"You okay? You look exhausted."
"Just training hard." The lie comes easily now. I've gotten good at lying to everyone.
"You should rest. The full moon is in a few days and you don't want to be exhausted for your second shift."
She's right. My second shift is coming and I have no idea if it will be easier than the first. If the silver fur will appear again. If I can control it better this time.
One more secret to carry. One more thing that could expose what I am.
I close my eyes and try to sleep but all I can feel is the bond humming under my ribs. Julian's fear mixing with my own. The weight of everything we're hiding pressing down until I can barely breathe.
This is my life now. Living with secrets that could get us both killed. Pretending everything is normal while bonds pull at me from three different directions as the Council circles closer.
I just hope I'm strong enough to keep all the pieces from falling apart.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The summons arrives during breakfast.
A student messenger finds me in the dining hall and hands me a folded piece of paper with the Academy seal. I recognize Headmaster Owen's handwriting before I even unfold it.
My office. Immediately. - Headmaster Owen
Lily looks up from her eggs. "What is it?"
"Headmaster wants to see me."
"Did you do something?"
"Not that I know of." But my stomach is already sinking because immediate summons are never good news.
I make my way across campus with the mate bond humming anxious under my ribs. Julian is in his classroom preparing for his first lecture. I feel the moment he senses my fear. The bond pulls tight and I know he's wondering what's wrong, but there's no way to tell him without speaking and I don't have time.
Headmaster Owen's office is on the second floor of the main building. I knock and hear his voice tell me to enter.
I push open the door and freeze.
Chase Valemont is sitting in one of the chairs across from Owen's desk. He stands when I enter, all false courtesy and cold eyes.
"Miss Bardot." Owen gestures to the empty chair beside Chase. "Please, sit."
I sit because refusing would only make this worse. Chase settles back into his chair and I'm hyperaware of how close he is. How trapped I am in this room with a Council enforcer and a Headmaster who answers to Council authority.
"Mr. Valemont has requested a formal inquiry," Owen says, and I hear the apology in his voice even though his face stays neutral. "I'm required to allow it."
"I understand." My voice comes out steadier than I feel.
Chase pulls out a small leather notebook and opens it to a blank page. "This is an official Council inquiry regarding your bloodline and recent manifestation. Your answers will be recorded."
I nod because what else can I do?
"Tell me about your parents."
"I never knew them. They died when I was a baby."
He writes something in the notebook. "Their names?"
"I don't know."
