“Oh, believe me, there will be.” I preferred to serve my revenge over several courses, with a little added garnish for presentation.
He eyed me warily, and I realized I was wearing what my mother liked to call my murder grin. I quickly rearranged my features into a relatively normal expression and shrugged. “Karma, you know.”
“Yes…of course.” But he didn’t look convinced. Smart guy.
We stopped at a set of wooden doors carved with an ornate pattern of roses and thorns, the red wood gleaming from frequent polishing.
“This is it,” Drayven said. “Wait here.”
He ducked into the room, and my stomach twisted. Damn, I hated this feeling. The nerves that dragged me back to my student days. I shouldn’t be feeling them now. None of this mattered. Not in the grand scheme of things. Not when it came to my true goal for being here. I didn’t need Constance or anyone in this twisted place to like me.
But the nerves didn’t seem to understand this and continued to tie knots in my belly.
Drayven returned with Mistress Selethis in tow.
She closed the door and peered down at me over her perfect nose. She couldn’t be more than half a head taller than me, but in that moment, as she looked me over, I felt much smaller.
Her dark hair was pinned in a chic twist, and the navy skirt and blazer she wore over her cream blouse gave her a professional air while accentuating her slender curves.
She was too gorgeous to be real. Why would Vitra want to sleep with anyone else?
“You’re twenty minutes late,” she said. Trinity save me, even her voice was beautiful. Soft and sultry, but not overly so. I bet she could turn up the allure if she wanted to. Damn it, she was speaking. Focus. “I’m assuming you’ve convinced Mr. Thorn to advocate for you?” She arched a brow at Drayven. “You should know better, Mr. Thorn. You took my class, albeit a few years ago, but you know the rules.”
“I do,” Drayven said. “But I also know there are exceptions. Miss Onyx was pushed through a portal that took her outside our wards into the northern borderlands.” Her brows lifted slightly, the only indication that she was perturbed by that information. “She isn’t in the system yet,” Drayven continued, “even though she should be, and so was unable to return to the Academy. She succeeded in evading the ratakan and reached the wards. They repelled her—but also alerted us to a presence. We were able to get to her just in time to save her life.”
“Well…” Mistress Selethis said, pursing her lips. “Thatisan exception. You’re a very lucky woman.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice.”
“I’ll need the name of the student who pushed you.”
I’d learned a long time ago that ratting got me nowhere. Administration liked to pretend it cared, but nothing ever changed. The only result was that the bullies got more creative. Best way to handle a bully was to deal with them myself.
“I didn’t see who it was. I’m truly gutted about that.”
Beside me, Drayven tensed but didn’t correct me.
Selethis arched a brow. “I see.”
She totally didn’t believe me. “I really don’t want to miss the lesson.”
“You’re now thirty minutes late, but I will make an exception on this occasion. I’m sure your fellow students will understand—considering the circumstances.”
“I’d rather they didn’t know…the circumstances.”
“Oh?” Her perfectly plucked brow arched once more.
I shrugged. “Wouldn’t want anyone else to get ideas.”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Very well.” She nodded at Drayven. “I can take it from here, Mr. Thorn.”
Drayven’s gaze dropped to me, warm and concerned. “Stay out of trouble.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Selethis pushed open the door. “Welcome to History of Nightsbridge.”
* * *
