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He chuckles and runs a hand through his soft curls. “Fair enough.”
Sixteen
I fall asleep on the couch. I wasn’t intending to, but I’d been reading my economics book and the subject matter was so incredibly dry that I dozed off with my chin to my chest.
I wake up to the feeling of someone tugging the book from my fingers and crack open an eyelid to find Fielder bent over me. Over his shoulder I see the rest of them, shifting on their feet. I stretch my arms over my head and give the blond a sleepy smile that he doesn’t return. In fact, he looks like he just sucked on a lemon.
Dread trickles through me. I sit up and look around, seeing that it’s nearly two in the morning.
“What happened?” Fielder brushes my hair back from my face, his fingers gentle while his face looks anything but. “Did I do something wrong?” I ask uncertainly. Not one of them answers and the longer the room goes silent, the more my nerves ratchet up and I think that I’d started to trust them too soon.
That everything is about to come crashing down on me and these assholes are going to be the ones to swing the hammer.
“Can one of you please say something? I’m freaking out here.” Still nothing. It’s so fucking eery having all four of them just standing there staring at me, silent. I scramble up to my feet, pressing against Fielder because he doesn’t move, and then I brush by him, and face all four of them.
“What the fuck happened? Is this… Are you going to tell me I have to leave again? Is this where you all laugh at me and tell me this was some giant joke? That I’m an idiot for trusting you again?” My lower lip wobbles and my voice breaks at the last word. I’m on the verge of tears and I hate that.
Fielder shakes his head at me. There’s a flicker of helplessness in his eyes. “It’s not, Sweeney, I swear it’s not.”
Something in me settles as he finally says something, as his words sink in. I take a deep breath, feeling calmer already. “Okay, then what happened?”
Gideon runs a hand down his face. “The coven elders know about you. They know you’re here.”
“Myfatherknows you’re here. He knows we got you to leave and then brought you back.”
Fear grips me, and my fight-or-flight instincts kick in, even though I’m in no immediate danger. I don’t even know why I’m having this reaction. We expected this. There was no way they were going to be able to hide my presence at SSU from the coven indefinitely. I guess I just hoped I’d be more prepared for when it happened. “Is he… Is he going to try to kill me again?”
Fielder strides right up to me, pressing his forehead against mine as his hands cup my cheeks. “I will not let that happen, Rosalind. I promise.”
My fingers curl around his wrists. “This is what the meeting was about, right? He gave an order to have me removed from here again. Did he give the okay for them to use deadly force?”
The three remaining witches close in on us, surrounding me with warmth and security. But it’s all an illusion. I am not secure here. Not by a long shot. Cohen was right. How can I be safe with them when they’re the reason I have a target on my back?
“Listen to us, love,” Hardin murmurs against my hair. “We won’t let anyone lay a single finger on you. Youaresafe with us.”
I try to shake my head, but Fielder’s hold on my face keeps me from being able to do it. “They’ll come for me. How many students here are witches? How many students have been given the okay to kill me?”
“Our sects will not be taking part,” Ezra says, like it’s supposed to make me feel better. “We’re the heads of their houses and they will not go against us.”
“How many, Ez?”
I hear him swallow, and he shakes his head. “I don’t know how many members there are in the other sects. Maybe seventy.”
I laugh at the number.Seventy? Seventy fucking magic users out to try to kill me. Seventy potential assassins just wandering around this campus. Wonderful. Just fucking wonderful.
“Why does he hate me?” I murmur, looking up at Fielder. “Why does he want me dead?”
Fielder shakes his head. “I don’t know, Sweeney, wish like fuck I did. But I don’t know. I’m working on figuring it out. I swear.”
I believe him. I believe all of them, that they want to keep me safe, that they’ll keep their sects under control, but that doesn’t mean I’m safe.
Fielder sighs and steps away from me, his hands dropping by his sides. “Come on,” He holds out a hand to me in invitation.
“Where are we going?”
“To bed,” he says simply. “You’re exhausted. I’m exhausted. We all need sleep. We can tackle this new problem in the morning.”
I want to argue, and honestly, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to fall asleep with this new information bouncing around my head. But the dark circles under his eyes have me stopping. He tugs me toward my bedroom and I’m aware of the others following along behind us.
