Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Forty-Six

You'd think that a school located at the fringe of Hell would be different from a normal high school. That the students would be over gossiping and that everybody would just want to live their afterlife free from drama. But the whispers, the cliques, the stares—all of it remained. Even with Deryk walking beside me down the center of the halls as we returned from seeing Tyler in the infirmary, I felt like I'd digressed back into being The Survivor at Royal Academy after David died.

"Do you see what I mean now?" Deryk whispered out of the side of his mouth so he couldn't be heard, his lips not read.

"Don't they have classes to be in?" I asked and darted my eyes around, avoiding anyone trying to meet my gaze. Finally, I just stared ahead.

He laughed. "Hell's Fire doesn't enforce a schedule onto the Dark Souls like Glory Academy does to our counterparts. We hold training workshops and lectures if enough of the students show interest. Other than that, they are free to wander."

"Why?"

I ducked my head to look at the floor as a raven-haired girl crossed in front of us, not even trying to hide her curiosity. Reaching up, I untucked my hair from behind my ears so that it draped to conceal my face.

"Death kind of eclipses school, don't you think?"

Right. Using the argument that I'd utilized with the Brothers would make me a hypocrite if I didn't agree. "Can't you tell them to stop looking at me?"

"Go ahead." He shrugged. "You are their leader."

"I'm the leader of the Pure Souls."

We stopped at the door to the office and he raised his eyebrow, one hand on the knob.

"After what happened with Tyler, I say good luck denying that the Dark Souls aren't included in that category."

"Ugh. Fine." I raised my hand, fluttering my fingers around my face as I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "If I'm such a leader, then my first order is to tell you to make them stop looking at me."

"Just close the door behind you, Alyssa, and they can't see you to annoy you anymore." He chuckled. "Come on. We need to talk about Tyler."

My shoulders slumped. "I don't want to."

"We also need to figure out how to get you back to your body—Renalda's price is always high."

Damn. "Fine."

I sighed. Anything to help me get out of here. I was stupid to have come. All because of a childish stubbornness for truth. If ever there was a never-ending quest to embark on, this would be it. Truth. There was always more lies to look beneath if you wanted to learn about the truth of something.

"Really?"

"Let's go already," I said, stomping my foot as I gestured to the knob. I looked up and down the hall. "Open the door!"

He laughed but did as instructed. The door didn't close fast enough. When it did, I jumped, which made him laugh even more. I brought my hand to my chest and glared. Deryk ignored me, crossing the room to sit behind his desk.

"So, do you see what I mean now?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, and stared at me over the fingertips he pressed together over his nose.

"What?" I asked and sat in a visitor's chair. "Do I see what?"

"Why we took Tyler to the infirmary." He leaned back. "That his Darkness is gone."

"No." I shook my head. "I didn't see anything except that he has a shadow now, which I take to mean that there's no more Darkness in him. Or, at least, no more than the rest of the Dark Souls."