Kane 2 Chapter 5

“Wh-what’s happening?” Madison screeched before she fell against the desk.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I hurried over to help her into a seat.

“I’m fine,” she muttered and rubbed her hip. “Just a bruise later. What’s going on?”

“Maybe it’s the Premier’s ship again,” I suggested with a frown.

“It’s not,” Seth cut in. “Her ship isn’t this bad, and she would’ve told me if she was coming back today. This is something else.”

“And I have no idea what it is!” Jude, our professor, yelled as he tried to keep his books on the shelves with trembling hands. “Everyone, cover your heads!”

The ground quaked below us, and the walls around us shook ferociously as everyone began to duck and cover. I furrowed my brow, turned on my heel, and ran back out of the classroom to see what the hell was going on. I heard the professor scream at my back, but I wasn’t going to stop until I figured it out.

And it didn’t take long.

It was pouring outside, and the ground shook from every clap of thunder that rolled across the black clouds overhead.

But the clouds weren’t the only thing that caught my attention.

The large droplets that rained from the sky were as black as the clouds. They hit the ground and smeared like oil slicks, and as I looked around, I could see everything was covered by a thin layer of the black rain. The gazebo was dripping with thick, murky liquid, the fountain was filled by an onyx pool that was somehow more disturbing than the blood, and large black puddles had appeared all over the sidewalks.

“Looks like something out of a movie.”

I whirled around to see Seth standing behind me with a grim look on his face.

“Yeah, an apocalypse movie,” I grumbled. “Have you ever seen this before?”

“Nope,” he said and shook his head. “Never heard of it either. It looks bad.”

“Yeah, it does,” I murmured.

Then I noticed Dean Canmore as she walked out of the Medius with her coat over her head, and she had a look of both disgust and determination on her face as she trotted across the black-soaked Quad toward the teacher’s dorm building. She didn’t even notice Seth and I standing outside in the black rain, but it seemed she had something else on her mind.

A few minutes later, several of the professors dispersed from their dorm with their own umbrellas and other forms of cover, and they spread out across the campus. I didn’t recognize the man who headed toward our classroom building, and I glanced over at Seth, who shrugged with carelessness.

“I only came out here so you didn’t look like the hero,” he said and smirked. “I don’t have any idea what to do.”

“Let’s go back inside and warn them not to come out,” I suggested with a roll of my eyes. “You can even say it, so you can be the hero this time.”

Seth arched a dubious eyebrow and then scurried back into the building as though he thought I’d want to beat him there, but I just started toward a different classroom to spread the word until the professor from outside finally caught up to me.

He was a big guy with a no-nonsense look on his grim face and salt-and-pepper hair shaved into a military fade.

“I’ll handle it,” he said in a low voice. “You stay in your classroom until the rain has stopped, Mr. Turner.”

“Will do.” I offered a mock salute and returned to the history class without another word.

I had a feeling the professors were trying their best to stay calm, especially the dean, but something weird was going on, and I planned to get to the bottom of it as soon as we were allowed to leave the building.

“What the fuck does it mean, though?” Demi demanded as I walked into the classroom. “Black rain is super fucking weird, Seth. You can’t just come in here with a little bit of info and expect us to all stay calm.”

Seth looked at me with a desperation I hadn’t seen before, and I took over the hero role in a matter of seconds.

“We don’t know what it means,” I said as I raised my voice above the panicked mutterings. “But we also can’t just go out and explore it. It could be acid or something. Seth and I stayed under the awning, but it’s all over campus.”

“What about beyond campus?” Madison wondered as she gnawed on her fingernails. “Is it black raining out there, too?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I could only see the quad. The professors are urging everyone to stay inside until it stops.”

Another crash of thunder shook the floors and walls, and all the shifters sat in their seats to wait it out. No one seemed to have the urge to argue with me about staying indoors during the black rainstorm, though we agreed to watch through the hall windows until it stopped.

I pulled my phone out and sent a group text to Indira, Charlotte, and Auden.

Black rain outside. Stay inside until it’s over.

Indira’s response was almost immediate.

