Storm and Fury(22)

“Can you close the door, Nicolai?” Thierry asked as he crossed the room and sat behind his desk. Matthew joined him, standing to his right. “Misha told me that there is something you needed to share that can’t wait until after the banquet.”

“Yeah, but...” I trailed off as Nicolai sat in the chair next to me.

“I don’t believe Trinity has met Nicolai.” Matthew stepped in smoothly, his red hair falling forward, brushing his forehead.

“No, we haven’t met.” Nicolai smiled in my direction. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Same.” My confusion was nearing epic levels as my gaze swung back to Thierry. “I don’t understand...”

“It’s okay. You can speak openly in front of Nicolai.” Thierry smiled faintly.

Misha’s brows rose.

I had no idea what was going on. “Um, I’m not sure—”

“You can. Nicolai understands that what he hears in this room cannot go beyond it.”

Nicolai nodded. “Of course.”

“What do you need to tell us?” Mathew prodded.

I glanced at Misha, who was frowning so severely I thought his face might crack. “I saw...” I took a deep breath as my heart started pounding. “I saw a ghost outside of the Great Hall tonight.”

Nicolai’s head swung in my direction. “Excuse me?”

I stared at Thierry, having no idea what to say.

“Trinity can see ghosts and spirits,” Thierry explained rather calmly, as if he were telling Nicolai I was able to walk backward while patting my belly and rubbing the top of my head. “That’s all.”

I got the unspoken message there.

“You can?” Nicolai was staring at me, and I didn’t need to look at him to know that.

“Yeah.” I sank down in my chair, feeling like a strange insect under a microscope.

“I’ve never met someone who could do that.”

Feeling about seven different kinds of self-conscious, I gave a close-lipped smile.

“Yes, I imagine you haven’t,” Matthew murmured.

My wide eyes swung to him, and he winked. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew in an instant that something was, and something big had changed for Thierry to go from they must not know anything to revealing one of my abilities to Nicolai.

Nibbling on my thumbnail, I glanced at Nicolai, and yep, he was still staring at me.

“Please, Trinity, continue,” Thierry urged.

I tugged my gaze away from Nicolai. “The ghost—the man? He was killed by a demon,” I said. “And it wasn’t a Raver demon.”

Tension poured into the room as Thierry said, “Tell us everything.”

And I did, telling them what Wayne had shared with me.

“How can you be sure it was a demon and not an animal?” Matthew asked. “There are bears in these mountains.”

“The only animal I can imagine doing that to him would be a chupacabra, and the last time I checked, they weren’t real.”

“Chupacabra,” Nicolai repeated, shaking his head.

Matthew leaned forward, planting his hands on the desk. “How long ago did he pass?”

“I’m not sure. He was too confused to tell me, but I first saw him the day they arrived.” I glanced at Nicolai. “And he disappeared before I could talk to him, but I don’t think it’s been that long. Maybe a few days.”

“Long enough for a demon to have discovered the community.” Matthew looked at Thierry.

“And the abandoned fire tower is only a few miles from here,” Misha reminded them. “But this could’ve happened around the time the Ravers were here.”

Nicolai didn’t seem surprised whatsoever by the mention of Ravers, so either Thierry had filled him in or Zayne had.

“Is it possible this man had been dead that long?” Thierry asked.

“I’m not a forensic pathologist nor do I play one on television, so I can’t tell you the time of death. It could’ve happened before the Ravers or after,” I told them.

“We’ll send a team out today to scout the area.” Thierry began to rise. “I don’t want either of you two speaking about this to anyone, not even Jada. Do you understand me? I don’t want to cause unnecessary alarm.”

“Understood,” Misha said, and I nodded.

We were dismissed after that, and I went upstairs to my bedroom. Misha followed, and as soon as I opened my door, I knew something was off.

The room was an icebox.

I scanned the room, seeing the curtains billowing over the cream-colored chaise lounge.

“Peanut,” I grumbled, hurrying to the window. Pushing the curtains aside, I closed the window and then turned back to Misha.

“That ghost is really weird.”

