Whothe hellwas this guy?
The two of us stared each other down, a silent challenge of wills while Skye rubbed along my lap, seemingly unaware of what she was doing while she spoke to Willow and Mia in front of us.
What a joke. My Key was nothing if not a tease. She knew exactly what she was doing to me. Now whether or not she knew what she was doing while letting new guy watch…
He tilted his head slightly, finally breaking eye contact so he could watch Skye practically grind on me. Part of me wanted to give him a smug grin, but another part of me wanted to incinerate him.
In fact, I was getting so pissed that Willow yelped.
“Aiden, you’re burning the seat!” Mia hissed.
The heat cooled instantly, and my fists relaxed against my will. Skye slipped an arm around my neck and pulled me in for a sort of hug, then whispered in my ear.
“If you don’t calm down, I’ll have to punish you later.”
“You act like I don’t want that,” I growled.
Skye huffed a laugh. “A real punishment, Aiden, not something fun.”
Well fuck.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then breathed out slowly, willing myself to relax.
“Alright everyone, eyes up here.”
I opened my eyes to find Skye watching me carefully before she spun around, pressing her back to my front so she could face the makeshift stage.
Coach stood on the stage with his hands on his hips, wearing his usual track suit and ballcap. Murmurs sprung up around the auditorium,students muttering about why Coach was here instead of Headmaster Earl.
Where’s Earl?Skye’s voice floated through my mind.
Willow replied before I could, and I realized Skye must have pulled us all into a mind link together.
Wyatt says he’s missing.
The small trickle of sadness in my chest was not mine. I squeezed Skye’s shoulder gently.
I was starting to regret tattling to Skye about Wyatt and Carissa.
I’d thought it would be funny. That maybe Skye would come up with some fun way for us to get back at him, but I’d been wrong.Superwrong. She’d played it off like it was no big deal, but it’d hurt her. It was in little moments like just now where she’d tense almost imperceptibly at the mention of his name, or when she changed the subject quickly if he came up. I was pretty sure I’d woken up to her sniffling one night, too.
Thinking back on what I’d seen, it was pretty obvious Wyatt was telling Carissa off. She’d been mad as hell, maybe even hurt when she stormed away.
Unease washed through me. I needed to tell Skye what I’d really seen.
He wasn’t at the battle,Skye said.
No, Mia replied.I wonder if he was taken.
Skye had pulled me completely into her mind for a moment, and I blinked several times as I tried to follow her train of thought. She went back through everything Shafer had told us, then wondered what Earl’s affinities were, then wondered who’d be able to tell her. She made a mental note to ask Rafe about Earl, and then I was cut off.
“Alright. So, some stupid shit happened at the end of last term,” Coach said. Professor Randall, who somehow was even more tan than before break, made a disapproving sound from beside him, but Coach went on. “Headmaster Earl is missing. Whether he was taken or ran is not known.”
“Holy shit,” Willow whispered.
A small trickle of anxiety made its way down my spine. I squeezed Skye’s shoulder again, and she offered me a tight smile.
“You’ve all heard about the missing students,” Coach went on. “And we all know there’s four dead. It’s fucked up. It’s wrong. And there’s going to be some changes around here for now.”
