feeling tears itching the corner of my eyes. “See you after the Bloodstone Forest at the celebration.”

Rue leaves the room with one last smile, and I sit on the end of the bed, looking at the dagger in my hand. I can’t hurt anyone; how could I use this? I’ve spent my life buried in books and never once thought knowledge wasn’t enough. What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter 5

The moment the sun starts to drop in the sky, my stomach twists into knots. Last night, I could barely sleep because of the screaming, the sound of doors opening and shutting. The screams haven’t lasted all day, just a few now, and I wonder how many died in the first twenty-four hours at the academy. I can smell blood in the air, and it’s horrid. I continue to pace, touching the dagger that I’ve clipped to my new belt that I found in the drawers.

I walk over to the mirror and look at myself again. I pulled my dark hair up into a high ponytail, the locks falling around my neck and onto my shoulders in dark brown waves. The Bloodstone uniform clings to my body because it’s made to be tight, with a slightly high collar around my neck. I’ve never liked my wide hips or the curve of my body, and this outfit only makes my faults more obvious. I do love the heavy black boots I found, which lace up to my calves.

My parents survived this academy, and they once stood here, just like me, wearing the same uniform. I swore to myself I’d make them proud—that I’d fight because they can’t anymore. I will fight for the Daygan clan because I’m all it has left. They named me after the clan that stood for over a thousandyears, and that has to mean something. I have to mean—do—something to make sure my family isn’t lost and forgotten.

I look over at the door when I sense something—a small creature. It moves so fast, like a shadow, and all I see is cat-like ears before it’s gone. The small creatures won’t speak to me, and I’m not used to that or the way they hide from me. I guess it’s normal for small creatures to hide from witches in most places. The creature has taken my empty plates, and there is now a dress hanging on the back of the door that wasn’t there before. It’s a gray gown, plain but effectively grand with its massive skirts, and there is a note pinned to the corset. I almost don’t want to read it, knowing that the dress isn’t random. I pick the note off the dress.

“To leave the room, you must wear the gown. May you greet death or your bonded future in the best attire.”

What the fuck? I can’t run in a dress! I grit my teeth, tugging the gown off the door and putting it on the bed. I take my uniform off and wrestle the dress on, which fits me perfectly. After tying the laces at the side, I walk over to the mirror. The skirt flows out from my waist where it’s tight—almost too much. It hurts with every breath. The gown is also too long, hiding my boots, but I know I’m going to trip on it the second I run. The note said nothing about fixing the dress, only that I have to wear it.

I attach the dagger belt to my waist over the dress before pulling the dagger out. Using the mirror as a guide, I cut a massive slit down the one side and trim the bottom of the dress until it hits my lower legs, just above my boots. I throw the leftover fabric on the floor. It’s gone nearly instantly, thanks to another small creature that I don’t get a look at this time. “You’re quick and I’m friendly! I won’t hurt you!”

I know I’m shouting into the void and they might not even be listening to me, but I have to try. A morbid thought echoes inmy mind—am I wearing a dress for my coffin, so I look nice? Are they that certain most will die tonight? My eyes drift one more time out the window over the forest and up to the sky. Goddess, please be by my side today.

The door creaks and I turn, seeing it opening on its own. I push the dagger back into my clip and run to the door, peeking out into the silent and dark staircase. The lanterns have been dimmed so much that only a little shadow of light pours out under each fixture on the way down the staircase. The rest is cloaked in black shadows, and it’s far too easy for people to hide in this staircase.

Run. I hear Rue’s warning in my mind before I take off, going right past Wini’s room, where her door isn’t open yet. Mine opened first, I soon realize, as I pass more closed doors. I get halfway down when I see students waiting at the bottom in a line, all of them hooded and hidden, but their whispers echo in the air as much as the air suddenly goes cold with their magic. Whispers are magic in our world. We can only say the spells as whispers because to say them aloud would make them never work. Our goddess is one of whispers, and right now, they might as well be chanting.

The floor under my feet turns to ice, and I scream as I slip and slide right down into the hooded witches. I slam into them, unable to stop, knocking two of them off their feet. Vines snap like snakes out of the hands of one of the standing witches, and I roll to the side, gripping the banister as he walks towards me, his deep voice familiar somehow. “This one is mine. Run, kill the others.”

The others leave as my heart races, as he steps closer, a spell whispering under his breath that I know. A death spell. I throw myself over the side of the banister, not knowing what else to do to avoid the spell.

A scream echoes out of my throat as I fall for what feels like seconds, right before I slam straight onto the stone, hearing my ribs crack. I taste blood in my mouth as I climb to my feet, barely feeling the pain over the shock. Screams echo from above, their pleas ringing in my ears as I walk backwards. My heart is still racing as I hear the sound of so many footsteps on the stairs, and I don’t know if people are coming down or up them, but I can’t stop. I turn and I run.

I don’t look where I’m going. I don’t even think about the corridors of paintings and shadows. I barely see any of it, barely register the way my ribs are hurting and how hard I’m breathing. I just run and run, desperate to get to the forest, to get out of this castle. I feel blood trickling out of the corner of my mouth, and I wipe it away with the back of my hand. I will not die at the hand of some witch in this academy. If I die, it will be avenging my parents. I studied for this; I worked my ass off to be the best in my class, the best in my school, for this chance. I can survive a little longer.

I unexpectedly run right out onto a balcony and slam into a metal railing that overlooks the forest. There is a small staircase right next to me that leads to a path, the path disappearing into the dark, creepy forest. I look back at the academy, seeing an endless stretch of corridor I ran down. The academy somehow led me here, just like Rue predicted. It knew where I wanted to go. My hands cling to the metal railing for a treasured second for me to breathe.

The second does nothing to calm me down, escaping when I turn to the left and see a row of corridors appearing in the stone, with people running down them towards me in gray suits or gowns, some covered in blood. Within moments, I’m not alone, and the entire balcony is full of first-years. I run down the steps before anyone can get near me. The mossy ground path makes it hard to run on, almost bouncing my every step, and I know if Ihadn’t cut the dress, I would have tripped minutes ago. “I can do this.” I don’t know why saying it out loud helps me, but it does. I focus on the tree line, on finding Aster and a bloodstone. One cut, one drop of blood, and the hunt is over.

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