I’ve already done a stellar job of pushing her in the opposite direction. She stops a careful distance from my desk, her face blank and her voice neutral even though there’s no one left to observe us together. “Yes, sir?”
I shuffle the assignment papers in my hands, hers on the top now but excellently written.
If I’m going to make up for all my brutal blunders, it’s going to take more than I can accomplish within the academy’s walls. Cosgrave nearly got them caught with a five-minute cuddle.
First priorities first. “You didn’t run into any trouble during the combat seminar yesterday evening?”
If Professor Jovak has made one move toward harming her… Just the thought makes my gums itch and my bones twinge as if I’m on the verge of hunching over into wolf form.
I wouldn’t mind aiming several dire fates at that bastard.
Elodie offers a subtle shake of her head. “It was pretty straightforward. I wasn’t singled out at all.” A twitch of her mouth, a hint of a wry smile. “That actually makes me more nervous about what they’re planning next.”
“I suppose that’s a problem for next week.” I catch her gaze and hold it. “You’ll want to go to the Blossom and Bounty social tomorrow.”
Another twitch, this time closer to a frown. “Why?”
“Just make a brief appearance to keep up the guise that everything is normal. It’s important. All right?”
A slight furrow forms in her brow as she gazes back at me, but she shrugs. “All right. If you think it matters thatmuch. I was going to go anyway before my friends started shunning me.”
The party isn’t what I think matters. I just need her there, an excuse to get her out of the house without the need for subterfuge. We’ll save her from the gossip-mongers quickly enough.
If there’s anything Elodie could use after all the chaos she’s been through, it’s a break.
During lunch period, I get a message from Cosgrave—presumably on a new phone he picked up after realizing his parents were tracking the other one.
Everything’s in motion. She’s going down.
He’ll mean Mr. Devine’s “consultant.” I exhale with a trickle of relief.
I don’t trust the syndicate kid not to go off the rails in most situations, but for getting something illicit done stealthily, who better?
I have to double-check.No new consequences from the interruption?
He’s smart enough to know I mean the condo.
All good,he replies, and another strand of the tension inside me unwinds.
Whatever we’re up against, it’s big enough to intimidate me. But with all of us on Elodie’s side, I have to believe we can get her through it.
I’m not letting the murderous pricks win.
Be ready for tomorrow, I tell him, and he answers with only a thumbs up. Typical.
I need subterfuge to put the rest of my scheme in order. Late Saturday afternoon, I arrive at the hotel where the socials are always held with an illusion cloaking my form, accept the key card under an assumed name, and head up to arrange everything for our night.
The sounds of the arriving party-goers don’t reach all the way to the penthouse windows. I peer at the street far below,watching the procession of posh cars let out senior students in designer suits and dresses.
The most elite of the elite in their generation, gathering together to gossip, get drunk, and grope each other through their gloves.
I recognize Elodie’s arrival before she steps out of the car. The tug travels from my palm to my heart, and then she’s emerging below, purple-tinted hair spilling in graceful waves across her shoulders, maroon satin hugging her figure.
The heads of several of her classmates turn toward her and then bow together. My jaw clenches at the thought of their spiteful whispers.
I definitely don’t want to leave her in their midst for long.
Stepping back from the window, I check the time. Half an hour should be plenty for her presence to be noticed and for her peers to busy themselves with other things. Worth will put his illusionary skills to use making sure the other students think they’ve caught glimpses of her throughout the night; the booze will take care of the rest.
