Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 165

Chapter 165

Rhaziel

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Cassian’s breath stutters at the sight of me, his eyes widening behind fogged glasses. Still, instead of answering my question-as any sane creature would- he lunges forward, grabs a fistful of my sleeve, and hisses under his breath like a furious alley cat.

“Get down,” he snaps. “Or stop-glowing-like that.”

If I weren’t consumed with fear and fury, I might have laughed. I glance down at myself, at the shadows boiling off my skin, at the faint silver-blue sheen radiating from my sigils-bright enough to light the forest floor at our feet. My magic has always manifested visibly when my emotions slip beyond my control. And right now, control is a thin thread beneath my heel. I exhale once, slow and deliberate, and allow the sigils etched over my chest and arms to

shift. The blinding silver dims, deepens, sinks into a blue-black glow like storm clouds swallowing the moon, subtle enough to pass for darkness rather than

a beacon.

Cassian releases my sleeve only when the light fades. “Thank the gods,” he mutters, pressing a shaking hand to his temple. “Allison being dragged off into

the unknown isn’t bad enough-you want to announce our location with celestial fireworks?”

“My magic is not fireworks,” I say quietly.

“You know what I mean,” he shoots back.

I do. Far too well. The night is still around us, save for the whisper of cold wind through the trees. Cassian gathers himself in a trembling inhale,

straightening his coat as though some semblance of tidiness might restore his composure. He fails.

“What happened?” I ask, and the air between us thrums.

He pushes his glasses up his nose, swallows hard, and begins. “The council set a trap to make her lose control. She oversiphoned. Evander… Kael… they were too drained to stop her. She panicked when she felt the magic choking her, and she bolted.” His voice cracks, barely perceptible, but I hear it. “She didn’t even tell me. She just vanished and took the boys with her into the shadows.”

A muscle knots in my jaw. “She should not have had to vanish at all.” Part of me, however, is fiercely proud that it was my power that saved her, even when

I could not be here physically.

“No,” Cassian agrees softly. “She shouldn’t have.”

He looks up at me then, and his expression shifts-less frantic academic, more man burdened by guilt heavy enough to bow his spine. “And you? What kept

you?”

The Shadow Realm stirs at the memory-a ripple of silver-black that crawls up my arms like a second skin.

“The Council,” I say, voice low, “performed an emotional convergence spell large enough to sync the nightmares of thousands. It crashed into my realm like

a meteor. Nightmares multiplied. Creatures escaped. The Veil nearly tore.”

Cassian pales.

“They caused that?” he whispers.

“They caused it,” I confirm. “They are some of the only people with the knowledge, power, and cruelty to do so.”

His lips part in shock, outrage flaring behind his eyes. “They set the whole thing up to get to her.”

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Chapter 165

My silence is its own confirmation. He curses under his breath, something sharp and vicious that I didn’t know he was capable of. “We don’t have time for this,” he says. “We need to find her before they do.”

“Then tell me,” I say, stepping closer until the air distorts between us, “How do you intend to track her when she could have shadow-travelled to any part of

this realm with them?”

Cassian presses two fingers to his temple and taps gently. “I’ve seen every single one of her memories.” The forest seems to still, or perhaps that is just me. He continues, voice quieter now, tinged with something raw. “Every hiding place she’s ever used. Every alley she slipped into. Every old cabin, every crack in a fence, she crawled through as a child, teenager and young adult. I know the routes she runs when she’s scared. I know where she goes when she feels hunted.”

Cold understanding descends over me like midnight fog. “You read her mind,” I say.

“Yes,” he admits, and there’s grief in it. “I saw what she lived through. I saw how she survived.”

I let the silence stretch, let his meaning sink into the marrow of the night. Cassian meets my gaze steadily for the first time since I arrived. “So when I say I know where she might be… I don’t mean I’m guessing. I mean, I’ve walked those streets with her. I’ve crouched in those hiding places with her. I’ve breathed that fear with her.”

A surprising surge of respect flickers within me.

“Then we hunt,” I say.

Cassian nods once, his resolve settling like a blade being sheathed. “She shadow-travelled, but not far, I think she was too drained for long distance with

extra people.”

“Which direction?” I ask.

He turns, scanning the forest with a scholar’s eye and a predator’s focus. “West. Toward the old road. There are abandoned towns out that way. Places she

lived when she didn’t have a home. That would be the closest direction.”

The wind picks up, carrying a thread of her shadow’s scent-faint, fading, but unmistakable. My shadows stir restlessly.

Cassian steps forward, tugging his coat tighter. “We move fast. She won’t stay still, and the boys won’t be able to keep up with her if she panic-runs again.”

“Then we move faster,” I murmur, letting the shadows pool beneath my feet like a spreading ocean.

Cassian inhales. “Rhaziel-wait.”

I stop, but only barely.

His voice drops to almost nothing. “When we find her… don’t scare her. She’s not running from us. She’s running from what they will do to her.”

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