Page 209 of Damsel in Disguise

Alistair Hertley has spent the better part of a year answering personal questions with professional silence. Expecting him to suddenly open up just because we danced so intimately around a huge audience and then slept together is unrealistic.

I’m about to force myself back to the research and call it a day when the sharp vibration of a phone breaks the silence in the office.

He glances at his phone only for a moment.

Yet that single moment is enough for the color to drain from his face. The expression disappears so quickly that I almost convince myself I imagined it.

He places the phone face down on the desk. “You should leave.”

The abruptness of the statement catches me off guard. “I thought that was obvious. I do have classes to attend shortly,” I say, glancing back at the clock.

“No,” he says quietly. “You should leave the university.”

The smile that had been lingering on my face fades. “Why? What happened?”

“There has been a security breach.”

My brows knit together. “What kind of security breach are we talking about?”

“Sensitive systems were accessed without authorization.”

“That sounds like an issue for the university, not mine,” I let out a watery laugh.

“It would be,” he agrees, “if the university were the target.”

A strange feeling begins to settle in my stomach. I glance at the papers spread across the desk.

I wait for him to add something.

“Who?” he doesn’t, so I press.

“Triarch Dominion.”

I blink back a few times—trying to catch what he’s trying to say in riddles. But I end up laughing a short, disbelieving sound.

“That’s not funny, Ariella.”

I clear my throat, “My bad,” and force myself to stop sounding like a fool.

The gravity of his expression forces the reality of the situation to sink in. One look at the sheer dread in his eyes, and I realize exactly how dire this is.

My mind immediately jumps to Adrian.

To Asher.

To everything that has happened till now.

“I think I should call Adrian,” my hand already reaches for my phone inside my bag.

“Miss Keinston.”

Something in his voice makes me stop.

“If Adrian becomes involved now, more people become involved.”

I frown.” What does that mean?”

“Triarch Dominion still doesn’t know how much you know about them,” he continues evenly. “If additional parties begin moving, they’ll assume they’re not safe with you freely walking around anymore.”