Chapter 34: Come Alone
The police arrived fifteen minutes later.
Three patrol cars.
An ambulance.
Two officers Lena had already seen at the academy earlier that morning.
By then, Mrs. Carter had regained consciousness.
Barely.
She sat inside the ambulance wrapped in a blanket, trembling so violently she could hardly hold a cup of water.
She wouldn't look at Lena.
Not once.
Every time her eyes drifted in Lena's direction, pure terror flashed across her face.
Then she'd immediately look away.
As if she was afraid something might happen if she stared too long.
Lena hated it.
The feeling settled heavily in her chest.
She hadn't done anything.
Yet somehow everyone kept getting hurt around her.
The thought followed her through the police questioning.
Through the ambulance lights.
Through the whispers spreading between neighbors gathered outside.
By the time she returned inside the house, exhaustion was beginning to replace fear.
Only beginning.
Because fear was still there.
Growing.
Waiting.
The living room felt crowded.
James sat near the window.
Silent.
Adrian leaned against a wall with his arms folded.
Caleb stood by the front door.
Watching outside.
Watching everything.
Nobody seemed interested in speaking.
For once Lena appreciated it.
Her head already felt ready to split apart.
She dropped onto the couch.
The mark on her wrist burned faintly.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to remind her it existed.
A constant presence.
Like a second heartbeat beneath her skin.
The room remained silent.
Then her phone vibrated.
Once.
Lena ignored it.
Another notification.
Then another.
Then another.
Her phone practically jumped in her pocket.
"Seriously?"
She pulled it out.
Twenty-three unread messages.
Most from students.
Some from unknown numbers.
A few from Ethan.
One from Liam.
The academy rumor mill was apparently having the best day of its life.
She opened Ethan's messages first.
You okay?
Tell me you're okay.
People are talking.
Don't listen to them.
A small smile touched her lips.
That sounded like Ethan.
Always trying to fix problems that weren't his responsibility.
Then she opened Liam's.
Only one message.
Stay away from the forest tonight.
Lena frowned.
That was oddly specific.
And very Liam.
No explanation.
No context.
Just a warning.
Before she could think about it further, another notification appeared.
Unknown Number.
Her stomach tightened immediately.
Slowly, she opened it.
The message contained no text.
Only a photograph.
Lena stared.
Then went completely still.
The blood drained from her face.
The room around her disappeared.
Gone.
Meaningless.
Because the person in the picture was Jacob Mercer.
The missing student.
The entire town had been searching for him.
Police.
Teachers.
Parents.
Everyone.
And he was alive.
Standing in the middle of Blackwood Forest.
His face looked pale.
Exhausted.
But alive.
Lena shot to her feet.
Immediately.
The movement drew everyone's attention.
"What is it?"
Caleb's voice.
Sharp.
Alert.
Lena didn't answer.
Couldn't.
Her hands had started shaking.
The image expanded as she stared.
Jacob wasn't alone.
Six other students stood behind him.
Every single one reported missing during the past year.
Lena recognized them.
Faces from flyers.
Missing person reports.
Hallway posters.
All of them.
Alive.
The room suddenly felt very cold.
"What happened?"
James was standing now.
Adrian too.
Lena handed Caleb the phone.
His expression changed instantly.
The reaction told her everything.
This wasn't normal.
Not even by their standards.
Adrian stepped forward.
Took the phone.
Looked.
His face darkened.
Then came the second image.
Automatically.
As if the sender knew she'd opened the first.
A simple black screen.
White text.
Nothing else.
Four words.
COME ALONE, LENA.
Silence.
The room froze.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Lena's pulse thundered in her ears.
The message remained on the screen.
Waiting.
Almost patiently.
Then a third image appeared.
This one nearly made her drop the phone.
Jacob.
Again.
Only this time he was kneeling.
Someone stood behind him.
Mostly hidden by shadows.
A hand rested on his shoulder.
The fingers were pale.
Elegant.
Feminine.
And around the wrist was a silver bracelet shaped like a crown.
The same crown she'd seen in her memories.
The same crown worn by Seraphine.
A chill crawled down Lena's spine.
No.
No, no, no.
Caleb snatched the phone.
His eyes narrowed.
Then darkened.
Then narrowed again.
The expression wasn't fear.
It was calculation.
The look of someone already thinking five moves ahead.
"It's a trap."
"No kidding."
The response came from Adrian.
For once they actually agreed on something.
Lena looked between them.
"Those students are alive."
Neither answered.
Bad sign.
Very bad sign.
"Those students are alive."
She repeated it.
More forcefully.
Still silence.
Then James finally spoke.
"It doesn't mean they're safe."
The statement landed hard.
Because he was right.
Alive and safe weren't the same thing.
Not even close.
Lena looked back at the image.
Jacob wasn't smiling.
None of the students were.
They looked exhausted.
Afraid.
Like people waiting for something terrible.
Something unavoidable.
The thought twisted her stomach.
A fourth message appeared.
This time there was text.
Actual text.
No image.
No mystery.
Just words.
Midnight.
Blackwood Forest.
Come alone.
Or one of them dies.
The room went silent again.
Lena hated how often that happened lately.
Then something unexpected occurred.
Caleb laughed.
Not because it was funny.
The opposite.
The sound was sharp.
Dangerous.
The laugh of someone reaching the end of his patience.
"That's not happening."
Lena looked at him.
"What?"
His eyes never left the screen.
"You're not going."
The answer came instantly.
Without hesitation.
Without discussion.
Without permission.
Lena immediately crossed her arms.
Bad move.
Very bad move.
Because Caleb knew that posture.
And she knew he knew it.
"No."
His tone became even firmer.
"You are absolutely not walking into a trap."
"Those students need help."
"It's a trap."
"I know."
"It's obviously a trap."
"I know."
His jaw tightened.
"Then why are we arguing?"
"Because they're still alive."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The room became quiet.
Different this time.
Not tense.
Not fearful.
Heavy.
Because everybody understood exactly what she meant.
If they were alive now...
There was still time.
Maybe not much.
But some.
Enough to matter.
Caleb looked away first.
Which surprised her.
A muscle jumped in his jaw.
For a moment he looked strangely frustrated.
Then she realized why.
He wasn't angry.
He was worried.
Actually worried.
The realization hit unexpectedly hard.
Before anyone could speak again, another notification appeared.
Everyone looked.
Another image.
This one taken seconds ago.
Jacob sat tied to a chair.
Looking directly at the camera.
His face bruised.
His lip bleeding.
And written on the wall behind him in silver paint were three words.
TICK TOCK, LENA.
The image vanished almost immediately.
Deleted by the sender.
Gone.
But not before everyone saw it.
The room felt smaller suddenly.
The countdown had started.
And for the first time all evening...
Lena wasn't thinking about Seraphine.
Or memories.
Or queens.
Or marks.
She was thinking about Jacob Mercer.
Alone somewhere in Blackwood Forest.
Waiting for help.
Waiting for someone to come.
And deep down she already knew something terrifying.
Whether Caleb agreed or not...
She was going.