CLAIRE'S POV
"They killed them."
I shot up in bed, my breath shaky as a heavy sigh slipped out. My heart was still pounding, and sweat covered my skin like I'd just woken from a nightmare. In fact, I did because a single voice had broken through my sleep.
I ran a hand over my face, pressing my fingers to my forehead. My head hurt and it was already morning, meaning I couldn't get more sleep even if I wanted to.
I hadn't been able to sleep the entire night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Varian's face—his silver hair stuck to his wet cheeks, the way his voice broke when he screamed. It had been full of pain. Pure, awful pain.
Someone killed his family. His mother, father, brothers and sisters. They were innocent people, now gone. And he snapped and came after me because in his eyes, I had something to do with it. In his eyes, I was the monster that ruined his world.
The worst part? I couldn't even blame him.
If someone took my family from me, I would've lost it too.
But it wasn't just his grief that stayed with me. He made me realize even more what I was to these people. The way they looked at me, like it was so easy to blame me for everything, even the things I had no part in.
I let out a breath and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, forcing myself to move. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and checked my messages.
Lorien had finally replied.
I opened the message and read it:
"I took care of him. You don't have to worry. He was just in a lot of pain and that's why he tried to hurt you. He'll be okay."
I read the words again. And again.
He'll be okay.
But that didn't change the fact that he had wanted me dead. That for a moment, he really meant to kill me.
And all because of what I was.
I let out a breath because my emotions were caught somewhere between relief and frustration. Varian wasn't a monster. He was just… a victim of circumstances. Just like I was.
But who was doing all these killings again? Father wasn't the one, so who could be so heartless to destroy the peace that existed between all supernaturals and humans. And going after families? Such a person or group should die.
It was only a good thing that Lorien escorted me back to my dorm yesterday. If he hadn't, Varian would have met me alone. And how could I have challenged his spells?
I sighed, scrolling my phone for other messages. I saw one from Caius.
I tapped the text open and my eyes roamed over the words:
"It's weird being back in my room. I miss crashing on your tiny bed. Lunch today?"
The words brought a smile to my face and I shook my head at his text. It was indeed weird sleeping alone last night, but the feeling had passed quickly.
Still, I kind of missed the cramped space and the mindless late-night conversations before we dozed off. And even though it involved him mostly talking to me, I still missed it.
"Sure," I typed back before tossing my phone onto the bed and then grabbing my towel.
As I walked to the bathroom, I raised my hand to knock but I froze midair when my ears picked up a sound.
I tilted my head, listening again before pressing my ear closer to the door. The sound was faint at first, like muffled breathing, but then it came again and I recognized it to be a low, choked whimper.
I rolled my eyes instantly. Seriously? It was probably Zane and Skylar going at it. They were certainly having sex again and I honestly had no interest in walking in on that, so I turned back toward my bed.
But then the sound came again. This time, I was sure that it was not a moan. It was not a sound people made during sex.
It was a sob.
I stopped in my tracks, turning back slowly and listening carefully.
That wasn't Skylar. The voice was too deep.
Zane?
My brows furrowed as I tiptoed stealthily and pressed my ear closer. No way. There was no way Zane Ravenscroft was in there crying. Maybe I was hearing things. Maybe he was—Goddess, was he masturbating?
I cringed, shaking the thought out of my head.
But the sound came again, and this time, there was no mistaking it. It was him and he was definitely crying. It was a raw and painful sound.
My fingers tightened around my towel as I took a step back, my mind spinning.
Zane crying in the shower? The same Zane who walked around like nothing in this world could touch him? The one who thrived off chaos and acted like he had zero emotions?
What the hell in this world would make him cry?
*********
I chewed on my pen absentmindedly, my gaze fixed on the front of the classroom, though I wasn't really seeing anything. Professor Edmund's voice floated through the air as he went on about something I should probably be paying attention to, but his words barely registered.
My fingers tapped idly on my open notebook, my eyes trailing over the lines of my scribbling.
I brought the pen to my chin and looked up.
Why was Zane crying?
I glanced down and realized I had written out all the questions that had been running through my mind. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it.
I read them softly under my breath:
"Did Zane lose something?"
"Did someone die?"
"Was he heartbroken?"
A frustrated sigh slipped out as I slammed the notebook shut, harder than I meant to.
Why the hell do I even care?
Zane Ravenscroft had made me cry more times than I could count. In that same bathroom, no less. I had stood under that same shower, choking back sobs, wiping away tears so no one would see how much he had gotten to me.
And now, just because I heard him cry once, I was wasting time wondering what had happened to him?
Pathetic.
Whatever it was, I hoped it crushed him. I hoped it tore him apart and left him gasping for air, crying like a baby.
Yeah. That would be fair.
I flipped my notebook open again, ready to focus on the lesson and shove Zane out of my head.
But then my bag vibrated.
I looked down, reached in, and pulled out my phone. My breath caught when I saw the name lighting up the screen.
Dad?
My eyebrows drew together. My heart started to beat faster as I stared at the call.
"Why is Dad calling me?" I whispered.
"I didn't quite get you, Claire," Professor Edmund's voice broke through my thoughts.
I raised my head up, realizing too late that every pair of eyes in the room was now on me. My heart lurched.
Shit.
I must've said spoken out too loud without realizing it. Constantly, I actually make myself look like a freak.
Scrambling to my feet, I blurted out the first excuse that came to mind. "I'm sorry, Mr. Edmund, I have to use the bathroom."
Before he could respond, I bolted out of the classroom.
The second I stepped into the hallway, I fumbled to answer the call, pressing the phone to my ear.
"Hello? Dad?" My voice came out in a shaky whisper and my heartbeat was a frantic mess. The other end of the line was quiet.
"Dad?"
Static crackled on the other end. Then—
"He…He…He…Claire…"
My stomach clenched as I struggled to make sense out of what I was hearing. His voice was barely there, cutting in and out like a weak radio signal.
"Dad, I can't hear you," I said, hurrying toward the bathroom. I pressed the phone closer to my ear, raising my voice. "Where are you? What's wrong?"
More static came. Then broken words came like fragments slipping through the crackling noise.
"Clai… safe… sor… reg—"
And then the line went dead.
"Dad?" My voice rose in panic as I shut the bathroom door. "Hello? Dad!"
I got nothing.
I pulled the phone away from my ear, staring at the screen, waiting for him to call me back. When he didn't, I decided to hit the redial button.
I was expecting it to ring but my hope shattered when an automated voice filtered through.
"The number you're calling is unavailable."
No. No, no, no.
This can't be happening. He just called me now. Father wanted to speak with me.
I tried calling again. Same result.
My throat burned.
Why was it suddenly unavailable? Why?
A sharp pang of frustration and fear shot through me. My fingers curled around the phone as I stomped my foot against the floor.
What the hell was happening? Why did father call me? What did he want to tell me?