“Not as weird as what just went on downstairs. I can’t believe Thierry had me talk in front of Nicolai.” I walked over to my bed and plopped down. “Something is going on, Misha.”

“Normally I would tell you that you’re being paranoid, but you’re right.” He leaned against the door. “That was freaking weird.”

“Yeah, it was.” I stared at him as I rubbed my palms over my thighs. “Knowing that I can see ghosts and spirits isn’t that big of a deal, but...”

“But knowing that is one step closer to finding out what you are.”



 



I couldn’t sleep.

Probably because it was only, like, eleven at night and normally I didn’t even think about climbing into bed until midnight, but I was feeling...weird.

Again.

Restless. Antsy. Irritated.

I didn’t even know why I was irritated, but I was.

I hadn’t even taken Misha up on his offer to go down to the Pit. I was kind of surprised to hear that people were there, but maybe the Accolade had ended early? Who knew? All I did know was that Misha wanted to go the Pit because Alina would likely also be there, so here I was, feeling...

Antsy.

Restless.

Nervous.

Irritated.

Expectant.

I didn’t understand that last one, or any of it, but that was how I felt—like I was waiting for something to happen. Like everything was about to change.

Or that something had changed.

Lying in bed, I stared up at the softly glowing stars as I drew one leg up. My heart was pounding too fast, like I was in the middle of a training session with Misha, but all I’d been doing for the past hour was lying here. Before that I’d gone looking for Peanut, but I guessed he was in the Great Hall peeping on Zayne.

Zayne.

Ugh.

I smacked my hands over my face and dragged my palms down. Had be been flirting with me? Like for real? Not that it mattered. When he left, he’d be gone, and he’d been leaving soon. The final ceremony was in three days.

And there were way more important things to be thinking about.

I rolled onto my side, eyes peeled wide open. A thousand different things were circling around in my head. I was worried about what had killed Wayne and if the group that had gone out scouting would find anything. I couldn’t sense a demon, but all that meant was that one wasn’t close to the walls.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how Thierry and Matthew had brought Nicolai into that meeting, letting him know what I could see, which was beyond freaking strange.

And yeah, I was also wondering if Zayne really was missing a part of his soul.

I was so not going to sleep anytime soon.

Nope.

Sitting up, I swung my legs off the bed, then reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. I blinked until my eyes adjusted and then rose. I grabbed a pair of leggings and pulled them on, along with a sports bra, before snatching up a thermal I’d stolen from Misha ages ago. It was baggy, almost a tunic on me, and I loved it because it was cozy and smelled like cloves no matter how many times I washed it.

I left the bedroom and made my way downstairs. As I walked past Thierry’s office, I saw a faint light seeping underneath the paneled double doors. There were voices. Matthew’s. Thierry’s. A third voice, also, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

More closed-door meetings.

If Peanut was around, I’d send him inside to spy for me, something he’d love doing. Said it made him feel like Davey Osborne, and I had no idea who that was. I was guessing it was something ’80s related, but he was so curious about the visitors, all he was doing was hanging out at the Great Hall.

Ducking my chin, I headed out the back door and across the patio, following the worn path I didn’t need to see to walk since I’d traveled this route hundreds of times over. I tugged the long sleeves over my hands and crossed my arms against the still-chilly night air as I reached the stone wall that was smaller than the one that surrounded the whole community. This wall circled one of the larger, wooded parks.

All the way at the end of the stone wall was the Pit.

I made my way to the opening to the Pit. The scent of burning wood surrounded me. Laughter and the hum of conversation mixed with the soft lull of music.

I stopped at the opening, watching the flames dance against the night sky. What was I doing? Was I about to insert myself between Misha and Alina? If I did that, he’d be focused on me instead of Alina. Instead of enjoying himself.

What if Misha hadn’t wanted to be bonded?

The moment that thought entered my head, I wanted to scrub it out with a wire brush. Neither of us had a choice, not me from birth and not Misha from the moment he met me. Misha had said it was an honor, and I believed him, but just because something was an honor didn’t mean it was something someone wanted.