Chapter 51: Read Aria’s Mind
Chapter 51: Read Aria’s Mind
A dragon guards its treasure. A serpent guards its truth. A wolf guards its mate.
~ Rebel Beast
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"How are you still alive?"
Karen looked genuinely stunned to find Aria standing there.
Aria stared at her, speechless. This bitch actually sounded disappointed.
Sure, Aria couldn’t stand the sight of Karen Donovan and wished she never had to wake up to that smug face again, but never once had she wished the girl dead.
She recovered enough to answer.
"Guess fate likes me a little more than it likes you." Her eyes hardened. "Unlike someone who survived by throwing her own friend in front of a crow."
Karen’s face drained of color. For a split second, pure panic flashed across her features before she hurriedly glanced around the common room. More students were filtering downstairs now, drawn by the summon. Conversations slowed as curious eyes drifted toward the two girls.
Aria became aware of her roommates, Alek, Brittney and Trisha stopping behind her as well. None of them interrupted and simply watched.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Karen denied a little too quickly.
"Really?" A dangerous glint settled into Aria’s blue eyes. "Then why don’t we ask everyone who was there whether they saw you dragging Philippa in front of you to shield yourself from the crows?"
She made to step around Karen but she moved sideways, blocking her path. Her voice rose just enough for nearby students to hear.
"What is your problem with me?" she demanded, sounding equal parts confused and wounded. "First you picked a fight with me, and now you’re accusing me of sacrificing Philippa? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Aria almost laughed because she knew
Karen wasn’t defending herself. This was all a performance and from the way nearby students exchanged uncertain glances, it was working.
"I don’t have anything against you," Aria said, refusing to match Karen’s volume. "But I can’t ignore the fact that you’re a bully." Her gaze swept past Karen’s shoulder. "And considering Philippa isn’t standing here with the rest of us, I’m willing to bet the worst happened."
She looked Karen dead in the eye, saying with an ice cold voice, "So no, I’m not staying quiet while you pretend you didn’t shove that girl into the path of death just to save yourself."
The murmurs went up a notch, and from the sideways glances being thrown Karen’s way, it was obvious doubt had begun to creep into their minds. Karen noticed it too and panicked for a moment.
"Karen didn’t do anything to Philippa."
Charlotte stepped into the conversation, drawing everyone’s attention. She came to stand beside Karen, folding her arms across her chest before glaring at Aria.
"I saw it," she declared. "Philippa was the one who stumbled into Karen’s path. Karen simply used that moment to escape. Surely you can’t blame her for trying to survive when everyone else was doing the exact same thing."
"What kind of fucking bullshit explanation is that?" Brittney snapped, coming to stand beside Aria. Alek and Trisha immediately joined them, making it four against two.
The fact that neither Philippa nor Debbie stepped forward from the crowd confirmed the suspicion Aria had from the very beginning.
They were the casualties of the beasts’ attack.
For a brief moment, it became a silent game of intimidation, and Aria’s side appeared to be winning.
Until Liv walked over and stopped beside Karen. "How is that bullshit when Charlotte just told you what she saw?"
Aria narrowed her eyes at Liv. No wonder Karen’s behavior went unchecked. The moment one girl disappeared from her circle, someone else seemed eager to take her place.
Before Aria could respond, Shannon stepped forward too.
"In that case," she said, "shouldn’t Aria be the one taking responsibility? She’s the one who started the fight this morning. If we hadn’t all been distracted by her, maybe we would’ve noticed the crows sooner."
Aria’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
What the hell was going on here? She had come to call Karen out for sacrificing another girl. Instead, she was the one standing trial.
As though that wasn’t enough, one by one, the remaining girls crossed over to Karen’s side. Olivia, Meredith, Indigo, Zainab and Fatima, Aria watched each of them move.
By the time they were done, Karen stood with eight girls behind her while she had only three.
Aria worked her jaw. So much for trying to do the right thing. This was what she got in return. Then again, what exactly had she expected? That they would suddenly hold Karen accountable? Punish her?
The thought was almost laughable.
Holding Karen responsible would’ve broken her influence over the others. Maybe then another girl wouldn’t end up paying the price for her selfishness. Now she was a fool.
This was exactly why she preferred minding her own business.
