Page 2 of Shattered Veil
“Brigid?” My voice cracks, raw hope surging.
She turns. Gray eyes lock onto mine.
But something’s off. Her gaze is too sharp, predatory. A cruel smirk twists her lips.
“Hello, little wolf,” she purrs. Her voice is in my head, layered with other tones. Older. Darker.
I take an involuntary step back.“You’re not her.”
She laughs.
Chapter Two
Brigid
Fiona.
My feet root to the floor. Brain misfires. Breath catches in my throat.
It can’t be.
Fiona, here. In this hidden archive room deep within Grimstone Academy flanked by stern-faced Council guards in their silver-embroidered black uniforms.
Impossible.
Fiona belongs to my old life, my human life. The boisterous woman who shelved books at the library. Who snuck me sips of her“special tea” on her break and whispered raunchy jokes when the supervisor wasn’t looking.
Fiona can’t be part of this supernatural world. She can’t be aligned with the Council. It has to be a trick, an illusion.
But it’s her. Same elfin build, same choppy white hair. Same thick glasses and loud, mismatched jewelry. Same purple corduroy jacket.
It’s Fiona. But wrong. All wrong.
I blink hard. Room spins.
“Brigid? You know this woman?” Lochan’s gruff voice in my ear. Steadying hand on my elbow. That’s new.
“Yes. No. I mean, I thought I did...” I trail off.
“She’s with the Council.” Callan’s ice-blue eyes narrow, assessing this new threat.
Tiernan steps forward, placing his body between me and Fiona, while Marius lingers in the shadows behind the shelves. Watching. Waiting.
The clashing realities make me dizzy.
Fiona removes her glasses with a slow deliberateness—the calculated movement strips away another layer of familiarity camouflaging my old friend—transforming before my very eyes into someone else.
“Brigid, my girl.” The familiarity of it hits me like a gut punch, knocking the breath from my lungs.
Memories flood back—laughter spilling over shared secrets, late-night confessions, and her soothing presence during those dark days before everything changed.
I want to recoil, but I’m frozen in place, caught between nostalgia and betrayal. The warmth of our past friendship feels like it’s smothered under ice now.
“Look at you,” she continues, her gaze sweeping across my face as if trying to peel back the layers of my defenses.“You’ve grown into something… formidable.” A predatory glint sparks in her eyes.“This is where you’ve always belonged.”
Fiona tucks a strand of her messy white hair behind her ear.“As for me, I’m the new dean of Grimstone. A little promotion, if you will. Though I’m sure you and your circle of friends have a better way of describing it.” Her eyes flicker over Tiernan and Marius.“And I know what you’re thinking. It’s true, I work for the Council, but I’m on your side—”
“Bullshit.” Lochan mutters.
