Chapter 2: chapter 1:2
1.2 Monsters in the Shadows
Dedicated to MollsieWallsie
Nika froze. She felt at least a dozen gazes on her, as
if they'd been pulled by gravity. Among them was
Jade, whose swallow-tailed eyes narrowed into
slits.
"What did you do?" she whispered, suspicion
flooding her words.
Nika's heart hammered against her ribs as she
thought about the past few days. She'd been
unusually well-behaved because her last stunt had
made Kovachev so furious that he threatened to
expel her. Again. Of course, he couldn't. Her father
would never allow it, and Markos Dimitrovich was
one of the most powerful men in the Daemonstri
world. One phone call had Kovachev changing his
mind.
Despite that reassurance, Nika had decided to
abstain from bad behavior for at least one week.
Though, she had ditched some classes last night.
Nika said to Jade, "I didn't do anything."
Panic rose inside her throat. She knew she should
have already approached the headmaster and his
entourage, but she couldn't move. And by now,
there was enough attention on her for Kovachev to
detect her location.
"Miss Dimitrovich," he said, his tone low and full of
warning, "if you don't come willingly, we'll use
force."
Two of those intimidating keepers stepped
forward for emphasis. Like a puppet, Nika rose,
feeling cold and numb.
As she descended the bleachers, a familiar voice
hissed, "What have you done this time,
halfblood?"
Nika glared at the boy-Isaak. He was a rival and
an enemy. Since their first year, she and Isaak had
vied to rank at the top of the Nefili class. According
to their statistics, both of them were promised to
be some of the greatest keepers the Vigil had ever
seen.
But Isaak and his family despised anything related
to tainted blood. As the world's most infamous
halfblood, Nika had been his victim for the past
five years. There wasn't a day that he didn't taunting.
and trouble her. Sometimes, he grew sick of words
and used fists instead.
The verbal battles, she could handle. A lifetime of
ridicule had honed her wit into an ancient sword.
But when it came to physical attacks, she had
always been inferior. Cursed with a petite stature,
Nika was an easy target for tall, ath letic Isaak and
his beefy sidekick. She'd lost count of how many
times she'd been pummeled into black and blue.
And yet, despite her inferiority, Nika loved fighting.
It was all she'd ever known.
Her fingers curled, but before she could wipe the
smug grin off Isaak's face, Nika found herself
covered by a keeper's shadow. He didn't touch her,
but the threat was clear in his stance. If she made a
move, he wouldn't hesitate to react. She would
probably be unconscious within heartbeats, and
he wasn't against hitting a seventeen-year-old girl
in front of a large audience.
So Nika backed down, but she didn't peel her
baleful gaze away from Isaak until the keepers
ushered her behind Kovachev and escorted her
from the gymnasium.
When she stepped outside, that silence screamed
across the forest, thick and unbearable, and she
couldn't shake the feeling that someone was
watching.
When neither the headmaster nor the security
guards spoke, her nerves skyrocketed. What was
happening? Was she in trouble? Why was the
school on lockdown?
As they traversed the sidewalks, agonizing seconds
dripped by, and the questions grew dire.
What if this wasn't about her? What if something
had happened to Lu, her best-friend-but-more-
like-sister? What if something had happened to her
dad?
She shoved those thoughts out of her mind as they
entered the administration building.
"Stay here," one keeper ordered.
Then they peeled off in separate directions,
returning to their regular duties. Perhaps she
should have been flattered by Kovachev's enlisting
four full-grown men to help. Nika had a certain
reputation for being difficult sometimes. Some
might have even called her a hellcat.
She scanned the lobby while the headmaster
whispered to a receptionist. There was movement
from a hallway to the left, and when her eyes
landed on a familiar, angelic figure, she felt a wave
of relief.
Lu emerged from the corridor with a female
keeper, who wasn't here to contain Lu, but to
guard her. All keepers, whether young or old, male
or female, were the soldiers, security guards, and
policemen of Daemonstri society as a whole. But
their truest purpose was to protect the Serafi race.
