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“It just doesn’t add up, Desmond,” Rook insisted. “Why would they leave after they worked so hard to be here? Something had to have happened to them. If you’d just humor me for once—”
“That’s ‘Professor Valserak’ to you,” the professor said, cutting across Rook with a scowl. “I don’t care how old you are or who your sire was, I am still a professor at this academy, and you’ll show me respect.”
“Fine, Professor,” Rook said, putting some contempt into the title. “Just humor me for a damned second, will you?”
“Say what you mean to say.”
“I don’t think this is a routine washout. Some of the students ‘left’ before the term even began. And that means something strange is going on, and I want to know what.”
“So, you’re going to gainsay Headmaster Thorne?”
Rook paused, seeming to weigh his words before answering, “Not necessarily, but... I just want to check. There’s no harm in that, is there?”
Professor Valserak snorted, injecting scorn into the sound. “I’m not budging on this, Chesley. You’re out of my class for the night, and if you persist in this disruptive behavior, I’ll remove you from your position. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” Rook said coolly.
Professor Valserak turned on one heel and began walking back up the corridor. I realized with a jolt of fear that he’d be passing my stairway in mere moments, where he’d no doubt discover me, crouching like a gargoyle, eavesdropping on the whole exchange. A demerit would be the least he could do. More than likely, he’d drag me to see Headmistress Grimsbane, who’d use it as an excuse to boot me through her closet mirror back to Haven Hollow.
So, I stepped out from my hiding place, box of cupcakes clutched under one arm, scanning the corridor like a woman on a mission. The professor stopped dead a few feet away, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he took in my sudden appearance. Rook mirrored his posture, his face twisting into an unhappy frown when he spotted me in the middle of the hall.
“You’re the girl Jack was prepared to drain,” Professor Valserak said after a moment.
“Astrid Depraysie, vampire hors d’oeuvre,” I said as cheerfully as I could manage, even though my heart was racing a mile a minute—something both of them could hear, no doubt. I lifted the box so he could see it clearly. “Could you possibly direct me to the witch dorm?”
Professor Valserak gave me another once-over, lip curling. “You could have asked the cook to send one of the staff if you were hungry, Ms. Depraysie. You’re out past curfew, which means I’ll be recommending a demerit to your professors. Get back to your room. Now.”
“Oh, these aren’t for me,” I answered. “I have orders to get this box to Vivian Grimsbane.” I held out the box of cupcakes with a shrug, deciding I might as well try to get the professor on my side—or, at least, make him understand I wasn’t like other witches here. “Mads said Vivian has sent everyone else back in an effort to get me up there.”
“Why is that?” he asked, still eyeing me narrowly.
I shrugged. “She doesn’t like me?”
“You’re one of her own kind,” he answered glaringly, as if it were impossible for one of my own kind to dislike me.
“Yeah, she wouldn’t agree with you there,” I said on a laugh.
“Astrid isn’t… like other witches,” Rook offered from behind the professor.
The professor turned around and studied Rook with a strange expression on his face, but didn’t say anything. Then he turned to me again.
“Anyway, I don’t want a demerit,” I continued and leaned over to set the box on the ground. “So, I guess I’ll just leave these here and maybe one of you might deliver them to her?”
I didn’t wait for a response, but turned to descend the staircase when the professor caught my wrist in a split second and turned me back around. His fingers were cool, his grip like iron. Then he released me. When I turned to look at him, he was towering over me, expression annoyed.
Chapter Nine
“Where are you going?” the professor insisted. “I told you to go back to your room.”
I pointed down the staircase. “I am going back to my room,” I answered. “My room is next to the kitchens, just like the rest of the kitchen staff.”
Professor Valserak’s expression fell. “You work in the kitchens?”
I nodded. “Vivian was pleased to inform me that my scholarship had been revoked shortly before term, so I have to work for my tuition.”
“Revoked?” he repeated.
“Right,” I answered with a quick smile. “And Vivian’s determined to make me deliver these cupcakes to her, so don’t be surprised if you see me in another... ah... thirty minutes or so when she sends for more.”
