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We reach my class, and, to my surprise, he kisses the top of my head and then lets me go.
“Don’t let D get to you,” he says. “His bark is worse than his bite.”
Somehow, I doubt that, but I love that he’s taking the time to reassure me. “Thanks, Valentino.”
He throws me a wink. “Later.” And he saunters off down the hallway, jerking his chin at those he knows, and bumping the shoulder of another guy.
Despite what happened in the bathroom, my chest feels a little lighter as I enter the class.
Only to be brought straight down to Earth again. On the seat next to where I left my bag sits the blonde, Verity. She’s friends with Domenic and his little gang, and having her beside me during the lesson isn’t my idea of fun.
As the class fills up, I keep glancing around me to see if any of the Devils come in, but none do. The relief is short lived because Verity turns to me and smiles, but it’s as sharp as lemon juice.
“You must be Mackenzie. I’m Verity. Are you taking literature, too?”
Clearly, I am, as I’m in the literature class. “Yes. It’s my favorite subject.” I try to be friendly, but her gaze is burning a hole in me.
“Mine, too.”
I glance around and frown. There are only women in the class. “Don’t any men take the class?”
She laughs, high and false. “No, the boys don’t take literature. They take the important stuff. Finance. Marketing. You know.”
“It seems odd, though, that not one has elected to take this.”
She frowns. “They can’t take it.”
“What?”
“They can’t take this class. This is for the girls. The boys do a totally different curriculum.”
I’ve never heard of anything like this. I stare at her. “I don’t understand.”
“In our world, you need certain skills as a woman, and certain skills as a man. Most of us will end up married by the time we are twenty-three, and we should be good mothers, hostesses, and interesting wives. The men have empires to run.”
I bark out a laugh, unable to stop it from escaping. I look around me exaggeratedly. “Okay, where is the portal I stepped through that took me back to the Victorian era?”
“You can laugh all you want,” she says. “The fact is that your life is going to be laid out for you. If you don’t find yourself a good husband, then whose protection will you be under?”
“Erm… no one’s? I don’t need protecting.”
I realize with a horrible start that now, since all the shit went down, I do need protecting. Is that why Mom chose this place? To get me a husband or something? It makes me wonder what brought all the other students here. Are they all here to be educated, or are they running from the cops, too?
She licks her glossy lips and leans in close. “Oh, Mackenzie. I think from what little I’ve heard, you need protecting the most of all.”
Her words make my stomach drop. What does she mean by that? There’s no way she knows, is there? No, that’s impossible. I doubt even the police will have worked out who’s responsible yet, though it’s only a matter of time.
Before I can ask her what she means, a young, very pretty teacher walks into the room and addresses the class.
She’s wearing high heels and a closely fitted suit, and her hair is pulled into a high ponytail. She looks more like a porn star than a teacher.
“She used to be your stepdaddy’s bit on the side,” Verity whispers. “She probably won’t like you. I imagine you’ll need to really work hard in order to pass.”
Then she sits back in her chair, pops the gum she’s chewing, and takes out a pen with a pink feathery plume attached and begins to write.
I hate her, I decide. Not as much as I hate Domenic, but a very close second.
Kirill, I don’t hate, but he scares me.
