<h4>Chapter 39: Fractures beneath the surface...</h4>


    <strong>ter</strong>


    A whileter, we were all seated in a small conference hall for an emergency briefing.


    The room was cramped, with faculty and senior staff packed into chairs around a rectangr table while student leadership stood along the walls.


    Headmistress Vale stood at the head of the table, outlining safety strategies with her usualposed authority. As always, there were zero discussions about how the death of the student could affect the school.


    She only made a mild mention of how the Academy would inform the parents on ater day and send delegates to them, and that was all.


    "So, curfew will be tightened effective immediately—no students outside main buildings after 9 PM. Patrol will double. ss timetables and schedules remain the same. We’ll inform the student that snow rogues have been sighted in the area."


    She paused, scanning the room. "There should be no mention of the deceased student. We don’t want to cause unnecessary panic and spection."


    A loud scoff sounded in the room, cutting through the tense atmosphere.


    Everyone turned towards Marcus, lounging at the corner of the hall, his brows were raised, and his mouth was curved into a sardonic grin.


    Headmistress Vale turned to him with a wooden smile. "I see you have a different opinion, Mr Webb."


    Marcus straightened. "Yes, I do. When will we be truthful with these students? How many more do we need to lose before we tell them what’s really going on?"


    He leaned forward, his tone intensifying. "We’ve had these strange attacks and deaths repeatedly over thest couple of months, and students keep dying. We’ve buried four already this session. We can’t keep burying everything under the carpet and pretending it’s not happening. What’s it going to take? A mass grave?"


    A heavy silence fell in the hall. Even the staff looked uncertain, avoiding each other’s gazes.


    I stared at Marcus, impressed that for once, he was making sense. He was right about the cover-ups.


    Headmistress Vale pressed her hands to her waist. "I feel your frustration, Marcus and I understand where you’reing from and believe me, no one is more concerned about student safety than I am..."


    "You’re concerned?" Marcus scoffed again. "Then why hasn’t any investigation beenunched? You’re not trying to find out what truly happened."


    "The coroner..." Headmistress Vale started saying, but Marcus cut her off.


    "The coroner is not an investigator, Headmistress Vale. We cannot keep relying on science to understand why students turn up dead, go missing or die suddenly. What will happen to our newly admitted students? We had to rush orientation, where nothing was taught to them. They weren’t even prepared for the harsh realities in..."


    "Your point, Mr Webb?" Headmistress Vale cut him mid-sentence.


    "What I am saying is you should look into these things. An investigation would help, and also telling the students what’s really going on would make them more cautious, especially the newly admitted students."


    "Okay," Headmistress Vale nodded, taking a deep breath. "But telling them the full truth will not help—it will only cause painic and make them more likely to make dangerous decisions."


    She moved to stand behind her chair, gripping its back. "I’ve already put in a request to the Alpha King to send trained warriors to supplement our security instead of relying solely on Sentinels."


    A few of the staff exchanged worried nces.


    "We are doing all we can," she continued. "But for now, all of you need to keep calm and carry on with your duties. Be vignt. Watch for patterns. If anyone sees or hears anything strange, report it. Immediately."


    She scanned the room again, making eye contact with each person present. "Does anyone else have anything to contribute?"


    As always, I noticed that none of the faculty members or staff were making a move to speak up or contribute. They were always quiet during briefings like this.


    Last time, the history professor went against her; he went ’<strong>on leave’</strong> and never came back.


    Anyone who tried to criticise Vale’s leadership openly would mysteriously fall ill or be used of misconduct and dismissed within a week.


    The funny thing was, there was no evidence linked to her about maltreating staff or making them go against their beliefs and morals.


    She turned to Kael, who was leaning against the wall near the door, arms crossed as he watched silently.


    "Kael," she said, "anything to add?"


    Kael shrugged with apparent indifference. "I’ll inform the first-years to be more careful and follow the standard safety protocols in their handbook."


    "Excellent," Vale said, smiling faintly. "Normal school activities should continue as scheduled. However, everything must end by 10 AM to allow students proper rest and preparation for the induction ceremony tonight."


    Then she pped her hands together with finality. "That concludes our briefing. Thank you all for your time."


    The moment she dismissed us, Kael was the first to leave, moving toward the door. I quickly followed after him, hoping to catch him in the hallway, when someone grabbed my arm.


    When I turned, it was Marcus. He had an apologetic look on his face.


    "Sorry, man, for stopping you, it’s..."


    "If this is about my brother..." I didn’t wait for him to finish. "Then I don’t want to hear it."


    "I’m just concerned about him, that’s all," he shrugged, then from his pocket, he produced amunication band, which he thrust into my hand. "It’s not so much, but could you give this to him. It would help..."


    From the earnest look on his face, I knew he was being genuine, but it was so funny, seeing Marcus acting like a lovesick pup because of Charis.


    It dawned on me, too, that he might have spoken up because of Charis.


    "No!" I shook my head. "But thank you for your goodwill."


    Without waiting for a response, I walked off, hurrying through the hall, praying I’d still meet up with Kael.


    I caught up with him two hallwayster.


    "Hey, wait up!" I called out.


    He stopped and turned slowly, giving me a dull, unimpressed look as I came closer. "What’s wrong, Riggs?"


    I tried not to show my irritation. "I sent you a messagest night. You read it and didn’t reply."


    "Yes,’ he said tly and turned to walk away.


    I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Look, can you just stop by my room and grab some clean clothes for Eamon? He’ll need a change of—"


    Heughed dryly, his eyes twinkling with disdain as he stared at me. "Eamon is leaving this morning. That won’t be necessary."


    "He can’t leave," I said hastily. "Where would he go? We’re not exactly on speaking terms right now, and I don’t want him staying in the regr dorms because of Marcus."


    Kael stared at me for a few seconds. "You’re unbelievable... You lot. Just because I helped one time, doesn’t mean I would help again."


    "I know," I nodded. "Please let him stay for a few more days until I can figure out how to handle this situation properly."


    He closed his eyes for a second, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "I cannot wait to be rid of both you, Riggs brother," he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear.


    "What’s that supposed to mean?" I demanded.


    "It means," he said, turning to face me directly, "that you both bring nothing butplications and drama wherever you go. I have actual responsibilities that don’t include babysitting your family dysfunction."


    I felt anger re in my chest. "He’s in danger, Kael. With Marcus targeting him and now these rogue attacks—"


    "Then maybe you should have thought about that before you betrayed his trust," he interrupted coldly. "The consequences of your actions are not my problem to solve."


    With that, he turned and walked away.