SEVEN: HOW WILL WE EVER MOVE ON FROM THIS?
JANUARY 4KATE DIAMOND
EARLY MONDAY MORNING, KATE WOKE in a pool of her own sweat, clutching her foot in agony. In the bed across from hers, her new roommate Nicole Bradley (Clarion thought it would be best for Nicole to room with someone who knew Mariella well) had a cold washcloth wrapped around her waist, suffering an equal amount of pain.
Sometime around midnight, the girls both woke to a painful burning in their skin—Kate on the top of her foot and Nicole on her hipbone—without any explanation. Someone down the hall cried out around the same time but Kate was in too much pain to move.
She passed out sometime after that and when her alarm went off the next morning, she was slow to wake up. After a bit, she took a breath and prepared herself to look at the injury. She slowly peeled her hand away, opening one eye at a time. And then suddenly, nausea overwhelmed her.
The top of her foot was swollen and red and there was a strange, mark embedded into it. The lines were scabbed over as though they'd been etched into her skin with a razor blade. She stared, trying to make out the shape, and then she frowned. It was a rope.
The rope was tied into a series of knots—she counted eight—and stretched nearly five inches long. She'd never seen anything like it before.
Kate and Nicole didn't talk about the marks—they were identical which Kate knew couldn't have been a coincidence. In fact, they didn't talk about much of anything that morning. It was the first Monday of the new semester which meant it was time for class. Kate thought about skipping and checking into the Infirmary but decided against it almost immediately. Something in her gut told her reporting the mark was a bad idea. Nicole agreed.
To make matters worse, Kate's boyfriend, Cam, sent her a message that he wouldn't be making it back from his vacation in time. He promised to return by next week. Logan Rogers, Cam's friend who lost his younger brother in November, would be returning with him then.
In an effort to combat her compounding frustrations, Kate channeled all of her energy into getting to know her new roommate. The girls became fast friends and Kate learned very quickly that Nicole had quite a few questions about the Academy, the Royal Family, and magic in general.
"So everyone eats all of their meals in here?" Nicole asked as they escaped the bitter January cold and entered the Main Hall. Packs of students swarmed and began peeling off layers of hats and scarves as they made their way into the Dining Hall. Kate loosened a few buttons on her quilted Burberry trench and nodded.
"The North Wing has its own kitchen but people hardly ever eat in there. The Dining Hall is where we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of the cooks used to work at the palace so the food is incredible."
They walked into the Dining Hall and joined the service line, grabbing trays and waiting their turns. A buffet of breakfast delicacies had been prepared for them—including waffles, French toast, fresh fruit and more. Kate opted for a toasted bagel with strawberry jam and Nicole grabbed a bowl of Greek yogurt with granola and berries. As they made their way to the end of the line, Kate heard a familiar (and ear-piercing) shriek.
"Kate!"
It was Georgia Mae, another senior, standing behind them in line. Georgia was the class gossip and was never seen without her phone or a copy of WoMWeekly. She was often the source of Academy gossip and more recently, had been breathing life into any rumor that put Wil as the mastermind behind the Incident.
"Hey Georgia," Kate said, avoiding eye contact.
As expected, Georgia had WoMWeekly tucked under her arm while carrying her coat and breakfast tray along the line. From the looks of it, it was the issue that covered the Diamond's NYE party and on the cover was a poised picture of the Diamond siblings with the headline, The Royal Trio.
"You looked amazing on New Year's," Georgia gushed and Kate assumed she had seen the pictures from the evening (she had never scored an invite to the event). "Your dress was to. Die. For."
Suddenly, Georgia looked at Nicole and her face turned white.
"Oh my God," she gasped. "I'm so sorry. Bad pun."
Kate fought the urge to roll her eyes and pasted a polite smile on her face instead.
"Thanks Georgia," she said dismissively and then took a step forward, towards Nicole. "We'll see you in class."
Kate and Nicole were almost a full ten steps away when suddenly, Georgia called out to them,
"Is it true?"
Kate spun around instantly.
"Wil was pardoned?"
That time, Kate really did give her royal blue eyes a turn and she propped a hand on her hip with the utmost amount of sass. Just as she was about to open her mouth and say something, a different voice came to her sister's defense.
"Seriously, Georgia? Have some class."
When Kate looked up, she saw her friend, Liam Heart, standing there. He was as tall and handsome as ever—like he walked straight out of a modeling agency and into the Academy's halls. When she saw him, that tightness in her chest loosened and she smiled. Meanwhile behind her, a mortified Georgia turned a ghostly white color and hurried away.
Before Kate had the time to come up with a proper way to thank Liam for stepping in, she felt Nicole's hand on her elbow. The Bradly girl was busy ogling the Heart boy and was itching for an introduction.
"Nicole, this is Liam Heart. Liam, meet Nicole Bradley."
The two exchanged friendly 'hello's and then continued their way through the Dining Hall, searching for a place to sit. Like most things in high school, the Dining Hall required careful calculation. Dozens of round tables were arranged, each with ten chairs, and they filled up quickly. Usually, Kate chose to sit at a table with Wren and her friends but Wren was gone and the rest of her friends seemed to turn their backs on her after the Incident. Kate didn't have a usual seat either and felt as new to the school as Nicole. She steered Nicole to an empty table at the back of the room and Liam followed along. His usual crowd (made up of his soccer teammates like Drew Briggs, Alex Hummel, and Xavier Fallon) had yet to make it to breakfast. They were probably somewhere goofing off.
"How are you liking the Academy so far?" Liam asked Nicole once they were seated and then he bit into a freshly-made breakfast sandwich.
