I know.There’s no judgment in it, just fact.But you didn’t lie in the strict sense. Truth and lies differ from right and wrong, no?
His chest tightens anyway, because he’s still too close to a close call.
Here’s what I saw, Verity says bluntly. You weren’t hiding to hurt anyone. You were hiding to protect your family. That’s integrity. That’s you being who you are and have been from the beginning—even when it costs you. Besides, he should have been more specific, you know?
Grayson can’t quite believe it. Had he gotten by on the semantics of a poorly-worded question?
That’s it? It’s just…over?
Her tone turns dry, a smirk flashing over her lips. Dude. Just take the win.
Something in Grayson’s chest loosens so fast it almost hurts. He can’t stop the burst of laughter that follows.
Verity’s mask settles back into place like it was never off. She stands and turns back to the room, all business again, and whatever softness had flickered is gone. It makes Grayson’s heart pang a little to see it.
“Thank you,” Percival starts ceremoniously, reaching for control the only way he knows how.
Verity doesn’t even slow down to acknowledge him.
Enjoy your happily ever after, dude.
The phrase is taken directly from his memories, making him wonder about the burden of all the memories she’s seen in the course of her short life.
Hey,Grayson calls as she follows the guy in the designer suit toward the door.You know where to find me if you ever need anything.
She pauses for a second, and Grayson wonders if she’s weighing whether his offer is a kind of quid pro quo or if he’s being genuine. She doesn’t look back at him, only nods once, leaving him with the uncomfortable realization that she’d been the most powerful person in the room.
And only then does Grayson’s pack move like they’ve been holding their breath.
The hands that had been steadying him all day turned into hands that claim him. Jay’s palm warms the back of his neck, and Nix’s fingers lace through his and squeeze hard enough to hurt. Leo’s arm hooks around his back. Finn and Luca press in close, blackcurrant and mocha so sharp even over their scent patches that his lungs finally unclench, and his eyes burn anyway.
“See?” Luca says. “I knew it would be okay.” Like he hadn’t been worried about the exact opposite the last twenty-four hours.
“It was that easy?” Grayson hears himself ask.
“Hardly easy,” Leo says, “and it didn’t go like I expected it to go either, thank the Goddess.”
“Me either,” Rowan adds. “And not like your teacher thought, either.”
Grayson looks toward the back of the room where his teachers were sitting. Ignatius has Augusta Shaw and Bixby engaged in an animated discussion, hands flying as he explains something that has the other two grinning. Knox smiles over the shoulder of Percival’s assistant while they speak in low tones.
“Not them.Her.” Rowan nods to where Kirwan is shifting nervously from side to side.
Her robe catches on the edge of the folding chair, jerking her sideways. Yanking it free with a small, ugly motion, she keeps moving, eyes fixed on the exit.
“Professor Kirwan,” Percival says, voice sharpening, because if he’s going to be left swinging in the wind, he won’t be there alone. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She doesn’t answer, bolting through the door at a run.
At the back of the room, the pale man in the black suit is gone, his chair empty. Grayson hadn’t even seen him leave.
A singular instance of precognition shows him the front of the admin building and the backside of a spiral topiary. The vision has him pulling on The Plain without a single moment of hesitation. Grayson teleports through the door and into the hall. It’s a near miss that he isn’t forced to a full stop by the double-plated security glass in the foyer, slipping through after Kirwan at the last moment.
He materializes in the shadow of a carefully tended shrub, the gray brick at his back. An elderly plain black sedan is parked near the sidewalk, backed in too close to the disabled space. Kirwan fumbles with her keys, hands shaking so badly that Grayson can see it even from where he’s hidden.
Kirwan tries to put the key into the lock, misses, and swears under her breath. She tries again, harder, as if force will make metal cooperate.
A familiar black SUV glides closer with tires popping on the asphalt, and Grayson doesn’t need to see inside to recognize the familiar magic signatures inside from yesterday at Ruckus.
