Solasta Academy: Blood & Moonlight

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Soari

She tasted the sour taste of lemon in the back of her throat, and if she wasn't on a warpath, she might have puked it all up. It was the first time in years that she took that sort of drug, but it was familiar. But who got their hands on Grave's particular drugs? And how did she not taste it when she sipped the spiked punch? It took her and Amias hours before the drug wore off, but it was the least of her worries now. No, the entire student was either drugged or fallen victim to Fae music—which was deadly for a part of her. Emmeline, Kerim, and Vincent snapped out of their trances and immediately helped the students recover and bring them back to their dorms or nurse's office. Some of the student's symptoms were severe, as one girl had a broken ankle, and Soari wanted to cringe.

"Where's Calia?" she asked Amias.

He scanned his surroundings once—twice—before he glanced back at Soari with a panicked look. Their friends joined them as they read their worried expressions, but she could only focus on her adoptive daughter. She was missing, and the killer had her somewhere. It was the only answer. "He orchestrated all of this mess. The drugs in the punch and music were his way to distract us while he took Calia."

"It was Graves' drugs," Emmeline replied darkly. She and Soari were the only ones in the group who could recognize its smell, as it was a leading force of their adolescence. "He followed Calia and her friends to Ambrosia."

Her sunlight hummed as if it was ready to pour out of her hands and burn whoever decided to hurt Calia. Soari took a deep breath, but even that didn't work. Nothing worked when she could be anywhere. And she didn't want to think about what the killer had planned for her. She pulled out her phone from her dress pocket and dialed a familiar number. He answered on the first ring as if he knew something was wrong. "Sweetheart?"

"Dad," she said, her voice broken. "I thought I had this situation under control. But even I couldn't see how much he wanted Calia. He took her."

"Tell Jasper and Orla to lock down Solasta until further notice. There will be no other students going missing until we find her and the murderer," he said. "Come home, Soari. We can help."

Soari turned toward her friends, who nodded once, knowing exactly what her father had told her to do. They left quickly except for Amias, who stared like he was broken, too. As though he felt as if he failed Calia. She wrapped her arm around his torso to comfort him, silently telling him she felt the same way. As soon as she did, Calia's four friends sprinted toward her with a panicked expression on each of their faces. A girl with dirty blond hair spoke first—a Vampire. "Calia's not here!"

She nodded once. "The killer has her."

"Have you found Arzhel yet?" a Werewolf boy asked. He was much taller than the others, and his angular eyes shot through Soari like a bullet. She straightened once he uttered those words, and Amias managed to do the same.

Her husband glanced her way, and his warm eyes darkened—pained. He cared not only about Calia but also about her friend Arzhel. He was a good Fae male, and from the shadows under his eyes when he had dinner at their house, did she sympathize with the young Koen? Soari watched as every single one of Calia's friends paled in horror, making her rageful. She clenched her knuckles at her side and said, "All of you are coming home to me and Amias. It will be safer than Solasta right now."

"The killer might be after all of you as well, and we are not taking that chance. Not when he already has Calia and Arzhel." Amias replied.

"Pack your bags, and we will meet you in the driveway," Soari said. The young Solasta students nodded once before darting off quickly. The two vampires used their speed to return to their dormitories while the Witch and Werewolf jogged out of the Great Hall hand in hand. Once they were all gone, she turned back to Amias, who rubbed his face several times to try to get the drugs out of his system. "Graves' drugs is strong shit."