19
Maevryn’s POV
I woke up screaming.
Sweat soaked through my shirt.
My blankets were on the floor.
My dorm window was wide open, the night breeze cut through me like ice.
It felt all to real.
Except for the fact it wasn't a nightmare.
It was a memory.
A horrible, twisted memory I’d buried so deep, I forgot what it felt like to fight.
I sat up, hands still shaking.
Stormi stirred in my mind, her presence like a flicker of moonlight.
You’re safe now, little pup. It’s over.
But it didn’t feel like it was over.
That darkness? It still lived under my skin. That rage? Still simmered in my bones. That terror? Still echoed in my pulse.
I curled into myself on the bed, knees pulled to my chest, trying to catch my breath.Outside the window, the moon hung heavy. Brinley stirred in her bed slowly sitting up.
“Everything okay Mae?” she asked, sleep slurring her words.
“Yea it's fine.. Go back to sleep Brin, I’m gonna go for a quick walk…” I stood up grabbing a jacket and rushing out of the dorm room.
It was roughly 8am by the time I got back to the dorm, Brinley was all dressed and ready for the day and a new outfit lay neatly on my bed.
I walked in, a small blush creeping its way up. I slowly grabbed the clothes while inspecting them.
Brand new Black Tommy Hilfiger Boot cut jeans, and a gorgeous black cropped tank top. Paired with a cute white lace bra and matching undies.
I looked over at Brinley and noticed she was blushing as well.
“We're matching!” she said as she showed me her whole outfit.
“I thought you'd like them! How about we ditch your second day and go to the mall with the boys?” she said as she took a couple steps so she was beside me.
“You've been here two weeks and Mae, you NEED clothes so I can stop giving you all my cute ones” she said with a wink.
Another blush swept up my face. Both of us were red and flustered.
Brinley paused, I could tell she was mind linking someone.
She always gets this cute, concentrated look when she does it.
“Lucian said we can go to the mall as long as we bring the guys for ‘protection’ “ she put her fingers in little air quotes around the word.
I stifled out a small laugh. I started to love being around Brinley and the boys.
Am I scared they're going to leave me and treat me like shit? Absolutely, but something tells me they are different from the other people in my life.
I’d never been in a boutique that shimmered.
Seriously. The walls glittered like enchanted quartz. Clothing racks hovered slightly above the ground, rotating slowly, like they were displaying themselves.
Moonlight Academy students strolled in and out, laughing and chattering like this was just another day..
To me? It felt like stepping into another life entirely.
“This place is insane,” I muttered, turning in a slow circle.
Brinley grinned. “Right? I told Lucian we needed you in something other than sweatpants and trauma.”
Kieran snorted. “She rocks the trauma-core look, though.”
Rowen elbowed him silently.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the blush that crept into my cheeks.
“Try this one,” Brinley said, plucking a flowy, silvery top from a rack and tossing it at me.
“It’ll bring out your eyes.”
“I don’t even know what my style is,” I muttered, staring at the ethereal piece of fabric.
“That’s the fun part,” she beamed. “You get to find it.”
The next hour passed in a blur of skirts, celestial patterns, dresses and shorts, and of course the boys pretending to be bored while secretly offering weirdly accurate fashion advice.
“That jacket is too long,” Rowen said at one point, arms crossed. “Get the cropped one. Shows off your waist.”
Kieran raised an eyebrow. “Are you secretly a stylist?”
“I pay attention.”
Brinley snorted. “He watches runway shows in his dorm, don’t let him lie to you.”
“You said I had good taste!” Rowen protested.
“You do,” I said before I could stop myself.
All three of them turned.
I busied myself hanging a glittering jacket back onto its hanger.
When we finally took our things to the checkout, my arms were full of clothes that I couldn’t believe were mine. The boys being the gentleman they were grabbed my bags as Brinley linked her arm through mine as we stepped back into the crisp evening air.
Her smile faded.
“You didn’t sleep much last night,” she said gently.
I blinked at her.
“Your aura was off this morning. And when I brushed your hand in the store… I felt something.” Her tone was soft. Kind. But probing.
Kieran and Rowen fell quiet behind us, listening without speaking.
I inhaled deeply. The laughter from moments ago felt miles away.
“I had a bad dream,” I murmured. “Well, not really even a bad dream. More like a memory.”
Brinley squeezed my arm. “Tell me.”
I stopped walking. They formed a soft semicircle around me — not boxing me in, just… being there.
“I was twelve,” I said slowly. “And… I’d just had my first real outburst. I had forgotten to take my meds in the morning.. And my mom—she came home and was drunk. Furious. Screaming because I hadn’t cleaned something right. She hit me.. I tried to stop her, and this time something inside me snapped. The lights flickered, the air shifted. Things shook.”
Brinley’s eyes widened slightly. Kieran looked down. Rowen’s jaw clenched.
“She forced me to take the aconite. Told me it helped my anxiety.” I laughed bitterly. “It didn’t. It kept me quiet. Powerless.”
I felt the fire rising in my throat, but I pushed through.
“She threw me down the basement stairs. Locked me down there. I didn’t eat for three days.”
A long silence followed. The wind rustled the trees nearby. A bird called distantly.
Brinley stepped forward first. Her arms slid around me, warm and grounding.
Kieran moved in, resting a hand on my back. Rowen stood a little closer, just enough for me to feel his presence like a silent shield.
“You didn’t deserve any of that,” Brinley whispered.
“I believed I did,” I said honestly. “For a long time.”
“You never deserved to be treated that way,” Kieran said firmly.
There was a sound behind me.
No. Not a sound.
A voice.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
“Maevey, darling…”
My stomach turned to stone. The blood drained from my face.
No.
It couldn’t be.
My head snapped toward the source, heart thundering.
I turned around to see the women who treated me like shit.
Who threatened me.
Beat me.
Hated me.
My lovely mother.
Nythera.