For a moment, there was nothing but tension between the two groups. They stood facing one another, neither side willing to back down. It felt less like an argument now and more like two rival gangs standing on the verge of a brawl. One wrong word was all it would take.
That was the scene Maverick and Dimitri walked into when they returned to the residence.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Maverick didn’t bark the words, yet they rolled across the room like distant thunder. Every head snapped toward him and, just like that, the girls froze like deer caught in headlights.
No.
There was absolutely no way he was about to witness a catfight on top of everything else that had happened today.
He’d had enough.
Aria startled at the sound of his voice. She turned only to meet those furious gray eyes, their vertical pupils narrowed into dangerous slits.
Her heart performed that strange little pitter-patter dance it had developed recently.
She immediately looked away, suddenly unable to bear the weight of his gaze, even though it had lasted only a few seconds.
The confrontation dissolved almost instantly. The girls broke eye contact with one another, suddenly finding the floor, the walls, and the ceiling infinitely more interesting than their professor. No one wanted to be the first to explain what had just happened.
Aria was highly tempted to speak. Something told her he’d listen. But what was the point? The girls had already proven themselves to be absolute morons, and she wasn’t wasting another breath trying to save people who clearly didn’t want saving.
If Karen ever held a knife to their throats, she’d simply mind her own business. Besides, she didn’t want the professor involved in hers.
It was clear to Maverick that whatever was going on, the girls wanted to keep him out of it. Normally, he would’ve respected that, but then he caught the faint crease between Aria’s brows and the stubborn set of her lips. Something about it refused to let him walk away.
"I’ll ask one more time." His voice dropped lower, colder. "What the hell is going on here?"
The temperature in the room seemed to fall with every word, and a shiver rippled through the girls. Charlotte unconsciously rubbed her arms as goosebumps spread across her skin.
Then Brittney broke.
"Karen Donovan stands accused of contributing to Philippa Davids’ death."
"What?!" Karen’s head snapped toward Brittney, fury blazing in her eyes.
"Brittney!" Aria hissed. She shouldn’t have blurted that out.
But Brittney had never been one to keep quiet. She confessed it all to Professor Maverick, "Aria saw Karen use Philippa as a human shield during the crow attack. We believe that contributed to her death."
Maverick’s brows shot up.
Even Dimitri looked taken aback. After spending so much time dealing with beast politics, he’d almost forgotten humans were capable of the same kind of cruelty.
"That is not true!" Karen shouted. "She’s lying!"
As expected, her loyal lackey rushed to her defense.
"I saw it happen," Charlotte insisted. "Aria’s the one lying."
This time, Maverick turned his attention to Aria. "You do realize that’s a very serious accusation, don’t you?"
For a moment, it seemed as though Aria wouldn’t answer. Then she lifted her chin.
"I’m telling the truth." Her voice was steady despite the nervousness knotting in her stomach. "Otherwise, I would’ve never confronted her about it in the first place."
To be honest, Aria had doubted herself for a moment. What if she hadn’t seen things correctly? But the more she replayed the scene in her head, the more certain she became.
She had seen it. Karen had used Philippa as a shield.
Maverick slowly swept his gaze across the girls. "Do any of you know what I’m capable of?"
Alek answered without hesitation.
"You can read minds, Professor."
"Correct," Maverick concurred. "Except that answer is a little vague. Most people think reading minds means hearing someone’s thoughts as though they’re speaking inside my head. That’s only part of it."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Thoughts leave impressions. Every memory you consciously recall leaves behind traces, almost like footprints in a fresh snow. When I touch those traces, I don’t simply hear what happened, I can see fragments of it if I want to."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"Not the entire memory though, just flashes. But it’s enough to piece together what someone was thinking at that particular moment."
His gray eyes moved from one girl to the next. "You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?"
Karen remained silent. The color had already drained from her face.
Alek was the one who answered, again.
"You’re going to investigate this matter yourself."
"Exactly." Maverick nodded approvingly. "Smart girl."
A blush crept onto Alek’s cheeks.
Then Maverick’s gaze settled on Aria.
"And we’ll start with the accuser." His eyes locked onto hers. "Aria Aspen."
"What?!" Aria eyes widened in disbelief.
There was only one problem with Professor Maverick Nightshade’s little plan. He couldn’t read Aria Aspen’s mind.
And he knew it.