rune
. . .
“Look at it.”Mom tossed a file onto the kitchen table. The smack rang out as it hit the polished grey and white marble surface.
My fangs dropped at the name printed on the tab. “Mom, what is this?”
“Just look at it.”
I glared at the file before snatching it up and flipping through the measly five papers within. There was no new information on my creep of an ex-boyfriend’s whereabouts. “This is everything I already found.”
She pursed her lips, her dull-green eyes boring into mine. “I know. I’m the best intelligence the Supernatural Council has, and guess what? I couldn’t find anything you didn’t. Sometimes assholes are just that, Rune. None of this is your fault.”
“Damn right it’s not her fault,” Tibby said as he strolled into the kitchen with a grin. “Darian’s a prick. I’m sure he just ran away, unable to deal with the hideous scar I gave him for fucking with my little sister.”
I smiled as my toast popped out of the toaster and grabbed it, spreading butter over the bread. “Thanks, Tibby.”
“You’re my sister.” He shrugged. “I’m just sorry that asshole was once my best friend.”
“You should be sorry for hanging around someone like that, Tobias. You need to learn to assesss every sssingle being you allow around you,” Mom hissed at him. “Understand?”
Mom’s speech impediment rarely came out when she was around just family. However, when she was irritated, she couldn’t hold back the hissing.
“Sorry, Mom.” His black brows furrowed together in a frown. “I didn’t know.”
“For the record,” I interjected with a fang-filled grin as I set my plate of toast on the table, “I know it’s not my fault that Darian’s a closet psycho. There were clear red flags.”
“Red flags, huh? You mean the way you were hiding that he was keeping tabs on your whereabouts constantly? That was one, I agree. But that’s also not something that I would think would escalate the way it did,” Tibby muttered bitterly. “Unless, of course, you’re not telling us the full story.”
I’d dated Tibby’s icedrake best friend for an entire year and only realized how much of an absolute vile man he was recently. I’d met him just after Tibby did. They attended Apex Elite Academy together and both graduated Veil-Year, the first year of the academy.
Tibby and Darian were placed into House of Fortitude, where they trained as enforcers. Though, a week ago, Darian had shown up at our home, screaming in my face about not answering his calls.
I broke up with him, because honestly, who the fuck did he think he was? Darian didn’t agree. He pinned me against my front door, and when his lips slanted over mine in a weak attempt to convince me to stay with him, I let my venom seep into his lips, paralyzing him completely.
I hadn’t known that Tibby had just arrived home from the Market to grab fae wine for dinner, and he’d seen the entire encounter.
As soon as Darian dropped to the ground from my venom, Tibby lost control. My brother was always protective, but I’d never seen him use his phoenix fire the way he had on Darian. He burned the left half of his face, and since it was phoenix fire, second only to drake fire, it definitely scarred.
Safe to say, he no longer considered Darian his best friend.
We left him on the ground in front of our home, but by the time we checked again, he was gone. At first, I was relieved, but we hadn’t heard a word from him since.
It was as if he’d disappeared.
Even his mother hadn’t heard from him, according to Dad’s sources. He could still show up at the academy to attend his second year, but that would be stupid considering my brother and parents wanted him flayed alive.
Best case scenario, he’d stay gone.
“It’s not a complete surprise,” I admitted with a scowl. “Anyway, do you have any brotherly advice for the entrance exams, Tibby?”
He smoothed back his short black hair with dark green lowlights and shot me a feral grin. “Duh, Roo. First things first, never trust your fellow applicants. You’re competing for the same thing, and while loyalty is expected, one bad egg can screw you up.”
“I know that,” I emphasized, waving my hands. “Give me something more substantial. Like, about the trials, maybe?”
“Even if Tobias tells you, it won’t help,” Dad said gruffly, coming in and kissing Mom on her cheek. His golden eyes narrowed at me. “Entrance Exams are changed every year.”
“Lake,” Mom tsked. “She knows that.”
