Miss Rue:
Ever since Oriana and the others ca back from the North, I had been waiting for a mont to speak with her.
When I saw that she had also killed the Shadow Earth Eater, I realized she must have spoken her wish.
There was no way Oriana would be stupid enough not to uphold the deal and kill the Shadow Earth Eater before using her last wish.
The problem began when Ian barged in.
I rembered clearly that I had asked her to tell the Shadow Earth Eater to kill both of them, because I had a feeling that if Clentine had t Ian then Clentine must have told him everything about .
A few hours later, things changed when Ian went live on the biggest show and exposed everything about the Academy, the North, and the monsters.
When I watched him go on alone and noticed Clentine was not with him, I thought that maybe Oriana could not get the Shadow Earth Eater to kill both Ian and Clentine.
Or maybe Ian and Clentine never saw each other and Ian had to leave the North disappointed.
That might have been why he beca aggressive and exposed everything. By then, everything was already over for .
Once Ian asked his father where Clentine was, and said the last ti he saw her was when she was leaving to et the council mbers, I knew Ian and Clentine had been together.
I slipped into the basent to avoid Ian’s attention. I knew the mont he saw , he would start screaming.
I stayed there until I was certain he had left with his father. When I ca out, everyone else had gone to their rooms.
The ringleaders were told to gather the lurkers and inform them that their service would not be needed for now.
There was no way anyone could be sent back to the North, at least not until we were certain how people were reacting.
I called Oriana to speak with her because she had avoided like a plague. When she finally faced , she showed her true self. I was enraged. I felt betrayed, like a fool.
"Miss Rue, you have not said a word," Miss Lenora remarked as we sat at the table together.
I was looking outside the hall’s windows.
"I’m sorry, what were you all talking about?" I asked.
A whole day had passed, and I had not been able to get Oriana’s words and tone out of my head. She had fooled .
I helped her out of the academy, and here I was with nothing. Soon, Ian would co back, and it would be chaos. I did not know what I was waiting for at this point.
I had tried to leave earlier, but Mr. Rick saw and practically dragged here to have a cup of tea with him.
"I was saying that the very first ti I laid my eyes on Clentine, I had a feeling she would be trouble," Ms. Lenora uttered, earning nods from everyone.
"Wait until they start talking about the green squad," Mr. Rick hissed.
I rembered the green squad. They were the ones who found out the academy had been watching them the entire ti.
"Wasn’t it you, Mr. Rick, who went in there and killed all three of them?" I asked.
The mont I said those words, Mr. Rick snapped his head up and glared at .
"Co on, Rue. We talked about this. We will never ntion it," he replied. "It was a small mistake. We let information slip, and they caught on. We had to kill them, because if the headmaster had found out that we had slipped information, he would have fired us."
Ms. Lenora tried to justify the killing of three boys out of fear of the headmaster finding out.
"Right," I said, noticing the way everyone was looking at .
"And it seems Miss Rue is really sad about the academy closing. Maybe she was enjoying it a little too much," Mr. Rick comnted.
Obviously, he would strike back.
"I’m not the one who was harsh toward the crusaders. I was everyone’s favorite," I mumbled, clicking my tongue.
The blue and green squad ringleaders watched us in silence.
That was when the door to the hall opened, and the headmaster walked in. I imdiately stood up.
From the way they were grunting, I knew I had to get out of Ian’s sight. I had a feeling they had left the council’s office disappointed.
And knowing Ian, he would take his anger out on , the one who had last shot Clentine.
As soon as I rushed toward the basent, I felt a pull on my hand. When I looked up, I saw Mr. Rick grabbing my arm and smirking.
"Why does it seem like you are running away from sothing?" he asked, turning by force to face the headmaster.
"Don’t worry, Ian. I have asked everyone to gather information on anyone who visited the council leaders in the last twenty-four hours and beyond," the headmaster said to his son, who was red with anger.
Haiden and Troy stood right behind them, and there was no Clentine.
I tried to step back again, but Mr. Rick grabbed my arm once more.
He must have noticed how uneasy I was around the headmaster, so he was making sure I stayed.
"Let go," I hissed at Mr. Rick, pulling my arm free.
I spoke softly, but the mont I opened my mouth, the room fell silent. Even though my voice was barely above a whisper, everyone heard it.
"And there we have the biggest snake of all," Ian comnted, just as I had feared.
The room went still. Heads snapped in my direction.
"Is there a problem, Ian?" I asked, swallowing hard.
There was only one thing I could do.
Lie.
They had no physical proof against , so all I could do was keep lying until they believed it.
Ian started walking toward at a brisk pace. When he reached , he grabbed my arm and dragged away from the ringleaders.
They gasped, except for Mr. Rick. He looked pleased to see fall after I had spoken to him the way I did.
Ian shoved forward, and a kick to my back forced onto my knees in front of the headmaster.
The mont felt like the worst insult. I did not think I deserved such treatnt.
"Ian, what is wrong with you? Is that how you treat your elders now?" his father snapped.
The other ringleaders began to whisper among themselves, showing their disapproval of Ian’s behavior toward .
I tried to get up, but Ian kicked in the back again, and I fell once more. I did not cry.
I did not beg him to stop. I clenched my jaw, closed my eyes, and tightened my fists. I knew he would not show rcy.
He was angry because he had lost his mate. And of course, she had told him about .
"Wait, what is going on, Ian? Is she sohow related to Clentine’s disappearance?" Troy asked as he stepped out from behind the headmaster.
I remained on the ground, my knees pressed down, my fists against the floor, my head lowered. Still, I could see so of the others from the corner of my eye.
"Ask her, Father. Ask her why she joined the academy, especially after her sister passed away," Ian said.
As soon as he spoke, whispers and murmurs filled the hall again.
"That is what many siblings did when their brothers or sisters died in the North, they ca here to work as staff mbers, chefs, cooks, or anything they could. It helped them stay close to the last place their siblings had died. So what are you trying to prove?" the headmaster asked.
Of course, he knew I was Riv’s sister.
"Wait, who was her sister?" Haiden asked.
"Riv," Ian replied with a scoff.
I looked up and saw Haiden and Troy staring into the distance before realization struck them.
"Wait, you’re telling she was against our team all this ti?" Troy asked, pointing at as he looked at Ian.
"No," Ian shouted. "More than that. She ca here to take revenge on Clentine."
Gasps filled the hall again.
"That is ridiculous. She always spoke well of Clentine," the headmaster argued.
I had not spoken a single word in my defense. I was waiting for the right mont.
"Really?" Ian snapped. "Then ask her why she gave Clentine a key to the back side of the fence. Ask her why she wanted the ti clock. Did it never occur to you that Clentine went into the North to fetch the clock and never returned? Then she ca back with because she had the clock, and Rue tricked her and shot her, thinking she had the real one."
Ian spoke in one breath, exposing to everyone.
User Comments
0 comments from readers