Never After (School for Good and Evil x Reader)

Chapter 6

Curses & Death Traps took place in a bone-numbing frost chamber, with the walls, desks, and chairs made completely of ice. I thought I could see bodies buried deep beneath the frozen floor.

"Itttt's colllddd," Hort chattered.

"It's warmer in the Doom Room," Lady Lesso replied.

Howls of pain echoed from the dungeon beneath our feet.

"I-I-I feeeel warm-m-er noww," Hort stuttered, face blue.

"Cold will harden your veins," said Lady Lesso. "Which need hardening if a Reader is placing first in challenges."

I scowled. I hadn't tried to do what I did. It just happened. I didn't wish for the Goose's defeat. It made that choice on its own. I never even asked it for anything.

But it knew who my father was.

And apparently my father was a villain.

She slunk between rows of shivering students, black braid snapping against her sharp-shouldered purple gown, dagger steel heels cracking on ice.

"This is not a school for unwarranted cruelty. Hurt without reason and you are a beast, not a villain. No, our mission requires focus and care. In this class, you will learn to find the Ever who stands in the way of your goal. The one who will grow stronger as you grow weaker. They're out there, my Nevers, somewhere in the Woods . . . your Nemesis. When the time is right, you will find and destroy them. That is your path to freedom."

A scream echoed from the Doom Room and Lady Lesso smiled. "Your other classes may be pageants of ineptitude, but not here. There will be no challenges until I see you are worthy.

"A Nemesis is your archenemy," Lady Lesso continued, purple eyes flashing. "Your other half. Your soul's inverse. Your Achilles' heel. You will come to know your Nemesis through dreams. A Nemesis will haunt your sleep, night after night until you see nothing but his or her face. Nemesis Dreams will chill your heart and boil your blood. They will make you gnash your teeth and rip out your hair. For they are the sum of your hate. The sum of your fears."

Lady Lesso dragged her long red nails across Hort's desk. "Only when your Nemesis is dead will you feel quenched. Only when your Nemesis is dead will you feel free. Kill your Nemesis and Nevermore will welcome you to eternal glory!"

The class tittered with excitement.

"Of course, given our school's history, those gates won't open anytime soon," she muttered.

"How do we find our Nemesis?" asked Dot.

"Who chooses them?" asked Hester.

"Will they be from our class?" Ravan asked.

"These questions are premature. Only exceptional villains are blessed with Nemesis Dreams," Lady Lesso said. "No, first you should be asking why stuckup, stupid, insipid Good wins every competition in this school—and how you're going to change that." She leered at me, as if to say that I might be their best hope.

When class was over, Sophie took off, tears streaming down her cheeks. I sprinted to follow, but as I turned the next corner, she was nowhere to be found.

I groaned and whirled around to make my way back to Evil Hall for History of Villainy. However, scores of buzzing Nevers crowded outside. Dot saw me and grabbed my arm. "They canceled classes! No one's saying why."

"Lunch will be sent to your rooms!" boomed a white wolf, as fellow wolves cracked whips and drove students to their towers.

I cocked my head. "But what happ—"