Under the cover of darkness, Winter walked to the courtyard to see if she could spark any other memories. She stared at the ground where the stain from her blood had been washed away. She tried focusing on her magic when she heard a voice call her, "Aliana." Winter spun her head around, but no one was there. Her eyes darted to the bush a few feet away. She heard a voice whisper her name again from a different direction. Then, it seemed to surround her. Soft whispers from every side, "Aliana." "Aliana." "Aliana." Winter's eyes locked on sharp black ones that seemed to be piercing into her mind. They were the eyes of the monster that Lucas described had been draped in bandages. The whispers of her name got louder until they turned into an incoherent shriek. Winter pressed her hands to her ears as the creature's lips curled into a sinister smile. A repugnant smell filled the air. Suddenly, Winter was staring at the lifeless bodies of each of her friends. She retched. Winter's hand curled into a fist as she lunged blindly at the monster. Her hands reached for its skin, but she touched nothing. Before her eyes, it disappeared. She looked back at the bodies, but they were gone. She took a deep breath, scanning the area for the creature. To no avail.
Winter stormed into Leo's dorm room and he jumped. "Winter, what." She interrupted him, "When is the field trip?" Leo sighed and turned his attention back to Stories Untold, "You could've asked that without giving me a heart attack." She stomped her foot impatiently and he said, "Next semester." She twisted her ring, "When does next semester start?" He flipped the page, "Two weeks." Winter gnawed on the inside of her cheek. She had some work to do before then. Winter grabbed the drawings Lucas had given her and splayed it out on Leo's desk. She had already memorized the observations Lucas had made on their unique abilities. She jotted down what she had gathered from her run in with the monster. Leo rested his chin on her shoulder, looking from behind her, "Sounds like M.J.'s powers." Winter shook her head, "It's a mix of yours too. It uses your thoughts to create the illusions." Leo rose an eyebrow, "Where did you see it?" "It found me in the courtyard but never revealed itself." Leo nodded, "I'll keep my eye out and give them the update." Winter put the pencil to her mouth then started chewing on it before Leo snatched it from her, "That's bad for your teeth, Highness." He left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Winter tied her hair up in a rushed bun before staring at the drawings. Winter kept habitually twisting her ring until it began to annoy her, so she ripped it off and placed it on the table. Winter furrowed her eyebrows, noticing the script on the inside of the ring for the first time. She picked it up and brought it close to her face. In cursive, the words "my purest Ali" were carefully engraved. Winter's head pounded as memories of her father's dead body flashed into her mind. Winter shook her head. She knew they were illusions. Winter's father died long before her memories started forming. Her thoughts roamed and Winter heard Sam's smooth voice in her mind saying, "I will protect you." Winter grabbed Stories Untold, pushing Lucas' illustrations aside. "Show me how to break a hypnotic's spell." She opened the book, skimming the pages. Normally, it didn't take much to break such a spell. This kind of magic was usually overpowered with strong will. When it came to a powerful hypnotic though, things weren't so simple. The only way to break the spell of one so strong was to either kill them or to convince them to remove the spell willingly. Winter rubbed at her temples. The problem with that was she had no idea where to find them. She sat up straighter, looking straight at the drawings. But she knew where to start.
The next evening, Winter snuck out of Leo's dorm to find Lucas. When she saw him talking to Jax, she groaned. The last thing she needed was for Lucas to be defensive towards her out of jealousy. Winter approached them cautiously, pulling down the hood of her cloak to better conceal her face from any prying eyes. She grabbed Lucas' wrist and glanced up at Jax, "I need to steal him from you for a second." Jax tilted his head but didn't object as Winter dragged Lucas to a deserted room. Lucas' eyes narrowed at her, "What is this about?" Winter pulled off her hood, "I need your help." Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. Winter went on, "Tell me what you know about Aliana." Lucas flinched at the mention of her name, "I told you I don't know anything about." Winter cut him off, "You're lying. I know you're her brother." Lucas paused, watching her. Winter stared into his cold grey eyes, "I've been doing my research." A muscle in his jaw twitched, "I thought I told you to not look into it." Winter shrugged, "I'm just curious about what happened to her." She licked her lips, "I mean how could the school just let someone die like that?" Winter tugged on her braid, "I asked Jax and Sam about how she died." Lucas' hand balled into a fist at his side at the mention of Jax. She walked in a circle around him, "Since they were on her team during the mock war. When she was killed." She stopped behind him, "Now I want to hear it from you." He turned to face her, "She isn't dead." Winter stared at him blankly. She hadn't expected him to reveal the truth. Winter swallowed, "I know that." His eyes widened in surprise, "You." Winter looked towards the door, "She left a note in my room saying that someone faked her death. She wants me to figure out who." Lucas furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, perplexed before returning to a calm demeanor, "I can tell you what happened that day." Lucas and Winter sat across from each other as Lucas recalled the mock war of ten years ago.