“Whether he has a right to is beside the point. The brain and the heart don’t always operate with logic at the forefront.”
Sitting back in her chair, she presses the backs of her hands to her cheeks, as if trying to cool herself down, as the courtyard has two mirroring fireplaces providing warmth to the area. “Are you suggesting he see a therapist?”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “If that’s what he wants.”
“You didn’t need therapy after what happened to you,” she says, waving one hand. “Besides, what would the Blackwaters and Westwoods think? The Abbotts and Julie Ouellette? Our social reputation around Fury Hill has taken enough of a beating recently without adding crazy people to the mix.”
“Beckett isn’t crazy,” I say. “He said Father was the one who convinced him to lure those people into the caves. Speaking of, whereisFather? I thought he was too sick to leave the house, yet he doesn’t appear to be here.”
“He has good and bad days,” she says.
“Well, I’m just not sure any of them should be spent on campus. I have a hard enough time keeping Beckett from him as it is. I don’t think?—”
“On campus?” Her eyes widen, and she sits up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s been there multiple times this semester.”
She frowns, fear seeping into the lines on her face. “The rumors about the Anderson children… Are they true?”
“The curse? You know I don’t?—”
“No, that the three descendants are on Avernia soil this semester.” She looks at me, her eyes pleading. “Tell me it’s not. That you haven’t been there this entire time while they run amok.”
“Jesus, Mother, you act as if they’re out to get me.”
“It isn’t you I’m worried about,” she says, shaking her head. “It’sthem.”
38
ELLE
With a little overa month until the end of the semester left, Sutton posts the casting list on a white sheet at the back door of the auditorium. Sabrina and I make a beeline for it after class, and I immediately wish I could combust at will.
I stare at the names, my face hot. “Bianca?”
Sabrina winces, and for some reason, that pisses me off more.
I shove my finger in her face, rage making me vibrate all over. “What, did you say something to make him not want to pick me?”
“Huh? Of course not! I wouldn’t do something so low just for a part,” she says. “Seriously, Elle, I’ve been trying to?—”
Releasing a dissatisfied growl from between my teeth, I curl my finger back in and stomp down the stairs, ignoring her. The whole class watches, and I realize I’m acting like a petulant child again, butBianca?
Is that really all he thinks of me?
My steps get softer as I push open the side door to the back halls, veering right for Sutton’s office. He’s leaning against the front of the desk when I stomp inside.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Anderson?”
“Your cast list. My audition was ten thousand times better than everyone else’s in this class. You said so yourself.”
“What’s wrong with Bianca? She’s a beautiful courtesan who enthralls everyone she meets.”
My throat burns like he’s poured acid down it without even knowing. “Is that how you see me? As a shiny toy that’s fun to look at? You said the stuff with Aaron didn’t matter, but?—”
“I didn’t say that’sallBianca is.” His green eyes narrow slightly. “Though perhaps I took how well a person might get along with her castmates into consideration as well. Working in a production isn’t all about raw talent. This isn’t Hollywood. The play gets put on, and we have to come back to finish our class. Your castmates are your classmates.”
My face flushes, and my hands drop to my sides.
