WILLA
"No way!" Verah snapped. She paced from the bed to the window and back again, her eyes fixed on her phone.
After what had happened earlier, she had insisted we go to the infirmary because she believed something was wrong with me, but I had reassured her at least ten times on the way back to the dorm that I was fine.
The truth? I wasn't. I was still shaken.
Verah hadn't seen anything. I had asked her twice before we got here, but she kept insisting I was imagining things.
But that couldn't be called imagination when it felt so real, when I still had proof of it in the pain lingering in my throat.
I swallowed and winced at the sharp sting. My gaze drifted back to Verah, who was now glaring at her phone.
"What do you mean there's a mandatory curfew for seventy-two hours?! How the hell are we supposed to go to the college party?!"
So that was what all the preparation had been for.
A party.
Verah turned to look at me. "Have you seen the ridiculous announcement on the student portal?"
I shook my head and reached for the phone on the nightstand. "No…" I began, but stopped as it buzzed in my hand.
Notifications flooded the screen all at once, the device vibrating rapidly. Most of them were from Howl, with two from the student portal.
I opened the student portal first, assuming it was the most important and the reason Verah was so upset.
I scanned the messages.
ACADEMY NOTICE:
Effective immediately, all students are required to remain within their assigned dormitories after 19:00 hours for 72 hours.
Unauthorised movement will result in disciplinary action.
Further instructions will follow.
And below was the follow up message:
All students are reminded that curfew is now in effect.
Verah resumed pacing.
I set my phone aside and let out a slow breath. "It can't be that bad," I murmured.
In fact, it felt like the best possible outcome. After what I had experienced today, I wasn't ready to face that monster again.
I would rather stay indoors, where I felt even slightly protected, than be outside where I was completely exposed.
My gaze drifted to the door, lingering there as a thought crept in.
Would it really protect me if that thing came back?
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself as I imagined it bursting through the door.
"It can't be that bad?!" Verah huffed. She narrowed her eyes on me. "Why are you taking this so lightly?"
Why not?
I gave a small shrug.
I still didn't understand what was happening to me. Why I had been targeted. Why I was even here. And that voice in my head… Nyra. My wolf, she had said.
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh and shook my head. There was no way a human like me had a wolf. That wasn't possible.
I didn't have any supernatural strength or anything that could make me believe that.
And yet, I still heard her.
I needed answers. Nyra seemed like the only one who could help me understand any of this, but she had gone silent again.
Verah stalked toward me and stopped right in front of me.
"We got invited to it," she gritted her teeth, as if I needed reminding. "Do you know how uncool it'll make us look if we miss out?!"
"The whole academy is missing out," I pointed out. What was the big deal?
It wasn't like it was anything more than a party with boys. What could be so special about it anyway?
"The whole academy?!" Verah echoed, her teeth clenched. "This is an exclusive invitation, and no, it's not for everyone. Only those who are extremely popular in the academy get it. Have you forgotten who and what we are?"
I didn't respond. I just stared at her blankly.
To be honest, I didn't know what else to say. At this point, anything I said might give me away.
I was already talking too much.
I am Willa, not Elyse. Elyse wouldn't argue over everything. I reminded myself.
I forced a warm smile at Verah as she continued to stare at me, suspicion flickering in her eyes.
She let out a soft snicker and shook her head. "Why do I feel like I'm talking to someone else and not my best friend, Elyse?"
My heart skipped.
I straightened, folding my fingers neatly in my lap. "Why would you think that?" I asked lightly.
Verah's brows lifted. "Maybe because you're acting strange."
"Strange?" I repeated, wrinkling my nose as if I didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
"You don't know things we both know anymore. I'm pretty sure if I asked you what our secret code is, you wouldn't have a clue. And don't get me started on you insisting you saw a monster earlier when we were clearly just evacuated because some idiot senior thought the boiler room was a good place to smoke," she said, her tone laced with irritation.
"You're suddenly acting like that dumb blonde that bitch always called you," Verah muttered.
I wanted to defend myself, but no matter what I said, it would only make things worse. So I kept quiet.
Verah let out a defeated sigh before speaking again, this time in a lighter, almost hopeful tone. "I'll just assume the monster who kidnapped you from school really did something to your brain. Maybe half of it got erased and now you can't understand anything."
I forced another small smile. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," she waved it off. "I'll blame Headmaster Alaric and the doctor for thinking you were fit enough to leave the infirmary. If you had stayed longer, they would have realized something was actually wrong with your brain."
That was true. Except the only thing they would have discovered was that I wasn't Elyse at all because my brain was perfectly fine.
Silence settled between us. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't awkward either. I watched Verah while she stared at the door, her face scrunched in thought.
Then, as if she felt my gaze, she turned to me, her eyes lighting up instantly with mischief.
Her lips curled into a smile. "I have a plan."