Winter suppressed her smirk. Now that she had convinced Sam to her side, she could make a new plan. "I'll meet you in the secret room later tonight to catch you up to speed," Winter watched as Sam nodded. Then, she remembered Xae, rushing out of the room. Winter called out to Leo with her thoughts. He found her a few moments later, "What happened?" She looked around, "I need you to find Xae." Leo stared off into the distance, "He's in the cafeteria." Winter started walking and Leo trailed her, "What's going on?" Winter recounted what Sam told her. "Tell him to meet us in the room adjacent to the cafeteria." When they opened the door, Xae was standing in the middle of the room. Winter placed her hand gently on his shoulder, reassuringly, "Sam figured out about you spying?" Xae nodded his head, keeping his eyes downcast, "I'm sorry." Winter shook her head, "Don't worry about that. Tell me what happened." Xae looked up at her, "Something got in my head." Winter glanced at Leo who shrugged, "It wasn't me." Winter lightly smacked his shoulder, "Not you. The monsters." Leo nodded as she turned her attention back to Xae, "This happened while you were in Sam's dorm?" Xae picked at his nail, "Yeah." Winter scratched her head, "That doesn't make any sense." Why did it attack Xae as a lizard instead of going after Sam? "What doesn't?" Winter just shook her head and smiled at Xae, "Thank you for your help. You did great." The look in Xae's eyes became more intense, "Do you need anything else from me?" Winter understood, "Yeah I was wondering if you could keep a closer eye on the monsters. With their recent activity, we should have them under close surveillance. Report back to me with anything unusual." Xae nodded, seemingly relieved to still be of use. He left the room first. Winter and Leo waited ten minutes before leaving.
Leo put his hands in his pockets, "When did you talk to Sam?" Winter couldn't place the edge in his tone. Winter fingered her bracelet, "We ran into each other after Della was done with me." Leo's eyes rose, "And?" Winter smirked deviously, "And I found a way to get him on our side." He furrowed his eyebrows, "You did? Without telling him who you are?" Her smirk grew into a smile, "Yup." He watched her, "Nicely done. What's next?" Winter stretched, "Well we have class tomorrow. We'll find a way to gather the group and form a plan for the trip." Leo nodded resolutely. Winter moved to start walking to her dorm as Leo grabbed hold of her arm. His eyes were full of concern, "What did Della do when she caught you? Are you okay?" Winter looked at him, "Nothing I didn't already expect." His eyes moved to the tattered parts of her clothes, "Winter." She smiled and moved his hand from her arm, "I'm fine. Really. I'll see you tomorrow." He seemed to bite back any objections as Winter walked off.
Winter made her way to her room and flopped on the bed. Fresh flowers occupied the vase on her dresser. She wondered why Lucas bothered to leave flowers for her when he knew she was still alive. Winter grazed the new scars Della left her. She sat up and ripped off her clothes, promptly showering and changing. When she laid down, her mind started racing. Winter sighed as she relaxed into the mattress. There were so many things she needed to do. The questions just kept piling up one after the other. The image of Mandy and Layla being injured by the monsters flashed in her mind. That and the reports of increasing acts of aggression made her cringe. The monsters were her most pressing issue. They were becoming bolder. She had to figure out why. Winter tapped her fingers together. For some reason, she felt like it was all one big web to be untangled. Everything was painfully interconnected. Which would make things more complicated. You can't see the full picture if there are puzzle pieces missing. Winter twisted her ring, taking a breath. She would deal with things as they came. "Focus," she told herself.
The next morning, Winter walked to class alone. She saw Mandy sitting at her desk with Layla doting on her. Winter approached them, "Hey." She put her hand on Mandy's shoulder, "How are you feeling?" Mandy's eyes softened as they met hers, "Still a little spooked, but the wounds are gone." Winter's attention turned to Layla who immediately lifted her sleeve for Winter to see, "Good as new." Winter sighed in relief. Mandy smiled, putting her hand in Layla's, "What are we going to do?" Winter leaned over, speaking in a hushed voice, "Last night I came up with a plan. We'll go over the details when we can get everyone together." They nodded. Winter went to her seat as Nelly Terran entered the room. They locked eyes before Nelly addressed the class, "We're having another joint class." A collective groan came from the group. Nelly went on, "Everyone, make your way to the lab. We'll be doing potions today."
Winter stood. Mandy and Layla came up behind her. "I wonder why we've been having so many joint classes recently." Winter narrowed her eyes, "Is it unusual?" Layla nodded, "This is the most frequent they've ever been." Winter rubbed her eye. It had to be the headmaster's attempt to push them together. The scroll sprung in Winter's mind. She swatted away the memory.
When they got there, Cornell was already standing at the front of the room. "File in." When the last person was seated Cornell said, "As you've been told, today we're working on potions. Specifically, we'll be focusing on making Pink Nightingale." Winter tapped her fingers on the desk. The properties of Pink Nightingale made it extremely versatile and dangerous. In different temperatures, it could cause incapacitation and render powers useless. Winter swallowed. Her eyes met Cornell's as he sniggered.