Adelaide

Chapter VII

Adelaide DuPont
* TW: Blood *

The night passes quickly, though I'm unsure how. Ruby admitting Sapphire's feelings in the commons and my conversation with the latter in our dormitory feel ages apart.

Aside from the peculiar tetrad I happened upon during my first day at Soventi, I haven't made many other friends or even acquaintances, so classes remain relatively dull and unenjoyable. By around noon, I catch myself subconsciously hoping to find Sapphire and ditch again, though I still know little about her schedule, besides our handful of shared lectures.

"Adelaide."

His too-familiar voice interrupts me from behind, scattering the thoughts in my head. I pretend not to have heard him. The sound of his footfalls ricocheting in the corridor quickens as he tries to approach me. Soon enough, he's too close for me to feign ignorance any longer.

"Do you ever listen?"

"No, unless it suits my needs."

"Learn some manners, then," I deadpan, briskly turning a corner in the direction of the library.

Everything is too loud here — as chaotic outside as within my own mind. I can hardly concentrate.

"You've not any either. Running away isn't very ladylike."

"I don't need your opinion."

My tone falls flat, and I hope that's enough to convince Julian to leave me alone. I can't ignore the horrible feeling settling in my stomach — an ache for James, and maybe slight fear. I thought my strange obsession had ebbed since his admittance, yet his presence consumes me darkly.

A cool draft seeps forward from the westward halls, catching my attention. My feet carry me absentmindedly in the same direction, and I lose track of Julian altogether. A second later, however, he appears right beside me once again. Time must've slipped away in the moment, because I can't recall myself listening to his tread.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere that concerns you, Julian."

"I'm concerned."

Irritated with him as I am, I silently surrender to his company. I might appreciate the presence of another later, if this trail leads to something ghastly.

Mindlessly following the stale air down another passage, I attempt to shift my thoughts away from Julian. He and James are complete opposites in one significant manner: where my ex-lover has always been cold, Julian overflows with life and energy. With this distinction, perhaps, I can convince myself that they're nothing alike. No, I know myself better than that. I glance toward Julian, who stares straight ahead, my eyes darting across his sharp cheekbones and jawline. I can't help but notice how his hair gains a nearly purple tone in contrast with his pale eyes and even paler complexion.

Abruptly, an acrid odor overtakes my senses, a distraction equally welcome and not. My eyes water, and I wrinkle my nose against the vaguely metallic smell. Then, coldness sinks through my core as I realize: I'm smelling blood.

Hurrying down the next flight of stairs, I stumble into a clearing. Intense curiosity builds in my chest, but no fear taints my gaze as I step farther into the room. It reeks of must and decay, and I'm grateful for the obscuring shadows cast by sconces mounted along the side walls. On the far side of the room, an unmarked door stands closed and ominous. While my instincts urge me to run, my mind does not in the slightest.

"Adelaide, we shouldn't be here."

Julian's voice harbors a hard edge, fear lacing subtly through each syllable. I ignore him once again, striding across the room and reaching a hand to push open the sturdy door. The room inside is almost entirely bare, like a prison cell, and a dank haze hovers over the damp cobblestone. 'Rumors of a dungeon somewhere within these walls have arisen lately,' I recall Ruby mentioning.

The scent of blood strengthens as I cross the threshold, accompanied by something even more putrid. My gaze trails down to the floor, which I now realize to be cluttered with an array of stained knives. Shoved discreetly against the farthest corner of the room lies a heavy oak chest. Elation floods my senses as I step dauntlessly toward it, leaning down to retrieve one of the knives on my way. Behind me, Julian exhales tensely.

This room is too dark to see the contents of the chest, so I drag it into clearing — a breathless task requiring all the weight I can muster. Then, as a reward for my efforts, I unlatch the lid and lift it open, releasing a fetid smell that immediately drives me into a coughing fit.

"Saints above —"

"Relax."

I glance back at Julian, trying desperately to subdue the grin spreading across my face. Emerald was right: the true lessons of this school derive not from any mere class or lecture. Inside the chest lies a corpse. I suspect it to be that of a middle-aged man, though dried blood cakes its face and blurs its features. I can't look away.

Suddenly, I feel something reach for my hand, but I react quicker. Pivoting on one heel to face Julian, I scowl and raise the knife to his throat.

"Say anything, and you'll end up like that, too."

I realize too late that my voice sounds uncharacteristically hostile. Yet, I speak the complete truth, and Julian must recognize it, too, because he frantically steps back. It would be easy to eradicate him now, but James was always the expert on hiding the bodies. James — where are you? Cold blossoms through my veins like sharp poison, and I stare at the streaks of old blood covering my palms. This is a murder scene. I refuse to allow anyone to interfere unless they want to help. Although, how can I even trust any of the students here? The only ones with whom I'm acquainted are full of secrets themselves.

Without turning my back on Julian, I haul the chest back into the dungeon, flinging the knife into the darkness as well before I shut the door once again. As for the bloodstains, I'll just say that I fell or something. Soventi is much more complex than I ever imagined. I'm about to head back to the staircase, when I spin around and find myself face-to-face with Ruby.

"Adelaide, what've you done?"

Her narrow emerald eyes trace from my sanguine-streaked hand to my face, and I know she sees straight through me to the obsessive gleam lurking beneath my gray irises. With all her ophidian cunning, she's hardly shocked to find such an inhumane expression upon someone so shy and innocent, yet I watch her physically suppress a shudder as she steps forward. Did she follow Julian and I down here, or is her appearance coincidental? Either way, she's a liability, but I no longer have a knife in hand.

"I didn't do anything."

Ruby nods slowly in answer to my denial, her viridescent watch too calculating. But she doesn't daunt me. My words hold the truth — not that lying would be very advantageous to me, anyway.

James always made keeping calm under pressure look easy, but I grow restless with confrontation. While Julian stands relaxed beside me, masking his apprehension in light of my ultimatum, I can barely stay still. 'She didn't do anything,' my parents argued once, 'She just needs time away from those memories.' They never understood how difficult returning to normality is, after everything I witnessed with James.

"Then I didn't see anything," Ruby settles to my subtle surprise, her voice quiet but edged, rather than soft like Sapphire's.

A faint smile brushes her lips, while her steady gaze shifts to Julian and I tense. However, she doesn't play coy with him as I've seen her do when making introductions with others, as if some sinister instinct warns her to maintain a proper distance — rightfully so. Under her scrutiny, Julian composes his expression, relaxing back into the carefree persona he so easily presents.

"I recognize you."

"You would. They call me Julian, Ruby. And Adele — this has been interesting, but I should return to class now."

I'm not in the least surprised that he already knows her name, and the brisk way he cut the conversation short pleases me. His pale eyes flit emotionlessly over mine once more, then Ruby and I watch his exposed back retreat down the corridor. I turn to face her after he's gone, the hard glint in my expression fading rapidly into my usual doe-eyed appearance, though her gaze fails to soften also.

"You have found yourself in some intriguing company. Good afternoon, Adelaide," she blatantly dismisses herself, after a prolonged moment.