Secrets of Alkrose (Alkrose Academy, #2)

by K.M. Moronova

“Edgar.” I say his name in a hushed tone, unintentionally voicing my confusion and sadness. He looks so much older, yet it’s only been a matter of a month. It’s sickening how much can change when your entire life is ripped out from beneath you.

My Shadow, Amser, mutes the voice, but I can still hear the faint whispers of my conscience. He killed everyone. He’s responsible. He’s the assassin of Fernestia. I blink to clear my head and let the voice fall into the depths. It’s better this way. I’m better this way.

“It is a school for those cursed with Shadows. We break your fucking soul down into powder, add blood, mash you up into clay, then reform you into whatever the fuck the headmaster wants. The heartless will thrive.”

“Let’s not give them the entire morbid mantra just yet.” Elias’s gray eyes harden at us, ignoring Arthur. “And the ones with hearts will die.”

“Yes, he is. And you’d be smart to remember it. Elias is Dr. Cein’s right-hand dog and the headmaster’s favorite weapon. He’s hardly even human anymore. I’d stay far from his bad side.” He gives me a pointed look as he says the latter. “Whatever kindness he’s shown you up until now will most likely stop. That man has no heart.”

“There’s a long, scientific version I could tell you, but I’ll keep it basic. Novas are the elite Shadows—gods of the gods. Should you be near one during a moment of uncontrolled hysteria or intentional malice to mark you, you will be blighted. Cursed.” My bones chill. “Cursed in what way?”

“Blighted individuals don’t live long. Their powers are enhanced briefly, leeched from their Nova counterpart, but blighting is a death sentence no one has survived.” The blood leaves my face and my stomach twists with horror.

“You speak from experience, don’t you?” His blue eyes are already starting to pale into a gray-navy hue, the crescent moon burning green in comparison—My blight, I realize.

“Yes. And he’s since learned to keep from blighting ever again. It’s the main reason we keep Novas separate from the others. We would run out of powerful Shadows to observe and mold into power-hungry brutes if we let you blight everyone by accident.”

“Hm? Oh, they are participating in the Culling Assessment. We can’t take in too many students at a time. It’s horrible, but what hasn’t been awful in this war? Most of them are Tauris or Dvars anyway. Many don’t even make it to the doors of Alkrose; they are either euthanized or sent to the front lines as bait.” He says each word heavily. He hates what Fernestia is doing as much as we do.

Dr. Cein is particular about his vision for Fernestia, a perfect world of only strong individuals in whom he sees purpose,”

I much prefer silence since arriving. No one has anything to say that can take my pain away. A part of me wishes I never got my memories back. If I had thrown myself off the cliff and remained foolish, then at least I would be dead and not plagued with the horrid truth.

Oh, how I wish I remained ignorant. The ghost of myself that haunted me at Za’Afiel Sanctum, Sully, tells me to feed on the pain. To let it fester and rot because pain turns into power. Is this how villains are made? How monsters’ hands craft other monsters? I’m what’s left—a molded piece of discarded art.

Lucina makes her way through my gloomy room and opens the long, burgundy curtains that I left shut. Light floods in and I wince. She lets out a sigh. “I never got to apologize for what happened back at the manor.” Her fingers nervously fiddle with the ends of her sleeves. “I’m sorry I tried to help Arthur. I didn’t know what all this was until he gave me my memories back. I know it’s not enough, but I really am sorry.”

She is covered in dried blood. Her partner is too. Does she even know what she’s bathed in? This is not the sister I remember. Sully whispers from beneath my skin, She left you to die with your parents. She knew. Is that true? I have no reason to believe that Sully tells the truth, and yet my heart falters.

“What’s become of you? You’re a shell of the sister I knew,” I say in a raspy, hateful voice, my glare burning through her emerald eyes. Terra’s expression wanes, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Edgar, it’s me.”

“You betrayed us. Mom and Dad are dead because of you.” The male bares his teeth and takes a daunting step toward me. “What the fuck did you just say to her?” His eyes are royal blue and turquoise crescent moons rounds each iris.

I believe her… so why am I still so angry? I close my eyes. Terra had the warmest smile of anyone I’ve ever known. She wouldn’t smile like she does now. There’s something crooked about her. Something crooked. I ponder the thought. Like Sully. She must have one too—a Shadow. And Sully despises it.

Pain changes you, Edgar, remember? She needs to be disposed of. That’s not your sister, not anymore, Sully whispers inside my head. I ponder that too.

“Raine, I know you’re hurting from everything that happened in Barkovah. Don’t hide your grief,” I murmur against his lips as he presses his forehead to mine. It’s then that I notice his tears, almost impossible to see. “I let them all down; I let Bennie die.”

“One second everything was normal and then people starting fucking exploding. The ones that didn’t started to panic. There were so many fucking dark smoke figures.” He wheezes a heart-wrenching breath. “Everyone was confused and scared so they opened fire. Bennie—he was… He was right in front of me and took so many fucking bullets.”

An average human being would be suffering greatly by now, but Velis keeps me fueled with enough energy to stay awake for months at a time. Well, as long as I’m killing and it gets the life force it needs to feed my body.

Each new recruitment cycle brings Shadows we’ve never seen before, but if what Arthur spoke of is true, then we’ve finally found the one we’ve been searching for—the one Cein has been searching for. Edgar Eldridge.

