Juliette was watching her closely.
“I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Juliette said, rolling her eyes. “Of course you are.”
She and Andrew flanked Isla like personal bodyguards. The two of them had been close before Isla had arrived at the university—friends from the start—and it was through Juliette that Isla had first met Andrew properly, though he had been on the interview board when she applied for the job. He had irked her that day. He’d seemed all too knowing.
Isla snorted at the idea of the two being bodyguards—sweet Juliette and scholarly Andrew, hardly an intimidating pair. At the inelegant sound, Andrew gave her a look that suggested he was genuinely worried about her mental stability.
“All my questions have just led to more questions. What does all this even mean? And what on earth does it mean that I’mFated?”
Juliette’s face lit up, excitement bubbling through her. “It means—”
“I think, Juliette,” Andrew cut in, “that we should get Isla home and let her rest before we bombard her with any more information tonight.”
Isla didn’t argue—her headdidhurt—but she gave Juliette a look that clearly said:Later. You’ll tell me everything later.
After adamantly declining Harold’s offer to get her medically checked out, Isla had reluctantly caved when Andrew insisted he walk her and Juliette home. They were neighbors, all living in the historical apartment building linked to the university.
The female staff stayed at the very top of the apartment building on the third floor, as there were fewer rooms there, though they were slightly larger, which Isla liked. The male staff members were on the first two floors. The caretakers, an elderly husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, also lived on the second floor. The wife was as good as a watch dog, keeping a keen eye on any men trying to get to the third floor; doing so without her knowledge was quite a feat. Or so she’d heard.
As they emerged from the cloister, their footsteps crunching along the gravel path, Isla couldn’t help glancing around at the shadows, half expecting someone to be lurking. Her “protectors” didn’t exactly inspire confidence, though she was—begrudgingly—grateful not to be alone.
“Why was I attacked?” Isla couldn’t help asking again, even though she knew they didn’t know the answers. The shadows were making her edgy.
Juliette sighed as Andrew seemed to growl under his breath.
“I wish we knew. Harold is going to investigate. Don’t worry,” Juliette said softly.
Ha, don’t worry,Isla thought.
“Until then, Juliette and I will be sure to follow you night and day.”
Not ha!Isla panicked.
“Absolutely not,” Isla said, stopping in her tracks.
“Isla, don’t be difficult,” Andrew replied, frustrated. “It’s not normal for you to be attacked that way just because your powers awakened. Tonight Juliette can stay with you and then we can discuss a rotation of watch duty tomorrow.”
“Oh, well in that case, of course—why don’t you just follow me to the bathroom, too,” she muttered, already regretting everything about this new reality.
Andrew flushed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, of course there will be boundaries.”
“And those boundaries will start right outside my apartment door.”
“Isla ...”
“No, Andrew. Juliette is right next door. If dark shadows appear again, I will knock on her wall.”
Andrew looked like he was about to protest.
“Unless,” Juliette said, stopping his potential protest, “the shadows are because she tried to cook toast and burnt it, as she usually does, or I lose control of my smoky superpowers and they drift through to Isla’s apartment.”
Isla gave a short laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing, grateful for her friend’s attempt at making things a bit lighter—especially as she knew Juliette wasn’t keen on her own powers, though she was curious why.
She nudged her gently. “I knew it! I knew you had superpowers.”
Her friend chuckled.
