Page 52 of Dance With Death

I raise my voice. “The detectives spoke to us at the hospital.”

“I heard you. You should not have visited Holly without speaking to me first.”

“Um. They’d already questioned me last night, at length,” says Rowan.

“I know. I was told the bare minimum in the phone call.” She jabs a finger at Rowan. “Including that you were at the scene.”

“The bare minimum?” I ask. “Like you told the bare minimum to anybody outside the academy about Holly?”

Her eyes narrow. “Were you present at the scene too? I fail to believe that Rowan would wander the woods alone.”

“Marci,” he says and looks at his feet. “I was meeting Marci. Not Violet.”

Her mouth parts. “A romantic liaison?”

“Yeah. Sort of.”

Although this isn’t the truth, something worms its way into my chest and niggles.

“And Violet knows you’re cheating on her?” asks Mrs. Lorcan bluntly.

“I don’t mind,” I say. “I’ve the others to keep me occupied.”

“Bonded witch males do not engage in relationships with others.”

“Rather sexist don’t you think?” I ask. “Witch society is matriarchal, but it’s discriminatory that I may have relationships with Leif and Grayson, but Rowan can’t with Marci.”

Mrs. Lorcan’s eyes bug more. Surely she realizes I’m developing intimacy with them all?

“Living dangerously, Mr. Petrescu,” she mutters at Grayson. “But this is not a discussion about teen romances. Were you in the woods at all, Violet?”

“No. I was with Grayson.” I step forward. “Do you believe the attack on Holly connects to reported sightings of a wolf on academy grounds?”

“No.”

“Rather a coincidence that a wolf shifter attacked her,” I continue.

Mrs. Lorcan tuts and taps the desk. “And has your father involved himself now Holly has reappeared? I am presuming that the authorities informed him too.”

She hasn’t spoken to Dorian? Good. “He will liaise with the authorities soon.”

“And I’ll expect yet another intrusive visit from your father soon?” Her mouth thins. “Two human students from the academy attacked, one dead? The situation at the academy is becoming untenable.”

“Untenable that humans should attend?” I straighten. “Do you believe Thornwood should limit their intake to supernaturals?”

Mrs. Lorcan holds my gaze entirely too long to match her denial. “No.”

“At this rate, all the human parents will take their kids out of Thornwood,” comments Leif. “There wouldn’t need to be a policy change.”

“Dorian will not allow exclusion of any race from the academy,” I say.

“Such as shifters?” asks Mrs. Lorcan and raises a brow.

“The elders’ decided to exclude shifters from supernatural academies, not my father,” I say stiffly.

“And if human ‘elders’ decided to exclude humans, would that be their decision too?” she asks.

I scratch my cheek. Are we poking into the truth here? Since Wesley’s death, only supes run the academy with no human input. Now humans are buying fake talismans to ward against supernatural assaults.

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