Chapter 137 The Rapidly Dropping Veil
Chapter 137 The Rapidly Dropping Veil
LORCAN
My whole body throbs like an aching wound as I close my arms around Lyria’s form and hold her close to me.
The entire way here, I was imagining the worst.
“Lorcan, we can’t stay here for long,” she claims before pulling away slightly and grabbing my face. I briefly glance at Finnegan’s face and see that he’s staring at us with an expression I know all too well. “The Bitten are here. They attacked Electra and one of Anselm’s friends! I think she’s dead, Lorcan.”
This news hits me harder than I should. It’s not that I care about Electra specifically, but those creatures are closer than I ever could have expected. “What?”
“We have to go,” she insists as she reaches for my hands and exchanges a look with Wallace. “There’s no predicting what could happen if it catches up to us. It’s pretty strong. Anselm and his friends tried to kill it but failed.”
“How did you end up seeing that?”
Lyria’s eyes meet mine and something flashes across them. I suck in a breath and my jaw snaps shut. She doesn’t have to tell me—I already know that I was right. My brother pulled some shit and tried to hurt her, just like I knew he would.
“I’m fine, Lorcan, and that’s what matters, right?” she asks softly as her fingers squeeze around mine. “We have to get out of here. We’re running out of time.”
“Lyria’s right,” Finn volunteers. “We can’t stick around here. Those things are fast and they have every reason to want to rip us all to shreds. Let’s get going, alright?”
Lyria looks over at me and I nod. I’m sure there’s more to her look than just a confirmation to leave, but like I said—Finnegan’s on our side for now, and so we’ll stick together even though I’m not happy about any of this.
I’m still going to be careful and I can’t just take his word for it, but I’ll be with her every step of the way. He’s not going to lay a single finger on her.
And if he’s lying somehow…
All four of us start hiking back to the academy as quickly and as silently as possible. At this point, my heart’s in my fucking throat.
I’ve never seen one of those creatures before, but the fact that it killed Electra and someone from Anselm’s squad is… almost unimaginable.
These changes are coming at us fast, and now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t help but tie all this back to what Wallace told me.
The veil is being lifted. The Alpha Council won’t be able to hide behind fabricated lies anymore. Now is the time for answers, and if they don’t say anything, then people will just make their own conclusions and that will be worse.
“Whoa,” Wallace says quickly as he stops dead on his track and points at something beyond. “What is that? Do you see that?”
I turn my attention to what has him so scared, and it’s like ice has been injected into my veins. Though there’s not much light in the area surrounding us, up ahead, there’s clearly someone, or something, bent over a body and eating the entrails.
What. The. Fuck?
“It’s a Bitten,” Lyria says quickly as she backs away. We all silently turn the other way and start down another path, moving fast. I want to ask Lyria if this one is the one she saw, but the words won’t come out.
What the hell is going on? It’s like our world has been flipped upside down and nothing makes fucking sense anymore. This isn’t supposed to be part of the real world. In a science fiction or even horror novel, sure, but it’s all real.
We’re all running much faster now, and nobody’s saying a thing. I don’t let go of Lyria’s hand once. Even Finnegan is running way ahead of us now.
We run around blindly for some time, but then I see the academy up ahead. It doesn’t even cross my mind that we could find even more on the grounds.
The main thing is getting out of the woods.
Because we took a different path, we don’t end up near the training grounds. In fact, we’re closer to the library, so that’s where we’re going.
There’s not a single soul around. Honestly, I don’t know how long it will take for everyone to figure out what the hell is going on. I don’t know what the time is, but I’m guessing that most of the other students are in the middle of lectures right now.
So, it’s only a matter of time.
Heading up the long flight of stairs is exhausting as fuck, but we get to the top and shuffle inside the library. We still haven’t exchanged a single word since that awful scene in the woods.
Every time I think about it, I have this feeling like I’m going crazy. It’s the worst shit in the world.
“This way,” I say, guiding them to where the student council usually hosts meetings. It’s a room that’s on the other side of the library, where not a lot of people go. Most don’t have the permission to head to this side.
Once we’re safely inside the room, I breathe a lot easier. With the door closed, it definitely feels like nothing can get to us.
Wallace is the one who breaks the silence. “What the fuck was that, man? What the fuck?”
I turn my attention to Lyria. She’s leaning against the edge of the table and her head is low. I stand directly in front of her and place my hands on either side of her face.
For several seconds, all we can do is stare at each other. I’m relieved that we managed to escape that situation, but I know that as long as we stay here, there will always be danger.
“What now?” Wallace asks as he throws his arms up. “It looks like the world is fucking ending right now! What the hell do we do?”
“We go to the human world,” Finnegan answers behind us, which makes Lyria turn her attention to him with a crinkle between her brows.
“What?” she asks. “Cassea? What do you mean?”
“It’s the only place in the world where you’ll be safe right now,” he explains. “That’s where your father lives.”
“My father?” she echoes. “You mean to tell me that my father is alive? My biological father?”
Finnegan slides his hands inside the pockets of his jeans and nods. Lyria looks over at me, and all I can do is nod.