Page 12 of Wicked Ends
But now, it’s quiet for a different reason. Everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The doors at the back of the Hall open with a bang, and if there’s one thing I’m learning about Jasmine Wickersly, it’s that she likes to make an entrance.
She glides in with Ash at her side. Ash’s face is stony, but the way his eyes glance toward Jasmine says that even he’s not sure what she’s about to do.
Jasmine heads straight for the front. She’s still wearing the same clothes, and I wonder if Helena’s blood is on them. Everyone steps back as she passes.
Nobody says a word.
She and Ash mount the dais. Jasmine doesn’t bother with a microphone. She just stands there, soaking in the silence, smiling like she’s about to hand out an award.
Ash stands a few feet behind her, arms folded, eyes scanning the crowd. I catch his gaze for a split second, and the mark on my arm tingles, but nothing more. He’s holding back. Watching.
Jasmine lets the silence stretch, milking it for all it’s worth. The tension is thick enough to choke on. A few people fidget, but mostly everyone is frozen, waiting to see what this means for them.
I glance at Thorne. She’s practically vibrating, her expression a perfect split between awe and terror. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was star-struck. It wouldn’t take a genius to realize that the fabled third Wickersly sister is standing before us, the resemblance is obvious. I’d laugh if I didn’t have the good sense to feel fear.
Jasmine finally speaks.
“Students and faculty of Serpentine Academy,” she says. “I am Jasmine Wickersly, your new Headmistress. Some of you may remember my late sister, Helena. She has vacated the position.”
The way she says “vacated” is like she sent Helena to a nice farm upstate, not snapped her neck like she was breaking a breadstick.
Ash doesn’t move a muscle.
He’s letting her take charge.
Jasmine moves to the front of the dais. “You may have heard rumors about me. I do hope you paid attention. Because everything you heard is true.” She cackles, doubling over with her hands on her knees, then stands up, catching her breath, before continuing to walk.
She stops dead center, hands clasped in front of her, and lets her gaze settle on the mass of terrified students.
“Change is never easy,” Jasmine says, voice sweet as she nods her head. “But change is necessary. The old ways? They’re dead. I buried them myself. From now on, Serpentine Academy will be ruled by strength, cunning, and loyalty. To me.”
The crowd shifts, everyone instinctively pulling back.
I watch the faculty, to the few remaining Blood Moon Coven members who didn’t run away after Helena, looking for anyone who might step up, challenge her authority. But the teachers are just as spooked as the students, eyes glued to the floor or the walls or anything but Jasmine.
She’s got them. All of them.
Jasmine paces like a panther. “There will be some reformation. We can’t have just anyone waltzing through these halls, can we? I demand excellence. I demand devotion. I demand proof that each of you deserves to be here. I don’t care who you are or who your family is. All of that is meaningless. You are meaningless until proven otherwise.”
Someone in the crowd groans.
Jasmine’s eyes snap to the spot instantly. “Is there a problem?”
Dead silence.
She turns back to the crowd, and her eyes glow brighter than before. Maybe it’s a trick of the light, or maybe she’s just that deranged.
“Starting soon, every student will face a trial. Step up, prove your worth, or step aside. Permanently.”
There’s a mutter of disbelief as everyone processes her words, then a wave of panic as people realize she isn’t bluffing.
Thorne’s mouth drops open. She recovers quickly, but I catch the flash of uncertainty before she smooths it over. Her friends aren’t so composed, and one is openly trembling, and another looks on the verge of tears.
Lucien is rigid beside me, hands clenched into fists. “She’s mad.”
“Yeah, but she’s in charge,” I whisper back. “Ash isn’t doing anything to stop her, either.”