I saw it. I’m not going out there.

I chuckled as the other two stated their agreement, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

“It does look awful,” Madison murmured as we all gathered against the glass and tried to peer through the dark sheen that covered the window. “I wonder if it’ll wash away eventually.”

“We’d have to get a real rainstorm for that,” Seth pointed out.

“Or have one of the naturalists make one,” I said with a grimace. “I don’t think that stuff will go anywhere on its own.”

We made idle conversation as the wind and thunder finally began to die down, and about half an hour later, the sky was clear of black clouds. It was a little overcast with normal gray ones, but it didn’t look as nasty above us.

Jude checked his phone, and then our professor sighed with relief. “Alright, class, you need to return to your dorms. No dilly-dallying, and no investigating. Straight to your building.”

“Of course,” I replied with a nod. “Thank you.”

I had every intention of investigating the black rain, but I wouldn’t do it right now in front of everyone else. I needed to check with Auden and the girls to see what we should do next to find out where the black rain had come from. I had a feeling it was summoned, but I wasn’t sure if I should look to the charmers or the naturalists for the source.

Maybe both.

I’d have to look over my list of students with Atroba connections and see who the most likely culprit was. The dean had asked for me to keep an eye on all these people, but I needed some focus, and the black rain had given me that. Not all kinds of magical people could summon black rain, so it would help to narrow things down.

Meet in your room? Charlotte’s text was followed by a worried frown emoji.

For sure, I agreed.

I’ll be with Lark, Auden sent back. She needs me.

Gotcha, I replied with a thumbs up.

My fellow shifters and I walked into our dorm, and Seth and Vic sprawled across the couches in the common room while Demi and Madison headed for Madison’s room. Then I made my way to my room and waited for my girlfriends to sneak into our dorm building.

I didn’t have to wait very long before my door eased open, and Indira and Charlotte crept inside with Demi and Madison on their heels.

“I hope you don’t mind if we join the party,” Demi said with a dimpled smile.

“Not at all.” I grinned back as I motioned for the group of beautiful women to get comfortable in my room.

Demi sat in the desk chair, and Madison sat on the floor between her legs, while Charlotte and Indira hopped onto my bed and clasped their hands together. I wanted to sit with them, but my adrenaline was still pumping from the black rain, so I paced the room instead. I knew we needed to find out something about it today. Something told me it was important, but I wasn’t sure how yet.

“So, black rain,” Indira cut through the silence, and her gray eyes swept over everyone in the room. “Where does that come from?”

“Well, it’s obviously magical,” Demi murmured as she played with one of her braids. “But is it a spell? A curse? A potion?”

“There are way too many possibilities to guess,” Charlotte agreed. “We’re going to have to do some research to figure it out.”

“I think so, too,” I said. “Did anyone bring--”

Indira pulled her laptop from her purse, and Charlotte grabbed a notebook and pen from my backpack with a grin. TheMadison took another notebook from my desk and plucked a pen from the cup on top.

“I can grab my laptop, too,” Demi offered and hurried out and back in a few seconds later with her computer.

“Okay then,” I chuckled. “Let’s figure out where this black rain comes from.”

Within a few minutes, we had Google searches going, pages from old books pulled up, and pens scribbling across paper as we notated everything we could possibly find about the black rain. There were dozens of sources across the Internet, and we scoured them for details about where the rain could have come from, how it started, and who could have done it.

I also pulled out the old, dusty book about the prophecy and read through it to look for anything that could be related, and it felt like we’d been reading for hours when I sat back and took a deep breath.

“Maybe time for a break?” Indira suggested. “I need a beer.”

“Me, too,” Charlotte sighed and ran a hand through her auburn hair.

One of the many new things I’d discovered about my lovers over the holiday break was their love for craft beer. Charlotte was actually the first one to bring up her quirky tastes in alcohol, but Indira surprisingly had a broad palate and a desire to try anything once, so soon the girls were swapping favorites and even recommending some to me that I’d never tried.

Luckily, being from an area with plenty of breweries, I had a few connections, and I’d been prepared for this moment.

