Chapter 14 14: The gala team

Chapter 14 14 LIES
SORAYA
I hated dreams. I woke up from one I couldn't remember, and to a loud banging on the door. I jerked up, again greeted by a chill wind that came from nowhere. It was like there was a sinister presence here, and I could feel it.
"Finally, the sleeping witch wakes..."
And why the heck was Daryl's voice deeper than normal? My eyelids fluttered open, taking a while to get accustomed to the bright light streaming from the window.
"Careful now, you don't want to rouse the shadows." Daryl's cutting tease was what reminded me of the night before—what had transpired.
"Nothing else happened?" I hated to admit how shaky my voice was when I asked him. But it was inevitable that beneath my whole fierce hunter charade, there was still that scaredy eighteen year old girl, whose mother had only just changed her life, six months ago.
Even still...
"You sound so scared for someone who was so intent on being my companion just few days ago."
If I could snarl at him, I would. "I hate you," I confessed tightly.
"It is a feeling, that's enough for me." He was strange this morning. Something else was radiating off Daryl that I couldn't place, and I wasn't even ready to dig it up.
I got to my feet, running my hands through my curls and blowing out a ragged breath. The house—prison—looked a lot less scarier in daylight. I was going to speak, to give him a retort when there was another banging on the door, loud and frantic.
I reached for my pocket, feeling for the dagger I had sheathed in there. "You snuck a weapon in?" Daryl marveled. I didn't risk a glance at him, instead I inched to the door, stealthily.
"If the person knocking is banging so loudly, whoever it is isn't here to hurt us," Daryl deadpanned. I could hear the smirk in his words. The asshole was amused.
"Shut up." I spat, reaching for the doorknob and then jerking it open.
"Oh my days, Soraya!" The shrieking voice that greeted us was just as relieving as it was annoying. I pulled my hands out of my pocket so fast, careful not to injure myself.
Adele lunged at me, pulling me into a fierce hug. I shut my eyes tight, my hands rigid by my side.
"Adele..." I managed, my voice muffled against her hair. She smelled like mint and soap. "You're... choking me."
She pulled back instantly, still holding my shoulders. "You're safe," she whispered, eyes darting over my face as though to confirm it.
I rolled my eyes, gently taking her hands off me. "Am I supposed to be dead?"
"Come on Soraya, at least act like you care," Daryl called out mockingly
"Mind your business."
"The whole school thinks you both really have something to do with Annie's death," Adele chimed in carefully, as if trying to test waters.
"No thanks to Principal Owen," I mumbled bitterly.
Daryl scoffed. "The bastard."
"But did you really?"
"Adele. If you are asking me that question, then you sure as hell shouldn't be here, you know that?"
The girl trembled, biting her lips. "Right. Obviously you won't do that." She cast a cautious glance at Daryl however.
"He didn't do it," I snapped in her face knowing what she was thinking. She trembled again, retreating a bit.
But Daryl laughed. "So dramatic for nothing, Karter..."
"Someone has to help keep your name clean,"
"I didn't ask you to do it."
Heavens. The audacity of this man was alarming, and just as annoying. "You are a pain in the ass, Ender."
"If you say so."
I revert my attention back to Adele. "Why are you here?"
"Uhm..." She paused, scratching the back of her ear. "I brought news from Sir Owen."
Now that made Daryl sit up. "What did he say?"
"Well... Nothing much. Just that you both are allowed to go to your dormitories to pick out necessities, and that you're allowed to attend classes, although you will be closely watched." She rushed out her words in one breath, blinking rapidly when she was done.
"How generous of him," I hissed.
"A fucking joke," was Daryl's response. I didn't blame him. Sir Owen was proving to be a real freaking asshole. Adele winced at the anger in Daryl's voice. She didn't know what was going on obviously.
"Come, Soraya. Let's go, I'll help you with packing your stuff."
I wanted to protest, at least suggest to Daryl that we should tell the principal what we had experienced, but the look on his eyes said he already knew what I was thinking of. He shook his head. "No. I'll take care of it myself," he whispered.
I rolled my eyes because how he was going to do that was beyond me, but I humoured him with a snarky comment. "Typical."
\---
The house had a name, according to Adele.
“Elroy,” she said. “It was the residence of the very first Luna of our pack, and also founder of the school—Eve Lucan. She was half Lycan, half witch. She was also the princess of Nevanda in her time.”
In daylight, Elroy looked less menacing, though the unease it carried didn't fade. Its walls were veined with ivy, the stones darkened by age and rain. The windows were tall and narrow, their glass tinted faintly gray, and the roof's spires cast long, pointed shadows across the lawn.
It stood about eight hundred meters from the academy grounds, far enough that it felt isolated from everything else, but still close enough to be a part of the academy.
"Now it's a prison, ain't that disrespectful to the dead?"
Adele stopped, lowering her voice and pulling me closer to her. "Rumour has it that she isn't dead. No one can tell where her body is buried. She was the strongest Witch to ever live."
My skin pulsed at the information, a shiver running down my spine. What Adele said might be ruled as a myth, but why did I have a feeling that there was more to the story. There was more to Elroy than meet the eye, especially after what happened last night.
I was not looking forward to going back there.
"I can help you pack up your stuff," Adele said, changing the topic. It seemed as though even she could already feel the unease.
"Are you that eager to have me out of your lair?" I nitpicked resuming my walk with long strides, while Adele struggled to catch up with me.
"Really Soraya!" She snapped, or rather tried to, because her voice sounded more like a mice squeak than anything menacing.
I smirked. "Well, I can't wait to be far away from your disturbances, Adele."
I lied.