CLASS OF SECRETS

Chapter 5

Wren barely slept.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photograph again.

She saw herself standing outside the science building.

She saw the message written across the back.

You’re asking the wrong questions, Wren.

And behind her…

The blurred figure at the upstairs window.

It looked like Lily.

But Lily had been in the dorm that morning.

Hadn’t she?

Morning arrived with gray skies hanging over Kingsley Preparatory Academy.

Rain drummed softly against the dormitory windows while students hurried through the halls, complaining about Monday classes.

Everything looked ordinary.

Too ordinary.

Wren hated that.

By lunch, Kingsley had resumed its perfect routine.

Teachers smiled.

Students laughed.

The orchestra practiced in the music hall.

If Wren hadn’t heard those screams herself, she might have believed she’d imagined everything.

She hadn’t.

Something had happened.

Someone was lying.

Lily had become impossible to read.

She barely touched her food.

Every few minutes, she checked the clock above the cafeteria doors.

She jumped whenever her phone buzzed.

More than once, Wren caught her staring toward the faculty table, only to quickly look away whenever a teacher noticed.

“You’ve been acting strange,” Wren said quietly.

I’m just tired.

You keep saying that.

I know.

Lily…

The other girl forced a smile that never reached her eyes.

I promise I’m okay.

She wasn’t.

Wren could see it.

The bruises on Lily’s wrist had darkened.

Another faint bruise peeked out from beneath the collar of her uniform before she adjusted it.

Someone had grabbed her.

Hard.

Classes dragged.

Wren couldn’t concentrate.

Professor Hargrove called on her twice before she realized he’d asked a question.

Even Kai noticed.

As students packed their bags, he paused beside her desk.

“For someone who likes observing people,” he said, “you’re making yourself very easy to observe.”

Wren looked up sharply.

What is that supposed to mean?

It means you’ve looked over your shoulder fourteen times since this morning.

He walked away before she could answer.

Arrogant jerk.

Yet…

He wasn’t wrong.

She had.

Because every time she did…

She had the strange feeling someone else looked away first.

That evening, rain began to fall.

Soft at first.

Then harder.

By lights-out, it hammered against the dormitory windows.

Most students stayed inside.

The corridors grew unusually quiet.

At exactly 11:47 p.m., Wren heard it.

A door opening.

Not hers.

Lily’s bed creaked.

Very slowly, Wren opened one eye.

Lily was getting dressed.

Not into pajamas.

Into a dark hoodie.

She slipped her phone into her pocket, glanced toward Wren’s bed to make sure she was asleep…

…then quietly left the room.

The door clicked shut.

Wren waited five seconds.

Then she followed.

The hallway was empty.

Only the emergency lights glowed faintly along the walls.

Lily moved quickly, never looking back.

She descended one staircase.

Then another.

She didn’t head toward the common room.

Or the library.

She headed toward the oldest part of campus.

The science building.

Wren kept her distance, hiding behind stone pillars whenever Lily slowed.

Rain pounded against the glass roof connecting the buildings.

Thunder rolled across the sky.

Lily reached the side entrance of the science wing.

She didn’t knock.

She didn’t swipe a student ID.

Someone unlocked the door from inside.

The door opened just wide enough for her to slip through.

Then it shut again.

Wren hurried forward.

Locked.

She pressed her ear against it.

Nothing.

A voice.

Male.

“…you’re late.”

Lily answered too softly for Wren to hear.

Another voice joined them.

Then another.

There were at least four people inside.

Wren’s pulse quickened.

Why would students be meeting here after midnight?

She searched the wall beside the entrance.

Nothing.

No keypad.

No handle on the inside.

Then she noticed a narrow service window, its blind only half closed.

She stood on tiptoe.

Carefully…

Slowly…

She looked inside.

The laboratory lights were off.

Only candles illuminated the room.

Students stood in a circle.

All wore black robes over their uniforms.

Their faces hidden beneath dark hoods.

In the center…

Lily.

Someone handed her a small wooden box.

She hesitated.

Even from this distance, Wren could tell her hands were shaking.

A deep voice echoed through the room.

You’ve already seen too much.

Another pause.

There is no leaving now.

Lily whispered something.

The hooded figures shifted.

One stepped forward.

Another removed something from the box.

It gleamed silver in the candlelight.

Wren strained to see.

A pin.

No…

Not a pin.

A crest.

Black.

Circular.

Marked with a strange symbol she had never seen before.

The leader held it toward Lily.

Choose.

Lily didn’t move.

“You have one chance.”

Silence.

Seconds stretched painfully.

Finally…

Lily reached out.

Not to take it…

But to push it away.

I won’t do it.

The words were clear enough for Wren to hear through the glass.

I said no.

The room froze.

The leader slowly lowered his hand.

So be it.

Two hooded figures grabbed Lily.

She struggled.

One clamped a hand over her mouth.

Another dragged her toward a second door at the back of the laboratory.

Wren’s heart lurched.

No.

No, no, no.

She slammed both hands against the window.

Lily!

Every hooded head turned.

For one terrifying second…

No one moved.

Then a hood slipped back.

Wren caught only a glimpse of the person’s face before the laboratory lights suddenly exploded into brightness.

She staggered backward, blinded.

An alarm began screaming throughout the building.

Footsteps thundered from inside.

The laboratory door burst open.

Wren spun and ran.

Behind her, voices shouted.

“Catch her!”

She sprinted through the rain, her shoes slipping against the wet stone path.

The footsteps behind her grew louder.

Closer.

She risked one glance over her shoulder….

….and collided hard with someone standing in the darkness.

Strong hands caught her before she fell.

“Easy.”

A familiar voice.

Kai.

His expression was unlike anything she’d seen before.

Terrified.

He looked past her toward the science building, where several dark figures were already pouring outside.

His grip tightened painfully around her wrist.

We have to move.

“W-what…..

“No questions.”

They’ve seen your face.

The hooded figures stopped at the top of the steps.

One of them pointed directly at Wren.

Kai didn’t wait another second.

He pulled her into the darkness