“As you want to know, Lord Amos, I have a weekly schedule with Bea,” Vincent informed him, and I didn’t miss how he said it as vaguely as he could when he’d normally share a lot of details.
Amos scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, for your information, Lord Vincent, Ialsohave a weekly schedule with Bea.”
Were they for real? They were peacocking at each other. Usually I would find that funny, but considering the context, I was mortified instead. At that exact second, my eyes met Uriel’s, a silent plea to ask them to get back on track. He couldn’t read my mind, but I hoped he could read my expression.
He nodded, and I was relieved.
“I have a weekly schedule with Bea, too,” Uriel exclaimed, and my mortification returned. He sucked at reading facial expressions! It made sense if he was so used to skimming people’s minds without their knowledge.Jesus christ,I wanted to hide under the couch and stay there for eternity.
“That’s not the point now, is it?” Vince mumbled.
Amos replied, “You’re the one who brought it up!”
“Children, can we move on?” Samuel cut in, gesturing to Vincent. “Continue.”
Vincent cleared his throat again while shooting a glare at Amos. “Bea’s bodyguards and maid approached me with the information that she’s missing. We didn’t want to panic. The academy proper encompassed a quarter of the city, so she could still be inside the grounds.” He watched me watching him. “We went first to the library, where she was supposed to go next; that’s where we met with Lord Elias and Lord Theodore. Wechecked the dorm after, where we found Lord Amos milling about outside.”
“Why were you there?” Samuel asked Amos, who looked a little awkward.
“Wanted to talk with Bea,” he grumbled, finality in his tone. “I knew she didn’t have class in the afternoon today, so I thought she’d be in.”
“You knew that?” Elias wondered.
“Yes, brother. She’s …” Amos trailed off, golden eyes finding me, and for a second, I believed he was about to admit that we had a sexual relationship. “Also my friend.”
“While there, Professor Altha arrived at the dorm, too,” Vincent continued, deferring to Derrick, who sat near me in case I needed more medical attention.
“I informed some of you about this, but for everybody’s knowledge.” He held up his wrist, where the special bracelet was. “I was a physician for the Havenglow family before taking on the role as a Recovery magic professor. Bea’s parents requested I keep watch over their daughter and let me keep this enchanted bracelet to track her vitals.
“Earlier today, there was a point where Bea experienced an elevated heart rate, which normally wasn’t a cause for concern, but I wanted to verify, nonetheless.”
Well, if Derrick checked every time my heart rate went up, he wouldn’t be able to do anything else. As if he read my mind, he smiled at me, his cheeks tinting pink.
“And I suppose this was when you came to me,” Samuel continued recounting the events. “While I didn’t have the authority over the academy’s security, I knew someone who did.”
“Enter the Prince,” Claude happily supplied. “Ah, Win and Professor Strom were having a meeting that time.”
“Yes, because something he requested from the school administration piqued my interest,” Winston explained as he studied me. “A special class for one of his students who’s having an issue with their magic. Wouldn’t you know it, it was Bea all along.”
“And we formed the Bea Search Squad!” Claude grinned. “Except Mia, since she was assigned to wait at your dorm in case you return.”
“First major mistake is assuming she went off on her own,” Winston admitted. This was the first time I found out the explicit reason it took them awhile to find me.I mean,I’d already guessed the theory they had about me earlier.
That I ran away, hid away, escaped.
“My lady, we are sorry for presuming the behavior,” Reuben said. “We informed them about your tendency to … find solace by yourself. Where you’d often hide for hours at a time.”
Technically, even if they were talking about the Bea from before, it was still true tometoo. The difference? I was always at the library hidden away, so it was easy to find me.
“I understand. I did have that pattern, so I don’t blame anyone. You didn’t want to assume I was missing just yet; that’s why there’s no announcement or search parties.” I looked up at all the men who were now watching me. “Were you planning to?”
“If you hadn’t been found late in the night, an official search would have been started,” Winston answered. That was a good plan, and it made sense.
“Let’s circle back to you, Bea,” Samuel picked up from where he stopped me earlier. “You said you escaped because your kidnappers were knocked out, with no details.” His red eyes hardened. “Now’s a good time to tell us whatreallyhappened.”
“Do I really have to?” I whined. Acting like a brat was always a great idea.
Winston’s sweet smile broke when he smirked, maybe finding me funny, before he schooled it back to a smile. “Yes, you have to, princess. Out with it. Leave no detail behind.”
