He chuckled and lifted his phone, shaking it lightly. “I hate to do this to you, but if you want to stay enrolled at DIA, you have to give Victoria a phone call to make up for the therapy session you were supposed to have last night.”
I glared daggers at him over the rim of the mug as I took a tentative sip of the scalding coffee.
Drake’s head poked into the room, blue eyes crinkling at the corner as he smiled, before adding, “Morning,Comoara.When you’re done with that, we’ve started conducting one-on-one meetings with each board member today, and if you’re feeling up to it, I’d love for you to take part.”
Yes.Fuck yes I wanted to be a part of that. It was time to get answers and find Serena and Jeoffrey. I hated that it sounded like I’d already missed out on some of the meetings.
I blew him a kiss before he retreated, leaving me to glare at the phone in Lincoln’s outstretched hand. “Can’t I get a pass on this week’s session after stabbing myself last night? I feel like that’s a pretty good exemption excuse.”
He shook his head, attempting to look stern but failing as a knowing smirk turned his lips up. “Estrid and Victoria were firm in their decision when I spoke to them last night about it. Andrei and you will continue to collect points for classes as long as you keep up training here and do your sessions. They’ve reinstated classes as usual in our sector, so it’s this or fall behind.”
Well, fuck. It looked like I was going to have a chat with my pal Vic. Maybe I could try to get an update on how Alexandra was doing from her, though, seeing as we both saw Vic. It would be the one silver lining of having this conversation.
“Fine,” I rumbled before taking a big gulp of coffee and setting it on the nightstand in place of the one he’d just picked up from there.
Snatching the phone and navigating to Vic’s name in his contacts, I paused as I scrolled through the short list, smirking at one in particular. Peering up at him as he stood to leave, I quirked an eyebrow before asking, “Pain in my ass? That better be me, or else I’m going to be jealous.”
His lips turned up in a devilish smirk. “The one and only,” he answered, turning on his heel to head out the door. “Have fun with Vic!”
Note to self: change Lincoln’s name in my phone to something in retribution.
As I pressed the call button, I leaned my head back against the headboard and sighed. She only made me wait three rings before answering, surprise tinging her tone. “Hello, Alina. I’m shocked to have the pleasure of hearing from you.”
“Well,” I drawled, looking at my nails, “it doesn’t really seem like I have a choice in the matter if I want to stay at the academy, and I’ve come to grow quite fond of it.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” she answered, seeming genuine. “How have you been since our last session?”
I hummed in contemplation. Where to begin? There was just so damn much going on.
I began to list everything in a nonchalant tone, ticking them off on my fingers as I went, “Well, let’s see. I found out I have three mates. I became queen of Sanguis. I made some new friends. I’m in the middle of tracking down a corrupt board member who may or may not have a hand in the slaughter of my family, oh, and I stabbed myself through the heart yesterday in hopes that I could connect to my soul weapon because I’m that desperate, but thankfully it worked out.”
I had to take a deep breath at the end of that word vomit.
“I heard about that last one,” she mused.
There was a hint of disapproval in her tone, and I changed direction with our conversation. After all, I was supposed to be showing progress in some manner in order to not look like a basket case and a danger to the students at DIA.
“Oh!” I exclaimed, continuing on, “I got Maya reinstated at the academy, despite my personal feelings for her. So do I get like a smiley face sticker on my report card for that, Vic?”
She scoffed at my question, her tone only mildly bemused. “Do you really think I have smiley face stickers, Alina?”
“Probably not, but I think you should get some because I deserve them,” I argued half-heartedly.
“Mmm,” she hummed. “I’ll think about it if you can drop your humor and talk to me about how you’re really doing.
Damn, she went for your throat.
She’s one of the only people that continuously calls me the fuck out. I hated her at first for it, but now I tolerate her and understand why they assigned me to her. I admire her take-no-shit attitude.
I could just picture her sitting in her chair, tapping the end of her pen against her clipboard with her mouth pulled into a tight look of disapproval. “You’re a peach, Vic, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I’m going to sleep so well tonight having that approval from you,” she muttered, throwing it right back at me in the way I expected from her. “Really, Alina, how are you handling all of that? It’s a lot, and yes, I am proud of you for standing up for Maya when she’s caused you a huge headache, for the record.”
Reaching for my coffee, I took another sip, thinking over how much I wanted to admit to her. This is where things got tricky with Vic. I liked her well enough and thought she was great at her job. Honestly, I felt like Icouldreally unload onto her and not be judged, but when I spoke things out loud, it uprooted all of the neatly planted problems sitting in my mental cemetery of shit I hadn’t handled yet.
Deciding to start small, I sighed and set my coffee back down before staring out the window across from me. I was offered a stunning view of the mountain wrapped around us and overlooking Sanguis.
“It’s been hard,” I admitted, already feeling the emotion I’d kept at bay coming up to rest in my throat. I swallowed thickly before clearing my throat and continuing, “I’ve learned a lot about myself and my mates, though, and it’s made everything a little more bearable.”