Even above their own families.
Nika rushed toward her sister-friend. Lu made a
small squeaking noise and caught her hands.
"I'm so sorry," she said. "I had to tell them."
Even when twisted in distress, Lu's face was
ethereally beautiful. Her hair was like glittering
moonlight, streaming over delicate shoulders and
a collared blouse. With skin the color of cocoa
powder and bright lavender eyes, Luiza Lazarov
was too captivating to ignore.
Like all Serafi, she possessed regal height and an
air of grace and charisma. Being a Nefili-and just
plain short-Nika had to lift her chin to look at Lu
directly.
"Tell them what?"
"About our spot. I know how much you love that
place"
Nika's heart sank. That's all?
A few years back, Nika and a close group of friends
-Lu and Jade among them-had discovered a
cluster of abandoned cabins on the fringes of
campus, which had served as dormitories during
the school's elementary years. Nika had convinced
her friends to convert one into a secret hangout,
despite the fact that it was off-limits to students.
So this was the cause for a lockdown? It seemed a
bit theatrical.
But the more Nika thought, the less she was
certain. If Kovachev had learned of their prohibited
hangout, he would have detained Jade, too. As
well as the two boys who frequented the cabin.
Nika said, "Why would you tell them about it?"
"They think you did something. I was trying to
explain that you"
Before Lu could finish, Kovachev said, "Miss
Dimitrovich, please follow."
"Can you wait for me?" Nika asked as she slowly
obeyed his command.
Lu nodded, the crease between her perfectly
arched brows deepening as Nika turned away.
Kovachev led her into his office and gestured to a
chair before his large desk. All the while, Nika's
thoughts raced.
What does he think I've done?
"It has come to my attention that you had two
unexcused absences yesternight," Kovachev said
while taking a seat. He scanned a file angled away
from Nika's eyes.
Nika willed herself to remain calm. "Yes. But why
does that require an interview with my best
friend?"
"Because Miss Lazarov always knows where you
are. She claims that you went to the old dorm
facilitiesto a hangout spot that you've been using
for three years."
"That's true."
Kovachev folded his hands and cocked his head.
"What were you doing there?"
"I needed some privacy." By the look on his face,
that wasn't clear enough. Nika sighed. "I was
wallowing in self-pity and frustration because.
.boy drama"
She added the last part with a grimace, and it
wasn't a lie. Nika had gone to the cabin to escape a
boy last night. She'd been too mortified to attend
training after Miles, a close friend-and occasional
friend-with-benefits-had dropped an 'I love you!
They'd been in his dorm during their free period.
More specifically, in his bed. Doing things that
needn't be remembered in the presence of the
headmaster.
Kovachev raised his brows. "Boy drama?" He had
the audacity to sound amused. "And you were
alone during this time?"
"Yes." Nika suddenly recalled a brief incident and
amended, "No-actually, someone saw me there.
We talked for a few minutes."
"Who?"
"The new guy. Dante." She pressed her lips
together, rummaging her mind for a last name.
"Azzara. Dante Azzara."
Kovachev looked vexed, especially when he shook
his head at her like she was a misbehaving child.
"You're telling me that the only person who can
confirm your alibi is this Dante character? A new
student?"
Alibi. Nika tried not to explode at that word.
laaehina tha uraa ta ctandun and damandcama.
OLeashing the urge to stand up and demand some
answers, Nika said, "Yes."
"What are you up to?" Kovachev snapped, leaning
on his elbows. Anger flashed through his middle
aged features. "Is this some ruse to stall me or
divert my attention?"
"No!" Nika couldn't believe this was even
happening. "Just send for Dante and ask. He'll tell
you that he was trying to find his way around
campus and wandered near the old dorms. He saw
the light coming from our cabin and knocked on
the door. There was some small talk and I gave him
directions to the library, then he left."
Kovachev's eyes narrowed, and for several long
seconds, he assessed her. Then finally, he said,
"Perhaps both of us have been deceived."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because we don't have any new students."
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