Nicole pushed her platinum blonde locks out of her face and smiled. "It's more than anything I could have ever imagined. I can't believe that you guys go to school here. I mean..." She gazed around the Dining Hall again. "Just look at this place!"
Both Kate and Liam smiled at the new girl's fascination and for a second, Kate remembered when she first stepped foot into the Academy. It was a feeling that could never be forgotten and it could only be experienced once.
Liam unscrewed the cap off his bottle of Witch's Brew, a popular juice in the World of Magic, and took a sip. "Did you get placed in all senior classes with us? I heard you're new to magic."
Nicole nodded. "Queen Clarion said because of my reading, I could catch up while I learn. It's only for one semester, after all."
She looked at her schedule which she kept taped to the front of a notebook.
"My first class is The Study of Magical Beings with Dr. Karamazov. Who's he?"
"That's Dr. K," Liam answered after another bite. "He's the best. You're going to love him."
"WELCOME BACK EVERYONE," DR. K SAID when he entered his classroom later that morning, dropping a thick copy of Anthology of Magical Beings: Volume IV on his very crowded desk. He stripped out of his wool coat and hung it on the back of his chair before clapping his hands together.
Kate was already in her seat, which put her directly between Zach Crawford—pitcher on the Academy's baseball team and another member of the elusive popular crowd—and Wil Diamond. Being sandwiched between the two generally made for an interesting class. Due to the room's alphabetical seating, Nicole was seated between Anastasia Avery and Drew Briggs, directly beside Kate in the first row.
"I hope you all enjoyed your break," Dr. K continued. "Personally speaking, I am still a little hungover from New Year's which I invite you all to use as a cautionary tale against bourbon."
The class laughed and Dr. K stole a quick glance at his students, old and new. His face did that twitch thing that most people's did when they saw Nicole (her resemblance to her sister was uncanny) and then he continued speaking.
"I know you guys are all second semester seniors so you're probably checked out by now," he said and took a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard. The class replied with a series of celebratory hoots and hollers. "But we've still got a lot to cover before finals. Can't have you graduating without knowing what a black-tailed hiké is."
As he teased them, Dr. K used the chalk to write one word on the board. Vampires.
Kate took out her notebook and began to copy down the notes as Dr. K taught what was mostly a review lesson. She wrote quickly and every so often, peeked over at the empty desk in the middle of the room where Cam was supposed to be sitting. On the phone, he swore that he'd be back by the weekend but she had her doubts. Ever since the holidays, Cam wasn't the same. He was distant and dodgy. She could almost have believed that he was the one who lost a sibling in November.
Behind Kate, Wil's face was on her desk and her curls covered it like a curtain. She carried on with the softest of snores and in an attempt to subtly wake her, Kate reached back with her tan Kate Spade flat and nudged her. Suddenly, Wil lifted her head and pushed her curls out of her face, startled but awake.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Dr. K mocked when he noticed Wil awake again, teasing her because in addition to a fun-loving teacher, he was also the twins' godfather. "Did we wake you?"
Yawning, Wil smirked. "Don't sweat it, Dr. K. I'm confident if I put my head back down, I'll fall right back asleep."
Kate noticed the lack of laughter following her sister's sass. The silence was just another reminder that not everyone was as quick to absolve Wil of any guilt.
"Ever the class clown, Wilmarie," Dr. K joked to ease the awkwardness. "Now come on. Head up. Take notes."
Wil saluted sarcastically and then flipped a notebook open. She flicked a finger at her pen and it began scribbling across the page, taking the notes for her. Dr. K cleared his throat and then gestured back to the board.
"Before the break, we were talking about the creatures of the undead. Who can tell me something about vampires?"
A few hands shot up into the air and Kate's was one of them. Dr. K pointed to Kyle Adams who spoke in a very matter-of-fact voice when he answered.
"Reports of vampire sightings have been at an all-time low over the last decade. And the use of vampire venom for healing purposes has been discontinued due to the increased risk of accidentally creating a new vampire."
"Correct," Dr. K nodded, quickly scribbling no more vampires on the board below the title. "What else?"
As students around the room offered up small tidbits about the so-called creatures of the undead, Nicole leaned over to whisper,
"Vampires are real?"
For a minute, Kate almost forgot how new this all was to her. She nodded, smiling.
"What about dragons? Or unicorns?"
Raising a brow, Kate shook her head.
"It's the World of Magic, Nic. Not the World of Fantasy."
ONCE THE FIRST CLASS WAS over, Kate and Nicole made their way to Mr. Westville's classroom for Enchantments. Along the way, Nicole paused by a bench. Kate stopped with her.
"What's wrong?"
Nicole sat down and gestured for Kate to join her.
"Your sister," she said and Kate felt her stomach churn. "The Royal Council cleared her. Right?"
Slowly, Kate nodded. Nicole swallowed hard.
"Your parents told us what happened but I need to hear it again. What happened that day? Why did people think your sister had something to do with it?"
Kate breathed deep before she began. She wondered if she'd ever be done telling this story.
"Reagan was Wil's friend. She asked Wil to sneak into our mom's office and steal a grimoire. Wil didn't know why but she did it anyway. Reagan used a spell from that book to weaken the Veil. She wanted to let out people in the Shadow Lands—people who had been Banished there. Wil had no idea that's what Reagan was going to do and when Reagan went through with it, Wil was hiding. Just like the rest of us."
Nicole looked unsure, like she didn't know what to say.
"She made a mistake," Kate said. "But she didn't kill your sister. I promise."
"Okay," Nicole said after a minute."Thank you. Now come on. Don't we have another class to get to?"