His eyes are already fractured and filled with hate that will only continue to grow; Alkrose will make sure of that. But I still have my doubts about him… If it truly is the Shadow we seek, then I’m not sure why Emerai thinks he can control it this time around.

I stopped looking at my reflection a long time ago. I can’t remember the color my eyes used to be, only that it wasn’t this distilled gray that I despise.

“It would seem that our destruction instructor, Elias, has finally arrived. He will have his fill. Proceed.” Elias smirks, making my blood chill. My brows pull inward and I can’t keep the terror from pooling inside my chest. The circle hushes as everyone holds their breath. “What are you waiting for?” Elias says in a low tone. “It’s not fun if you don’t struggle a little first.”

There is darkness inside me and I want to kill this man more than anything. He’s not some student in the same boat as me, he’s Fernestian and a professor at this heinous academy.

A manic, too-long smile crests over Elias’s face. His gray eyes shift with a white crescent moon of light. It reminds me of Kallos’s eyes when he used his powers. Something is about to happen.

What power does Elias hold? A surge of malicious magic thickens in the air, and Elias’s Shadow spills from behind his body like a shroud of black mist. A few gasps shrill from students. They feel it too. He is an unholy god in the flesh.

“Bye, asshole.” Elias’s voice is resentful, as if he knows me. How could he possibly know me? He raises his hand to deliver his final blow. “Elias!” An angry feminine voice rises from the crowd. A woman in a brilliant white cloak steps in front of Elias. Her brown hair wisps beautifully in the breeze. My eyes widen slowly. It can’t be her.

Elias’s expression shifts from bloodthirsty to something warm and affectionate within the span of a millisecond as he looks at the woman. No, that’s not her. Why is that monster looking at her like that?

“Oh, you’re still here, are you?” Elias hisses at me. Then he speaks to the woman beside him. I still can’t see her face. “He clearly doesn’t value his life, Terra. Let me kill him.” My chest twists and the air is suddenly colder. Terra.

“Terra?” My voice quivers. She stares at me for a few seconds before a flicker of regret crosses her face. Her gaze isn’t what I remember. Her eyes are dancing with Elias’s. Who is he to her? Worst of all, she doesn’t look at me the way she once did.

“Finn,” Terra murmurs like this moment is as bittersweet as ripping a bandage from your skin. “It’s been a while, huh?”

Strange, I’ve been so eager to see him again—yet my heart is callous. Only icy rage burns from the deepest chambers of my heart.

“He was never worth your tears,” Elias retorts under his breath, only loud enough for me to hear. It surprises me that he recognizes Finn just from our brief conversations about him. I knew he was listening intently, even when his face disguised it.

“No, he wasn’t,” I mutter. I stare blankly at Finn. “How did you know it was him?” Elias grunts. “I’m Fernestia’s top assassin. I can find anyone by their description alone. You misjudge my perceptiveness and attention to detail.”

“Terra. Terra, you’re okay… You—” He examines me with weary eyes. “You’re alive.” An easy grin spreads across my lips. “No thanks to you.” He visibly flinches and his brows pull together with fierce torment.

“You know, I was hunted down in the forest after we went our separate ways. I was stabbed by an assassin, only saved by the Shadow in my veins and a fickle thing called fate. I died that night, Finn. The Terra you knew is dead.”

“What does it feel like for you?” I smooth my hand across his and he lets it remain only momentarily before he pulls away like he always does, so reluctant to accept any sort of affection.

“Like I’ve read every novel there is for each person I meet. Like I’ve experienced each death and beginning over and over, small differences, but ultimately the same story.”

“I’ve watched you die so many times already. It’s been a matter of hours here in the real world, but in my head, I’ve been gone for s...

“I’m sorry,” I say. I’m not sure there’s much else that can be said. “It’s fine. It’s better than thinking of my own fate, I suppose.” He chuckles sadly before straightening his back and trying to give me his best grin, even though it’s broken and crooked. “But I’ll remain by your side until the end.”

“And this is Ash.” The silence that follows is unsettling. “You’ve been here… all this time?” Aervin is the first to speak, his voice trembling with emotion as he stares at Ash. “We thought you were dead.”

I only killed two of them, two that would never survive the second-semester exam anyway. The message was clear though: I don’t have a problem killing students.

The remaining students stare at me with wide, frightened eyes—except for Finn. That defiance in his gaze makes me want to take him apart piece by piece, slowly, until he begs for death only I can grant him.

Velis coils against my thoughts and mutters, Leave the boy alone. Amser will retaliate if you hurt him.

“Trouble getting here on time? I heard from Kallos that you took down Barkovah last night. What was the holdup? Emerai and Dr. Cein nearly sent reinforcements.” I keep my expression impassive as I straighten, ignoring the blood on my white cloak. “I ran into complications.”

“Two complications,” I clarify. Terra and her fucking dog. “Elias, I’ve known you for six years and this is the first I’m hearing of the Assassin of Fernestia having godsdamn complications.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to find my Shadow Mate in that shithole, Navasik.” That gets his attention. Nekane grabs my arm. “Your what? You’re joking, right?” I grimace at his grip. “Have I ever made a joke?”