The girl is bad news, Indigo's voice echoes in my head, refusing to go away as I hear it over and over again.

Why would she get banned from her last school? I wonder silently as I struggle to get through my classes and focus, but much of the lectures go over my head as I aimlessly drift through them.

"Hey."

I look up as I'm walking through one of the hallways to my last class to see that Violetta is standing not too far away down the hall like she was waiting for me outside of my classroom.

"Hi," I murmur as I force a brief smile.

"You coming to the meeting tonight?" she asks as she falls into step beside me.

I think back to Indigo's warning as I shake my head, I needed to talk to Astrid and hear the truth from her.

"I can't, I need to do some studying tonight," I fib, the lie shaky on my tongue.

"I understand, sophomore year can be a little...overwhelming," Violetta assures me, "we have more meetings on Saturdays and Sundays when there are no classes."

"I'll try for Saturday then," I say as I pause by the doorway to my next classroom.

"Great! Maybe we'll get to see if you have a special affinity, I'll see you then," she adds before she turns away and melds with the students milling about in the hallway.

My phone suddenly buzzes in my skirt pocket and I pull it out and glance at it to see that I've gotten a text from my mother.

"I love you, be careful," is what her text reads and for a moment, I'm afraid that she's Seen something.

I'm not sure what all her powers cover when it comes to Seeing, though I shake off the needling sense that she has Seen something because she would likely be here to tell me in person rather than send me a foreboding message.

"I love you too, I will," I promise before I head into my last class.

My class goes on without a hitch as I brood over Indigo's warning at dinner, Astrid, Tessa, and Luke sitting around me, unaware at our table.

I reach out tentatively in my mind, hoping that there may still be a telepathic connection as I carefully try to focus my thought to just Astrid.

"We need to talk."

Astrid doesn't acknowledge that I've said anything and for a moment, I believe that she hasn't heard me as she continues to eat. I can see Indigo sitting at a table with a few of her friends not too far away as she looks in my direction. She's yet to introduce me to her friends, but I'm fine with that, they're her friends, not mine. But I feel like they're almost plotting something among themselves as Indigo exchanges a few secretive glances in my direction.

"What about?"

It's Astrid's voice and I startle at the sudden intrusion as I drop my fork into my dish of pasta. I almost don't catch onto the fact that her voice sounds cautious, though I can see her eye me as I resume eating.

"Saint Augustine's."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She stiffens like she's been slapped but she's quick to cover it up as she relaxes into her seat. Her nostrils flare as she sighs softly, irritation furrowing her brows.

"Fine, we'll talk later."

****

"So...let's talk," Astrid says as she sits down on her bunk.

It's only when Tessa and I have gotten ready to go to bed that Astrid finally speaks to me again. She still looks terrible, her skin pale and waxy as her eyes take on a dazed look, like she's only half here. Her eyelids are drooped, like keeping them open is a chore as she leans back on the pillows on her bed while I sit up on my bunk to listen to what she has to say.

"Talk about what?" Tessa inquires as she strolls out of the bathroom, a toothbrush in hand.

"Saint Augustine's," she murmurs as Tessa shares a glance with me, "and why I was banned."

Tessa's eyes widen as she looks to Astrid, "Banned? I thought you-?"

"I lied," Astrid cuts her off and shakes her head, "all a lie, Greenwood was the last place I could go...after what I did."

I remain silent as Tessa does the same, the both of us not wanting to break the solemn subject of the situation as Tessa holds her toothbrush aloft, having forgotten that she was going to brush her teeth as a glob of green toothpaste begins to sluggishly slide down the bristles. Astrid's face is pinched with pain and her lip quivers before she speaks.

"I had a boyfriend...and I loved him," Astrid whispers.

She lets out a long, slow breath before she continues to speak, her voice shaking.

"He was in an accident and he died last year...I brought him back, but he couldn't stay for long with just black moonstone fueling his life force," she explains before she trails off.

A heaviness fills the air, which is only broken by the toothpaste falling off of Tessa's toothbrush, but she doesn't seem to notice or care. The darkness outside the window seems to be pouring in, like it's filling the air and soaking into the walls and the dark circles under Astrid's eyes as we wait in a chilly silence for what she has to say.

"I accidentally tied him to my own energy," Astrid says at last, "I didn't know that resurrection was my affinity and it happened without me meaning to."

Tessa gasps softly but doesn't say anything. Astrid doesn't seem to register the noise as she keeps talking like she hasn't heard her.

"When the headmaster found out, they made me sever my ties to him and it felt-," she winces as her eyes clamp shut.

She grips the mattress under her as her knuckles flash white and pain contorts her features as she breathes in a soft, harsh breath before she blows it out and opens her eyes.

"It felt like I was the one who was dying when I was forced to do it and I watched him die again and couldn't do anything about it," her words end in a sob as she hunches forward, tears falling from her eyes.

For a long time, Tessa and I don't know what to say as Astrid sobs silently, her body shaking as she clamps a hand over her mouth. I'm frozen in place, unable to move or think for myself and I feel awful for not being able to do anything for her. At last, Tessa sits on the bed next to Astrid and places a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she darts a look to me and I clear my throat as I tentatively walk to the side of the bed and sit next to her on her other side.

"We both are, Astrid, I...I didn't know-."

"It's fine," Astrid gives me a strained smile, "you told me a secret about yourself, I needed to tell you mine, I'm just sorry that I didn't tell you the truth earlier."

"We understand completely," Tessa assures her.

She nods and wipes at her tears, her eyes red and puffy as she sits back on her bed with a choked huff, "I need to get some sleep, good night."

With that said, she promptly curls up in her bed and tosses the sheets over her head, effectively ending the conversation and leaving us with no other way to talk to her.

"Good night," Tessa murmurs as she gets up and heads for the bathroom.

She comes out a moment later and scoops up the glob of toothpaste she had dropped earlier and shuts off the lights in the room as she ducks back into the bathroom. I lie back on my bed, idly listening to the sink being turned on before she finally comes back out and climbs onto her bunk. She pauses just long enough to share a meaningful look with me before she darts her eyes toward Astrid.

We'd been friends long enough that we don't need telepathy.

I nod in understanding.

We'd have to talk about this in more depth later, when Astrid isn't around and it could finally just be Tessa and I again with our own opinions about this new revelation.

With the room now dark, I shut my eyes and listen to the humming of electricity and the general sounds that the old dorm building makes as it starts to lull me into sleep.

Right as I begin to fall out of consciousness, I think that I can almost hear, soft, muffled sobbing, or maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me.