“Check it out.” I grinned and opened up the mini fridge my mom sent to me a few days ago.

“Oh, my gawwwwd,” Indira moaned as she reached inside to grab a bottle of a pear-flavored pale ale. “You are the best boyfriend ever!”

“I second that!” Charlotte squealed and pulled out a watermelon-flavored one.

“Here, try this one.” Indira handed Demi and Madison each a green apple ale, and the shifters looked at it with matching grimaces before all four women cracked them open.

They took matching swigs, and Demi looked pleasantly surprised as she guzzled her beer, while Charlotte and Indira grinned and looked at me through hooded eyes. Madison sipped hers with a smile, and all four women seemed to enjoy the drinks I’d brought.

“We’ll be sure to thank you soon,” Indira promised with a wink.

My blood rushed south, and I gulped and nodded as they continued to drink the beer.

A while later, we returned to our research, and it felt like hours before I stumbled across something that caught my eye.

“Wait, check this out,” I said and blew the screen up to read the small print on a journal page dating back to 1589. “It says, ‘The Ater Regen fell from the sky from dawn until dusk. When it finally settled, the Earth was awash in onyx blood.’”

“That sounds like our campus,” Indira agreed and narrowed her gray eyes. “But what the hell is Ater Regen?”

“It’s the name of the black rain spell!” Demi said excitedly as she flipped around her laptop for us to see. “Look, it’s a charm!”

“I’ll be damned,” I muttered. “So, it definitely was a charmer.”

“Sounds like it.” Charlotte pursed her lips and turned back to me. “What else does it say in that journal?”

“It looks like the charmer who cast it back then was pissed off,” I said as I skimmed over the journal entry. “She wanted revenge on the people who wronged her… I think they tried to have her burned for being a witch, so she decided to get back at them with a spell that would scare the shit out of them and get them to leave her alone.”

“Who wrote the journal?” Madison wondered.

“Based on the rest of the entries I saw, I think it was a naturalist,” I answered. “Maybe he was curious about the black rain and did his own research into the charmer who pulled it off. Obviously, he knew the Ater Regen wasn’t natural.”

“Makes sense,” Indira murmured and tapped her lips in thought. “A naturalist would be curious about why an unnatural rainstorm was happening, so he probably went to sort things out like we are. The question is are there other naturalists doing the same now?”

“Or charmers,” I pointed out. “They might already know the Ater Regen charm because of their charms classes, so we could be behind.”

“No way they learn a destructive spell at Meloria.” Charlotte shook her head vehemently. “Meloria is all about the good parts of magic. Whoever did this found it on their own.”

“But it was a charmer,” I said as I pulled the half-finished list from my backpack. “I’m not done yet, but these are the students who share a name with known Atroba members.”

“Atroba?” Demi repeated with wide green eyes, and her caramel-colored skin paled a fraction. “Isn’t that what that Philo Geralds guy was talking about when he came after the Bellator?”

“Yeah, it’s his group or cult or whatever,” I replied. “They hate the magical government, the Premier, and Meloria Academy. And I have a list of their known members I’ve been comparing to current student names.”

“Is that creep Dax on it?” Madison shivered and wrapped her arms around her slender body. “He’s super weird.”

“I haven’t found him or his family name yet,” I said with a frown. “But I wouldn’t be surprised. Did you know he and Raven grew up together?”

“That’s why she was so evasive,” Charlotte grumbled and narrowed her pale-green eyes. “My poor detective work didn’t even catch onto that.”

“To be fair, they told me,” I assured her. “It’s not like I did some hocus pocus to get it out of them. I think she’s trying to get closer to me, but I don’t know if it’s because she’s part of the Atroba or because of her crush.”

“It could be either,” Indira said with a troubled expression. “She’s flirty, but she’s also been distancing herself from the other charmers. Maybe they’d figure out what she was doing if she stayed close to them.”

“Or it could be Dax,” Charlotte pointed out. “He’s a charmer, too, and he came from Imperium. I wouldn’t doubt they’d teach a dark spell like Ater Regen.”

“Do they teach dark magic?” I asked with wide eyes.

