Page 56 of Twisted Elites

“You can sleep here, I suppose.” Leopold stopped pacing and glanced around the room. “But the sofa’s not the most comfortable.”

I shook my head. “Hiding yourself away isn’t the solution. We have to face her.”

Sebastian groaned. “You don’t know what she’s like.”

I twisted around in his lap. “An overpowered, vindictive harpy who takes what she wants and throws her rivals into deadly situations?”

“Maybe Wills has the best idea of Claymore’s true nature.” Leopold sat on the edge of his bed.

“Sorry, Willow.” Sebastian pressed a kiss on my cheek. “Sometimes, it’s hard to believe she went that far to get rid of you.”

“Do you have a plan?” asked Leopold.

“We need to prove to the Board of Directors that she’s still a danger.” I turned to Leopold, who tilted his head to the side. “What would your mother say if an older woman tried to force her way into your bedroom?”

He shrugged. “She probably wouldn’t care.”

I smirked. “But she asked Miss Claymore to keep us apart, so it looks like she doesn’t like the idea of you having a girlfriend.”

“That sounds about right,” Sebastian muttered into my ear.

Leopold pushed himself off the bed and walked across the room to the small cabinet he used to keep alcohol. After pulling out two tumblers and pouring two generous measures of single malt whiskey, he handed a glass to Sebastian and returned to the edge of his bed.

Sebastian offered me a sip. A woody, medicinal scent stung my sinuses, reminding me of waking up in hospitals with no memory of how I got there. Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head and shifted on his lap.

“Are you suggesting I become a honey trap?” asked Leopold. “Claymore is a one-woman man.”

“Bait and switch,” I replied.

Sebastian nibbled on my ear. “You want Leo to sleep in my room?”

“We’ll all sleep there.” I glanced at Leopold, who gave me a confused look. “But we’ll have our cameras at the ready in case she tries to sneak in. Then I’ll capture footage of her in a bedroom with a half-naked Leo, proving to the board that she’s obsessed with more than one young man.”

We spent the rest of the evening refining my plan and making sure it would work. Sebastian suggested an early warning system that would wake us the moment Miss Claymore unlocked the door, and Leopold wanted to push the mattresses together so we could all be comfortable while we slept.

“Should we put this plan in action tonight?” I asked.

“In a minute.” Sebastian dipped me and pressed a kiss on my lips.

“Don’t leave me out,” said Leopold.

The corner of my lips curled into a smile. The return of Miss Claymore gave us an enemy to fight, and a distraction from the powerlessness we felt from Prakash’s incarceration. And if the deputy headmistress went back to her murderous ways, we might be able to prove our fourth’s innocence.

* * *

Miss Claymore didn’t try to sneak into Sebastian’s room that night or the night after that. But it was fun to share a bed with the kings again, even if it was two mattresses pushed together. Without revealing his plan, Sebastian had confided Miss Claymore’s proclivities to the housekeeper, and the scandalized woman agreed not to report him to the headmistress.

One morning, while we were eating breakfast under the watchful eye of Miss Claymore, someone cleared her throat with a high-pitched squeak. I glanced up into Geraldine’s cold, gray eyes. To her left and right stood two fifth-year blond girls who I guessed were now her ladies-in-waiting.

She placed her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you going to comment on my relationship with Cormac?”

The blonde girls at her sides copied her pose, but their movements were out of synch. Obviously, the trio needed to spend a little more time practicing.

I glanced at the scholars’ tables, only to find the space next to Michelle and opposite Cora empty. “You want me to congratulate you?”

“Don’t you care about him?” Geraldine said with a scowl.

I tilted my head to the side. “What are you getting at?”