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8
Liam
My head is a tangle of emotions that I’m not used to feeling. Skipping dinner tonight seemed like the logical choice. It gives me more time to process what I was feeling without seeing her.
I wasn’t sure if the feelings I have for Harper were anything more than pure lust until we fucked. I thought that having sex with her would get it out of my system. All it did was make me want her more.
Someone knocks on my door and I rise, grateful for the distraction. I open the door and my eyes widen at the sight in front of me.
I can feel Harper before I see her, hidden behind the huge fae guards that make up my Aunt Lucinda’s entourage.
What the fuck is my aunt doing here?
Brimstone Academy is technically neutral territory, but it’s smack in the middle of my dad’s kingdom so the other rulers don’t usually come by. In fact, most of my cousins are schooled at home or topside rather than attending here.
“Liam, nice to see you again, nephew,” Lucinda says.
Fear constricts my chest. It’s an unusual feeling around her. While I know she’s done terrible things, I never worry about my safety around her. Then I realize that I’m not worried about myself. I’m afraid of something bad happening to Harper.
I glance over at Harper. She looks unharmed, so that’s a good start. But I don’t like the idea of her being in my aunt’s custody. She’s similar to my father in too many ways. Including how quickly her temper can go from mild to murderous.
I adjust my expression into one that I hope doesn’t show my true feelings. “To what do I owe this great honor, your grace?”
“Treason,” she says.
I look at Harper again, hoping to get a read from her on what’s going on. She looks just as confused as I am. I turn back to my aunt. “I’m not sure what you mean to discuss but I can assure you, Harper has no business here.”
“Harperismy business,” Lucinda says. “Shall we do this publicly or are you going to invite me in?”
I step back and sweep my arm toward my room. “Please, do come in, your grace.”
Lucinda walks past me, entering my bedroom as if it’s her throne room. I wish I could send Harper away but I know the best way to deal with this is to get it over with.
“You better come in, Harper,” I say.
“What is going on?” she whispers.
I shake my head. “I have no idea but it can’t be good.”
When Harper walks past me, she brushes against me. It sends a shiver through me and all the things I’ve ever felt for her seem to rush in at once.
I wanted to deny it, but with her so close, the pull is too great. There’s only one reason for me to feel the way I do about her. She’s my mate.
But now is not the time to explain that to her. It’s going to have to wait. We have to get rid of my aunt first. Then I have to get her to forgive me for the classroom.
I did cost her the ranking. We both know it. Though, honestly, that wasn’t my intention. I just couldn’t hold out for her any longer. Shit timing.
I turn back to the goons in the hallway. “You coming in?”
“We’ll wait here,” one of them says.
I shrug and close the door on them. At least it will be less crowded this way.
Harper is standing a few steps away from the door, frozen in place. My aunt Lucinda has settled into my desk chair. It’s turned away from the desk, facing us. She sits upright, with her long fingers wrapper around the edges of the armrests.
She’s out of place in that chair but manages to make it look far more elegant than it ever does when I sit in it.
“Sit,” she says.