“Not in so many words,” Indira scoffed. “They teach power of any sort. They don’t care about light or dark magic, only strength. It’s a disgrace to the rest of us.”

“Literally,” Demi agreed and curled her upper lip in disgust.

“What if it’s both of them?” Charlotte asked suddenly as she gnawed on her lower lip with anxiety.

“If they’re working together, Kane will stop them,” Indira said, and she squeezed Charlotte’s hand in reassurance before she turned her gray eyes to me. “Right, babe?”

“Of course,” I replied with more confidence than I felt.

How the fuck would a first-year shifter go up against two charmers, one of whom had learned more about power and strength than I possessed so far?

By being a whole-ass prophecy?

That was the only answer I had for it, so I had to roll with it.

Either way, I knew I’d never let anything happen to my women. That was one thing I was certain about.

Just then, our phones buzzed and dinged simultaneously, and we all read the campus text at the same time.

All Meloria students are to stay indoors until the latest prank has been resolved. Please respond to this text if you have any information about the culprit. Thank you.

A few minutes later, the trio decided to stay in my room for the night, and I wasn’t about to argue. My girlfriends had wanted to get to know Demi and Madison better, so they played “Never Have I Ever” with the rest of the beer. It was nice to see them all relax instead of being nose-deep in history books or a laptop to find answers to the big mysteries in the magical world.

Plus, I learned Charlotte had never been fishing, Indira had never played a school sport, Madison had never been skiing, and Demi had never kissed a girl. My girlfriends were happy to change that, and I felt like Demi joining the pack was only a matter of time as my women took turns gently pressed their sweet lips to hers.

As much as I wanted to take Demi and Madison mark them as mine, I resisted my primal urges and let my women lead the way. If they were ready for her or Madison to join the pack, they would let me know.

I had no doubt about that.

After a while, the girls were so drunk they were ready to pass out on my bed, so I let them snuggle up together, while I took the monk’s position on the edge with my head facing the rest of my room. My cock pounded against my sweats as it begged to be let free, but I’d already made up my mind.

I just needed to wait things out and let it happen when the time was right.

Soon, the four of them were sound asleep, and I still had a slight buzz from the few beers I’d drank. I thought it would help me fall asleep quickly, but instead my mind raced with thoughts about the prophecy, the Atroba, Raven, and Dax.

I was suspicious of all of them at the moment, and I still didn’t know anything about where the prophecy had come from. I was supposed to be this light through the darkness for everyone else, but I was completely clueless how to do that. At least I’d learned how to be a shifter fast enough to win the Bellator, considering the rest of my family were charmers, yet it felt like there were still a billion things to learn.

When I finally fell asleep, it was with the image of Dax’s spiderweb tattoo branded into my brain.

The next morning, the smell of fresh rain was pungent in the air. I looked outside to find a normal rain had fallen over the campus, and the remnants of the Ater Regen had been washed away. No more black liquid dripped from the gazebo in the quad or the eaves of the buildings. It was as though the black rain never happened, and I got the feeling the dean hoped everyone would feel the same way.

Canmore probably wanted to keep the Ater Regen as quiet as possible, but it would be hard for her to keep the students from talking about it, even after sending us all to our dorms for the night. Calling the black rain a prank was almost laughable since I knew what it really was, though I knew it was nothing to laugh about.

We had an angry charmer somewhere on campus, and I had my ideas about who was the culprit. I didn’t plan on replying to the campus text, however, and I decided to go talk to Dean Canmore myself as soon as we were all awake.

I glanced over at the three girls cuddled together on my bed and grinned. Soon, my pack would grow to include Demi and Madison, and they would bear the mark of being my mate, just like Indira and Charlotte.

“Take a picture,” Demi murmured with her eyes still closed. “It’ll last longer.”

“I just might,” I chuckled. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“Yesssss,” Indira groaned as she stretched her long, lithe body. “I need greasy food. That beer was--”

“So good, but so, so bad,” Charlotte finished and groaned into her pillow.

“I’ll be sure to remember that next time I have it sent over from Colorado,” I said with a mischievous smile.

