Rowan snatched it, wrinkling his nose. “What is that awful smell?”
“Perfume.” I flattened my lips into a line.
I’d received plenty of secret admirer letters back in the Demon Capital, but the way that this letter was worded reminded me of Lynn, and that made my heart stop. The letter and its contents went through my daily routines and went into explicit detail, accounting each time I was around Wren.
Whoever wrote it pointed out how Wren never seemed to be alone. They talked about how pretty she was and how small her frame was compared to mine. They wondered what it would be like to be like her.
It made me sick, and in all honesty, I was scared.
My massive mistrust of women started because of how I was treated at the Demon Capital. Women had proved to me repeatedly that they were evil creatures. Right up until I met Wren. Even her friends seemed nice, so I knew not all women were as bad as the ones I’d met—but no one could convince me that the majority weren’t.
Rowan’s hands trembled, and the letter fell to his desk. His chair flung back and hit the floor as he stood, and scales continued to grow over the side of his face and down his arms. Flames came out of his mouth as he blew a breath.
The temperature in the room skyrocketed.
“Who the fuck sent that?” He let out a bone-rattling roar. “Do you recognize the scent? Do you recognize the handwriting? Have you not noticed anyone following you?”
The letter was flattering in nature, but it had an underlying hint of insanity that he caught as well.
“I don’t know.”
“You told me you dealt with shit like this at the capital, but has it happened since you’ve moved to Fate Hollow?”
My stomach rolled, and bile crept up my throat. Unable to hold it back, I threw my body toward the trashcan next to his desk and emptied my stomach into it.
Sick. I felt sick.
My grip on the edge of the desk tightened as I glanced back up. Rowan’s dragon traits had vanished, but his magical energy still raged.
I didn’t want to know what would happen if he let go of the crystal sphere. Falling back on my ass, I propped my elbows on my knees and looked up at him. “No,” I rasped. “I’ve gotten letters of admiration, but I haven’t gotten any letters like this since I’ve been here. And to be completely honest with you, I have the worst feeling about it.”
“Great. Another fucking threat to worry about.”
“Rowan,” I croaked, and his brows shot up. “Please, don’t let her get hurt.”
“Never.” His face was stern, and I could feel the burn of determination in his gaze. “I’ll make damn sure of it, and so will the others.”
FOURTEEN
Wren
Iwasn’tsureifI enjoyed Reading Auras or not. I loved that Alister taught it, and reading auras was something I had always wanted to do but had never learned. There were no aura readers in the village, but there were a couple of books on the subject. The class was a great opportunity for me to learn. However, I didn’t like that none of my other mates or friends were in it with me—and to add to it, Mirella took the class, too.
Somehow, her friend wasn’t in here either, so the two of us were the only ones without partners.
Mirella huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at me like it was my fault. “Let’s just get this over with.”
We stood facing each other in the front of the classroom since it was the only spot not occupied. It wasn’t necessary to face a person to read their aura, but it was apparently easier to do it when learning.
I caught a glimpse of Alister at his desk over her shoulder. He had his dark brows pinched together as he caught my gaze.
Switch? he mouthed, but I shook my head. If I let someone save me every time I had an issue with her, it would make me as weak as I felt.
Mirella snapped her fingers in my line of vision, and I swore Alister’s red eyes glowed with fury, but I swatted her hand out of my face and narrowed my gaze at her.
She’d left me alone for the most part since Grayson had been expelled—but the uneasiness in my gut with her around was still prominent.
“Stop eye-fucking the professor for once, and let’s do this,” she snapped.
