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Missing his touch already, all I could do was nod. We walked back to my dorm in silence. I kept stealing glances at him, and he didn’t look angry just lost in his own thoughts and perhaps a little sad.
Aiden walked me straight to my door as if some crazy Order member or a furie was going to jump out of a supply closet. The hall was nearly empty since I shared the first floor with a lot of pures. Their parents had pulled them from class on Monday, getting an earlier start on winter break. He nodded curtly and waited until I closed and locked the door.
Dropping my bag by the couch, I sat and pulled out the cell phone Seth had given me. There was only one contact saved in the address book: Cuddle Bu
I couldn’t help but laugh. There always seemed to be two sides to Seth—the fu
Taking a deep breath, I pressed on the name and heard the phone ring once, twice, and then kick over to a standard voicemail greeting.
Seth didn’t answer. Nor did he call back that entire evening.
CHAPTER 12
I HAD NO CLUE WHAT SETH COULD BE DOING THAT HE was unable to return a call. It wasn’t like I was worried about his safety. Seth could take care of himself. But I did wonder if he was still mad at me. Fu
Deacon glanced up, gri
I peeked at the front of the classroom. Luke was talking to Elena, but he was watching us—Deacon—out of the corner of his eye. “ Mylibrary visit?” I focused on Deacon. “How was yours?”
“Good. Got a lot of studying done.” Deacon didn’t even miss a beat.
“Wow.” I lowered my voice. “Amazing, considering neither of you had any books to study.”
Deacon opened his mouth, but shut it.
I winked.
The tips of his ears turned bright red. He tapped his fingers on the top of the desk. “Well, then.”
Part of me wanted to tell Deacon that Aiden knew and he had nothing to worry about, but that was so not my place. But maybe I could give it a gentle push in the right direction. “It’s not a big deal,” I whispered. “Honestly, no one here, pure or half, cares about that.”
“It’s not like that,” he whispered back.
I raised a brow. “It’s not?”
“No.” Deacon sighed. “I like girls, too, but…” His gaze found Luke. “He’s different.”
Well, at least I hadn’t been completely off-base when it came to Deacon’s preferences. “Yeah, Luke sure is different.”
Deacon cracked a smile. “It’s not what you think. We haven’t… done anything.”
“Whatever.” I gri
He leaned over the gap between our desks. “He’s a half, Alex. Of all people, I think you know just how dangerous that is.”
I jerked back and stared at him.
Deacon winked as a sly grin crossed his face. “But the question is: worth breaking the number one rule or not?”
Before I could even open my mouth to respond to that—and honestly, I had no idea what to say—two Council Guards stepped into the class, silencing the entire room. I shifted back in my seat as my unease blossomed, almost wishing I could slide under the table.
The one with cropped brown hair sca
“Miss Andros?” His voice was soft, yet full of authority. “You need to come with us.”
Every damn kid in the class turned and stared. Grabbing my bag, I met Deacon’s wide eyes. I headed toward the front of the class, forcing a “whateva” smile on my face. But my knees were shaking.
Council Guards calling someone out of class was never a good thing.
There was a low murmur radiating from where Cody and Jackson sat. I ignored them and followed the Guards out. No one spoke as we walked through the halls and up the ridiculous number of steps. Dread continued to weave its way through me. Marcus wouldn’t have sent Council Guards to retrieve me. He’d have sent Linard, or Leon, even Aiden.
Covenant Guards opened the door to Marcus’ office, and I was ushered in. My gaze traveled over the room, quickly seeking out the occupant.
My step faltered.
Head Minister Telly stood in front of Marcus’ desk, hands clasped behind him. Those pale eyes sharpened the moment our gazes locked. The gray seemed to have spread from his temples since the last time I’d seen him, now peppering his hair. Instead of the lavish robes he’d do
The door shut with a soft click behind me. I spun around. There were no Guards, no Marcus. I was completely alone with Head Minster Douchebag. Great.
“Will you sit, Miss Andros?”
I turned around slowly, forcing myself to take a deep breath. “I prefer to stand.”
“But I prefer that you sit,” he replied evenly. “Take a seat.”
A direct order from the Head Minister was something I couldn’t refuse. But it didn’t mean I was just going to bend right over for him. I made my way to the chair as slowly as possible, smiling on the inside when I saw the muscle in his jaw begin to tick.
“What can I do for you, Head Minister?” I asked after I made a show of placing my bag by my feet, smoothing out my sweater, and getting comfortable.
Disgust filled his gaze. “I have some questions for you about the night you left the Council.”
Acid was eating its way through my stomach. “Shouldn’t Marcus be here? And don’t you have to wait till my legal guardian is present? Lucian is in New York, where you should be.”
“I see no reason to include them in this… unseemly business.” He turned his attention to the aquarium, watching the fish for a few moments while I grew more uncomfortable. “After all, both of us know the truth.”
That he was a giant asshat? Everyone knew that, but I doubted that was what he was getting at. “What truth?”
Telly laughed as he turned around. “I want to chat with you about the night the daimons and furies attacked the Council, about the real reason you fled.”
My heart stuttered, but I kept my face blank. “I thought you knew. The daimons were after me. So were the furies. See, I was terribly popular by the end of the night.”
“That is what you say.” He leaned against the desk and picked up a small statue of Zeus. “However there was a dead pure-blood Guard found. Do you have anything to add to that?”
A bitter taste formed in the back of my mouth. “Well… there were a lot of dead pures and halfs. And a lot of dead servants that no one gave two shits about. They would’ve been saved if someone had helped them.”
He arched a brow. “The loss of a half-blood is hardly a concern of mine.”
Anger was a different taste in my mouth. It tasted like blood. “Dozens and dozens of them died.”
“As I said, how would that be a concern of mine?”
He was goading me. I knew it. And I still wanted to punch him.
“But I am here about the death of one of my Guards,” he continued. “I want to know how he died.”
I feigned boredom. “I’d say it probably had to do with the daimons that were swarming the building. They do tend to kill people. And the furies were ripping through people.”