Immortal Consequences(15)

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious.”

“And did anybody follow you?” August pressed. “Are you two alone?”

“Of course we are!” Olivier exclaimed. “I’m far too discreet for that.”

“Wrong,” came a third voice from somewhere above him. “Though I doubt anybody is shocked.”

August knew that voice. Incandescent. Smooth like honey dripping down his throat.

“Irene.”

Just as her name escaped his lips, Irene materialized in a plume of bloodred smoke, Masika by her side. They were like a set of conjoined twins. Where one went—the other was never far behind. Despite their symbiotic relationship, the pair had distinct differences. Masika’s movements were fluid, like that of an acrobat, as though her body were moving in time with a song only she could hear. Irene, on the other hand, was harsh and rigid, like staring straight into a blazing fire.

Her dark eyes watched him carefully from beneath her blunt fringe.

“Great,” Wren groaned. “Did all of Blackwood manage to find us?”

Irene shot Wren a poisonous glare. “Just the ones capable of intelligent thought. Which begs the question…why are you here?”

“August invited me,” Wren shot back.

Irene scoffed. “Yeah. Right.”

“It’s true,” August admitted. “I asked her to come with me.”

He didn’t miss the flicker of jealousy behind Irene’s eyes. Despite the fact that it had been decades since they had agreed to end their…well, he wasn’t entirely sure what to call their time together. It hadn’t been a relationship, not a real one, anyway. Relationships were born from love, from a place of mutual respect and adoration. What they had created between them was born of pure desperation and loneliness. Of a primal need to fill the gaping emptiness inside them with anything that would make them feel remotely alive.

Either way, Irene resented him. And even though they had ended things a couple of years before Wren’s arrival, Irene still chose to blame her, rather than admit that the two of them had been terrible for each other.

“Are you two finally screwing?” Masika asked with an uninterested sigh.

“No!” August and Wren shouted in unison, which August could admit didn’t do them any favors. Wren must have been thinking the same thing, because she quickly averted her gaze and bit the inside of her cheek.

“Right,” Masika muttered, clearly amused. “So we’re still pretending that you two hate one another. Got it.”

“I have an idea.” Olivier sauntered over to where Irene stood, snaking his arm around her shoulder. “How about we reconvene this little party in a more suitable location. Perhaps my bedroom?”

“I’d rather douse myself with gasoline and set myself on fire,” Irene sneered.

“Charming.” Olivier slithered away from her and skipped back toward Emilio. “Would someone care to enlighten me on why we are here, then?”

“Ask them.” Masika motioned toward August and Wren. “They’re the ones who led us here.”

“I’m afraid it’s confidential,” August replied. “Loughty and I have some business to attend to.”

“How sweet.” Irene made a show of mockingly gagging into her hand.

Olivier chuckled. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m not jealous.” Irene practically spat the word in disgust. “What on earth would I have to be jealous of? If anything, she did me a favor by making August her little pet.”

Wren tilted her head in confusion. “Little pet?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t have him wrapped around your finger.”

August stepped forward. “That’s enough.”

“What? It’s the truth,” Irene replied defensively. “You’ve been trailing after her like some lovesick puppy dog ever since she first arrived.”

“Irene…，” Masika muttered with a giggle. “If this is you trying to prove you’re not jealous…I’m afraid you’re not doing the best job.”

“Excuse me?” Irene turned to her friend in surprise. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Oh, don’t be so sensitive. I’m only teasing you.”

Flames burst from Irene’s fingertips. “I…am not…sensitive.”

“Weird…” Olivier eyed Masika with a teasing glint. “Isn’t that exactly the kind of reaction a sensitive person would have?”

“I don’t mean to interrupt.” Emilio’s voice wavered as he cleared his throat. “But…uh…I think you might all want to see this.”

He stood with his back to them, eyes glued on the main gates. They all turned, following his gaze.

August saw it instantly. The shimmering light breaking open the black sky. It glowed just behind the opaque clouds, glittering and brilliant. A heavy silence fell upon the group as a collective sense of awe reverberated among them.

Wren was the first to speak. “Is it starting?”

“I think so,” August whispered.

“Is what starting?” Olivier asked breathlessly.

“Another student is entering Blackwood,” Irene muttered under her breath. “That’s why you two were coming up here. To get a good look.”