Chapter 22 · Dropped Into Witch Academy at Midnight - Chapter 22: The Woman Below

Vivienne's hand is cold on my wrist. Too cold.

"Alex, don't."

I'm already kneeling beside Lena's body in the basement wreckage. The woman's skin is gray, lips cracked, breath barely there. She's been down here for days, maybe weeks. The academy doesn't want anyone knowing she exists.

And Vivienne doesn't want me touching her.

"She's dying," I say. My hands are already moving, checking pulse, airway, the automatic ER sequence I could do in my sleep. Lena's pulse is thread-thin. Her pupils don't react to the dim glow coming off the cracked sigils on the walls. "If I don't stabilize her now, she's gone."

"Then let her go." Vivienne's voice cracks on the last word. She drops to her knees beside me, still gripping my wrist. "Please. You don't know what she'll show you."

I pull my hand free. "I know you've been lying to me."

Vivienne flinches like I hit her.

I don't wait for her answer. I press two fingers to Lena's carotid, count the beats, and start CPR. Thirty compressions. Her ribs feel brittle under my palms. I tilt her head back, breathe into her mouth. Her lips taste like dust and old blood.

"Alex—"

"Shut up."