The girls giggled and began to climb out of bed.

A few minutes later, we were all dressed and ready to go, so we walked out of my room and ignored the stares and whispers from Vic and Seth as we headed for the Medius. The girls continued into the cafeteria, but I took the elevator to the third floor to find Ms. Canmore.

The dean was in her office surrounded by piles of papers and books, but she dropped her pen and rose from her seat as I rapped on the open door.

“I figured you’d be here eventually,” Canmore sighed as she motioned to the seat across from her. “You’re here about the black rain.”

“It’s called the Ater Regen,” I said and arched an eyebrow. “We found it on the internet.”

“Of course, you did,” she laughed. “What else did you find?”

“It’s cast by a charmer,” I explained. “And the last recording of one from a long ass time ago was because a charmer was pissed off about people trying to get her burned at the stake.”

“Understandable.” The dean nodded. “And you’re thinking…?”

“A charmer had to have done it this time,” I replied with a shrug. “Probably one of the ones on my list or yours. I’m starting to wonder if Raven and Dax aren’t in it together.”

“Dax?” Canmore repeated and widened her eyes in surprise. “Why do you think he’s involved? He’s been in the Atroba class with you.”

“Maybe that’s his way of getting closer to his enemies and all that,” I said. “I don’t trust him. Plus, he and Raven grew up together, so it makes sense they’d be doing the same thing.”

“The Ater Regen is a complicated spell,” the dean argued. “How could one of them do it already?”

“Maybe Dax learned it at Imperium, but even if he didn’t, aren’t two of them more likely to be able to pull it off?” I pointed out.

“Well, of course, two charmers are more powerful than one,” she murmured. “I’m not convinced Dax is involved. He left Imperium on… less than pleasant terms. I don’t see him using the knowledge he gained there to pull a prank on Meloria.”

“You still think it’s a prank?” I asked and shook my head. “I think someone is trying to scare us. Maybe we’re getting close with our lists of possible Atroba members.”

“Maybe,” she hedged. “I’ll keep an eye on both of them.”

“A seer’s eye?” I smirked.

“Yes, that one, too,” she chuckled. “All my eyes will be on those two until we sort this out. We’ll find out who’s behind it.”

I left her office feeling only minimally relieved and maximally hungry, but the cafeteria had mostly cleared out already, so I grabbed a banana and headed for my meditation class.

The other shifters were talking about the black rain, but Demi stayed quiet as I walked into the room. She was smart. We didn’t want to let anyone know how close we were to figuring out who was behind the Ater Regen, especially if someone in this class was involved.

I wasn’t sure Seth was ballsy enough to be involved, but he definitely had the evil villain part going for him. Maybe he’d roped in Dax or another charmer to pull off this stunt, though I wasn’t sure how it played out in his favor just yet. He liked to end up as the hero or the one who looked the most badass, but it was hard to win a fight against the black rain and look cool.

“Nice of you to join us, Turner,” Seth scoffed as I made my way to my meditation pillow. “It’s not like we have class or anything.”

“You weren’t doing anything productive anyway,” I retorted with a shrug. “I bet you don’t know a thing about the black rain. Is Mommy keeping you out of the loop?”

“She only found out when I told her,” he spat out. “I have to make sure the Premier is aware of everything here.”

“Isn’t that what the Discipulus is for?” I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh, I guess you aren’t in that club.”

“It’s only for third years,” Seth said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I figured one of your girlfriends would have told you that already.”

“Yeah, I know,” I chuckled. “I guess being the Premier’s kid didn’t get you VIP access to that either, even if it did cut you some slack for being late for curfew. At least I didn’t get locked out of the building.”

Seth sputtered a few curses before Francis stepped in and saved him from himself.

“Alright class, I think we should focus on meditating and gaining healing power,” the professor declared as she motioned toward our large pillows on the floor. “Deep breaths in and out.”

Professor Orr walked us through breathing and meditating for the next hour, but I was too hyped up about the Ater Regen and Seth’s cocky shit-talking to focus on finding the source of my healing power. I had a lot of shit to accomplish, and healing wasn’t as high on my list of importance as everything else right now.

