We talk a bit more, a little bit of teasing and flirting, and then I hang up. I catch myself smiling until I look in the direction of Bay’s room. She hasn’t come back since our fight. I’ve tried calling and texting, but she won’t answer or respond. I’m so worried I lost her. What if she’s in danger because of me?
“Don’t worry, Bay,” I murmur even though I’m alone in my room. “I’ll find a way to protect you even if I have to protect you from yourself.”
Raine doesn’t seem the happiest as I approach her, and I can’t blame her. Things are not going well for Light Fae Academy, and they haven’t for periods the past two years as well.
“Ever since you and your twin showed up, we’ve had so many crimes happen on campus,” she grumbles.
“We aren’t to blame,” I protest.
“Yes, well, maybe not, but you can’t ignore the fact that for centuries, we never had one issue…”
“Not any issues?” I press.
She purses her lips at me. “Why are you here, Rosemary? I have a lot of work to do and—”
“Oh, I promise I won’t keep you. You do know that despite all of those crimes that have been happening, I helped to find the perpetrators, right?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you will this time. The guards and the police are working together to ensure there won’t be any more murders or any crimes at all.”
“Yes, that’s good and fine and all, but they haven’t gotten anywhere, have they? There hasn’t been a second murder, true, but is that because of their presence or the curfew?”
“Both, and I don’t see an issue with either, so…”
I clasp my hands in front of her and give her a big smile. “Raine, I’m just curious. Do you think that murderer was someone on campus?”
She smiles right back at me, both grins a bit sardonic. “I don’t even know if the murder took place on academy soil.”
“True, but don’t you think that it’s most likely someone who knew Professor Luna? A student? Maybe not even a current student, but one from years past?”
“Oh, I doubt that,” Raine protests.
“Why? Because of your screening process? You wouldn’t have thought Spring or Thistle would become criminals or else you wouldn’t have allowed them to attend here in the first place, right? If you were wrong about them, then you could have been wrong about another student, whether now or past.”
Raine bites her lower lip. “I allowed Spring to come here because I believed the guards were going to keep a close watch over her. She had issues at another school.”
"I think I heard about that, no specifics, though."
“The specifics are not your concern, but the guards, well, they failed me, and as you may or may not know, the vast majority of them were let go after your first year.”
“And Thistle?”
Raine heaves a sigh. “Thistle was a troubled sort, yes, but I saw good in him. I saw his capacity for love. What I did not see was just how much darkness he had in him that could overwhelm and overpower the light. Be that as it may, the mistakes of the others aside, I truly must insist that this could not have been the work of a student, not current or past. Before you can question me on this point, I have been at this post for over one-hundred and fifty years. Spring and Thistle were the only two too ever commit crimes.”
I swallow back my thought.
She narrows her eyes. “You think I have lost my touch, don’t you?”
I give a big, old smile because I can’t lie.
Raine flares her nostrils. “I will not deny that I have made judgment calls in the past about students that others might have turned aside, but in each of those cases, those fairies rose to the occasion and changed their lives around. They are doctors or nurses or other respectable professions. They make a difference in our world. Not all who have darkness in them are evil, and I thought you would know that.”
“Because of the darkness in my sister.” I grimace.
“Because of the darkness inside yourself,” she says simply. “We all have dark and light.”
I nod, unable to speak. As many times as I’ve shared that sentiment, I’ve never truly ascribed it to myself.
“Could it…” I clear my throat. “Could it have been a teacher then? A guard?”
“My dear, if I knew or had a suspect in mind, I would have shared that already with the police and the security guards.”
“Of course. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“No, no, Rosemary. It wasn’t a waste of time. Not if I could set your mind at ease. Did I some?”
“Maybe a little.”
Raine gives me a smile, the first one to be genuine. "I know times are troubling now, but you do not have to worry. The culprit will be found, and peace will be restored here. I'm certain of it."
I smile and nod before flying away, and I hope, I so desperately hope, that she’s right.
Chapter 26
Like every night, I can’t sleep. My mind is crippling me, and I can’t help wondering and worrying that Bay is involved somehow. There has to be a way for me to prove her innocence so that the entire world can know that she wouldn’t commit such a terrible, hateful act.
But as much as I think that Bay isn’t involved, I’m wondering more and more if Zoth is. Raine’s convinced a student didn’t do this. Zoth isn’t a student.
How can I get close to him, though?
For the longest time, what has Bay been begging me for?
A double date.
I grab my phone. The numbers glow in the darkness. It’s late, very late, but I know just who to text. He might be up yet.
Not Sage. He’ll never be able to act the part because of his hatred of demons.
Damon.
Although I do send Sage a text to not freak out, that it’s just a ploy to try
