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Dyrk had been making great strides, but he was still a troubled boy. She knew how much he had been impacted by the loss of his mother.
But all the kids at school his age would likely have been through something similar. No one should be giving him a hard time for having no mother when none of them had one either.
And though Dyrk didn’t seem to have many friends, getting into a physical fight wasn’t something she could picture him doing. He might be a little moody, but he was anything but violent.
Before taking the job, she’d done her homework. She knew that Kotenka had a wild, almost feral side to them. Deep down, they were natural predators, with almost supernatural hunting abilities - something that wasn’t really talked about in polite company.
But Emilia knew that power usually didn’t show itself until adulthood. And most Kotenka preferred to keep it hidden.
If Dyrk had somehow shown that side of his nature…
She pictured the tender way Dyrk had cared for his mother’s flower, and how gently he tended to the garden. Not to mention how sweet he was with his little sister.
No, it wasn’t like Dyrk to want to bring harm to any creature.
By the time the gadabout pulled up at the school, her heart was pounding out of her chest.
“Miss Robbins?” the security guard asked.
She nodded.
“Please come in,” the guard said. “The principal wants to see you right away.”
She was ushered through a large lobby with hand knotted rugs and into an office with a huge and intricate stained-glass window.
A woman in a beautiful suit sat behind a large desk.
Across from her, Dyrk slumped in his chair, head down.
“Miss Robbins, I’m Headmistress Quiltz,” said the suited woman, standing and extending a hand, a pinched expression on her face.
But Emilia ignored her.
“Dyrk,” Emilia said softly, crouching to get face to face with him. “Are you okay?”
He shrugged.
“Look me in the eyes,” she urged him in a low voice. “I need to know that you’re okay.”
He lifted his chin and gazed at her. One of his lovely dark eyes was swollen half shut and there was a purplish bruise under it.
“Oh, Dyrk,” Emilia murmured. “I’m so sorry. Did they give you some ice?”
He shook his head once, looking away.
“Miss Robbins,” the headmistress began again.
“Is there a reason why Dyrk’s injury hasn’t been seen to?” Emilia asked, standing and facing the woman in the suit, whose sour expression turned even more sour.
“I am told that Dyrk started the fight,” the woman spluttered.
“I find that very hard to believe,” Emilia replied. “But whether he did or not, I insist that at a minimum we have some ice for his injury. His father will be very disappointed to learn that he sat in this office for heaven knows how long without it.”
He didn’t say a word, but she could sense Dyrk sitting up a little straighter behind her.
The principal frowned, but she tapped her comms.
“Have the school nurse bring a cold pack to my office,” she barked, and hung up before whoever was on the other end could answer. “Are you satisfied now, Miss Robbins?”