By the time we finished with meditation and hurried to shifting class, I was at least somewhat settled into the classroom mindset and ready to learn more about the rapid shift. I wanted to be able to take my fera in the blink of an eye, and with already setting the record for a first timer, I was well on my way.

The hairs on my arms and neck stood on end, and I looked up from my backpack to see the new TA Carmelo just as he pressed his mouth into a thin line and turned away from me.

Weird.

Why would the new TA glare at me? I’d never even met him before he’d taken Indira’s place in Renzo’s class. In fact, I couldn’t remember even seeing him on campus or in our dorms before. He was fairly quiet during the lectures, so maybe he was shy, but he wouldn’t make any friends while handing out the stink eye.

As Pearson began his lecture, I noticed Carmelo’s glance continued to slide toward me, and his face became redder and redder with every look.

Now, I was even more confused.

Had I done something to piss him off without knowing it?

Maybe it was his record I’d broken or something.

That had to be it.

But the longer class went on, the angrier Carmelo looked, and I decided it was worth seeing if Indira knew something I didn’t, so I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent her a text.

Hey beautiful. Any idea why the new TA hates my guts? Starting to get Seth vibes from him in class.

I hit send and waited for her reply only a few minutes later.

Maybe it’s because I turned him down? He asked me to the formal last year, and I said I wasn’t interested in dating. Now I’m with you.

I let out an annoyed sigh and responded to her.

That makes sense. At least he has a good reason. I’d be jealous of me, too. You are crazy hot.

I added a laughing emoji and put my phone back in my pocket. We only had a few minutes left of class until it was time to head to defense of the mind, and we hadn’t even gotten to practice rapid shifting.

As soon as Carmelo turned another one of his glares on me, I arched a challenging eyebrow and met his gaze until he finally blushed and turned away. I wouldn’t be intimidated by the upperclassman who apparently had an unrequited crush on my girlfriend. He could get over it, or he could get laid out.

I didn’t need rapid shifting to beat his ass.

The buzzer interrupted my daydream of taking out the third-year TA, and I gathered up my things to move on when Pearson called my name.

“Yeah?” I asked as I went up to his desk and pointedly ignored Carmelo’s proximity.

“Are you liking your new class?” he asked.

I narrowed my eyes and flicked a glance over at Carmelo before I nodded my head.

I didn’t care to have Carmelo all in my business, especially if he hated me because of Indira. He had every reason to tell any secrets I had.

“Good.” Renzo seemed to understand my concern and leaned back in his chair. “Go ahead to class. Wouldn’t want you to be late twice in one day.”

I smirked and hurried out of his classroom toward my next class. I sat down in my chair just as the second buzzer trilled through the building, and Ms. Smith immediately got down to business.

“We’re going to talk about a tangent on dark magic today,” the professor declared. “We’ll be discussing black magic charms, and I expect everyone to be taking notes.”

There was a hushed rush of movement as we all retrieved our notebooks and pens to begin note taking on Ms. Smith’s lecture. She discussed how black magic charms had to be performed by a charmer, but they can still have a negative effect on other types of magical people. It all depended on the magic used and how the charm was cast.

“If a charmer does a black magic spell, why does it matter to us?” Seth asked as he squinted his eyes in annoyance. “I mean, it’s not like we can keep everyone in the world from doing dark magic, right?”

“No, that would be ridiculous,” the professor agreed. “However, even the closeness we share with a charmer who does black magic can cause the darkness to seep into our auras. It is the equivalent of the old phrase, ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ If we merely allow others to do evil, we are no better than they are.”

“Even if we aren’t a part of it?” he pressed with a frown. “Just knowing it can bring dark magic into our auras or whatever?”

“Yes,” Ms. Smith confirmed and nodded. “Dark magic is dangerous to everyone around it. You should be doing your best to avoid it or fight it to keep your aura clear and light.”

Seth crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his lap, but he didn’t say anything else.

I had an inkling of a feeling, and I didn’t like it one bit.

I’d always suspected Seth of being involved in something sinister, but with his mother as the Premier, it was hard to see him getting away with anything. Yet his concern over the dark magic proximity had me concerned he knew who’d cast the Ater Regen, and now he was worried the dark magic would somehow bleed over to him.

The question was, what charmer would let Seth get close enough to know what they were up to?

I was the only person who hadn’t cared about sticking with my magical class, and Seth was clearly the type to avoid anyone he didn’t think was as important as he was.

It was a mystery I was dying to solve, and I wondered if he and Dax had built a friendship I hadn’t noticed yet.

Maybe there was a way to use some of Seth’s power to make Dax’s magic stronger, so he wouldn’t have needed another charmer like Raven.

I’d find out soon enough.

The rest of defense of the mind class was boring until Ms. Smith announced our mindscape battles would begin next week. That was something I was excited about, and I took a mental note to do some research about how they worked before I was thrown to the wolves.

Mentally, anyway.

I breezed through lunch and gave Charlotte, Auden, and Indira a rundown of my classes, but I was amped up to question Dax in our Atroba class. I knew he knew something about the Ater Regen, even if I couldn’t prove it yet.

When I finally sat down in Dean Canmore’s office-turned-classroom, Dax was already there, and he didn’t even look up as I took my seat next to him. The dean had yet to arrive from her lunch break, so I took the opportunity to question my classmate.

“Sup?” I waited for the charmer to reply, but he kept his gaze on the empty whiteboard at the other end of the room. “Dude. Hello, Earth to Dax?”

Dax shook his head and frowned before he looked down at his notebook and began to scribble in illegible handwriting. I wondered how far he’d gotten on the list, but right now, I wanted to focus on his connection to the black rain.

“Too busy casting Ater Regen spells to talk to me now?” I asked with as much sarcasm as I could muster before I pounded my fist on his desk. “Huh? You like scaring everyone with the black rain?”

“Mr. Turner!” Canmore gasped as she walked in the room behind me and eyed me with suspicion. “I will not have you accusing other students without proof. Do you have any?”

“No, but--” I started.

“Then that’s all there is to this matter,” the dean cut me off with a stern glare. “We’ll continue as usual.”

“You can,” I grunted as I tossed my backpack over my shoulder and rose from my seat. “If he won’t even answer me, we aren’t on the same team. That’s all I need to know.”

I stormed out of the dean’s office amid her calls for me to return, but I was seeing red.

Not only did Dax leave me hanging when I wanted to get to the bottom of the Ater Regen, but Canmore didn’t even back me up when it came time to figure out if he was the one responsible. I had plenty of reason to think it was him, even if it wasn’t exactly hard evidence.

I marched down the stairs of the Medius and shoved the front door open to step out into the cool air of the early afternoon. I had other classes after the Atroba class, but I had no interest in anything else right now.

What I wanted more than anything was to go into the forest, shift into my white tiger form, and run through the trees, but it was risky. We were fairly close to the town on the shore, and a white tiger would surely grab their attention.

So, I decided to do the next best thing.

I jogged toward the edge of campus, slipped between the bushes, and made my way toward the secret garden. It was tucked away beyond the river and held a hidden training facility that had been monumental in my winning the Bellator last semester.

I’d spent hours every day going through the different trials and obstacles it threw my way, and now, I wanted to rip and shred my way through it to burn off some of the boiling hot anger that flooded my chest.

A few hours later, I was dripping sweat and considerably less pissed off. I wasn’t completely cool with how the dean had handled the situation earlier, but I’d put in some thinking about the way a neutral party had to handle things, and she’d probably done the best she could since I threw out my accusation a little early in the game.

I decided to head back to my dorm for a shower, but as soon as I stepped through the bushes, I saw a man on the edge of the dorm building in front of me. He seemed lost as he consulted his phone, but when he looked up and saw me, I froze.

I’d seen him somewhere before, and given all the research I’d been doing into the Atroba and the prophecy, I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Hey, can I help you find something?” I asked after a brief hesitation.

“You!” the stranger hissed and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a sword appeared in his right hand, and he growled as he lunged toward me with the blade aimed for my chest.