Page 77 of Her Rabid Beasts

“Oh, I dunno,” she says, gazing after him. “I’d be tempted by that death stare he’s got going on.”

It’s my turn to stare at Christine. “What did you say?”

She sniffs. “Can you blame me? I’m the spirit of a dragon-manor. The mythic orders get me all excited. Makes me want to help them. Like I help you.”

I all but leap inside.

When I get back into the room, I’m greeted by a loud squawk that immediately distracts me.

I let out a scream on reflex.

Startled, I switch on the lights to find Eugene fluffing his wings on my headboard.

“By the Goddess, Eugene!” I say in relief as Henry zips over to say hello. They knock beaks and cluck at each other before Henry plops himself on his donut bed. Eugene was following me around everywhere but tonight he’d wanted to stay in. I had a feeling his little legs got tired running after me all day. “We’ll make a party for ourselves, us three birds, won’t we?” I say happily.

Even after years of sleeping alone, without Minnie or Savage’s company, I’m suddenly left bereft.

I take out some sugar cubes that I saved for Henry from my side table. Feeding some to Eugene, he lets me pet him softly. “I wonder what you’re doing with Savage,” I say suddenly. His feathers are as black as shadows, and the frill on the top of his head is scarlet. “You’re quite pretty, if I may say.”

He ducks his head like he understands, and I suddenly see that Eugene isnota normal rooster by any stretch of the imagination. “I do hope Savage is not holding you captive.” He ducks his head again, and then seems to change his mind and shakes it. “I can’t tell if that’s a yes or no. But, well, if you ever wanted to escape, you’ll let me know, won’t you?” Eugene makes a sound, and it’s sort of sad.

The next morning, Eugene insists on following me out the door. I think he’s just going to relieve himself or eat something, but he follows me all the way to the dining hall and remains by my side like a little protector. The girls love him and he ends up being sat in Raquel’s lap while Stacey feeds him titbits from her plate.

I eat a quick breakfast before bidding my friends goodbye and showing the twonormal, regular looking, non-creepy guards outside the dining hall my appointment note with the headmistress.

“Must be important, Aquinas,” the female one says, leading me in the direction of Lyle’s office. She’s the chattiest of the guards in the dining hall and ends up holding Eugene because some of the animuses are eyeing him hungrily. “The headmistress doesn’t see anyone. Didn’t even meet her when I got my job here.”

“Really?” I ask in surprise. “How odd.”

I want to ask more questions, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. The fact that our headmistress is a phoenix is something that would be spoken about a lot, and yet it isn’t. Does anyone even know about it?

We get to the elevator that leads to the senior offices, but instead of pressing for level 3 like we normally do to see Lyle, the guard uses a key to open a compartment in the elevator’s button panel that reveals another three floors. She presses 5 and off we go.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Lyle’s apartment is on level 4, judging by how far up I had to climb in my secret doorway to get there. I haven’t tried to get back in since that first time, but I don’t want to risk it while Lyle’s actually around. I might have toconvince Christine to come up with another distraction of some kind.

The elevator doors open to reveal a space almost identical to Lyle’s office level, with plush maroon carpet and fancy oil portraits of likely long-dead people on the walls. But instead of only being occupied by a receptionist’s desk, this room is a boardroom, complete with ten carved chairs on a long black table. To the left is a sideboard with water and a jug, along with a fat little gargoyle in the shape of a long-necked dragon, his obsidian scales glinting orange under the warm downlights. The dragon’s mouth opens up.

“Name?” He has a heavy rasp through his snout.

“Aurelia Aquinas,” states the female guard, looking curiously around.

“Leave her here and get out,” the gargoyle orders in a superior tone.

The two guards nod at me before stepping back into the elevator.

Only when the doors close and we are alone does the gargoyle rasp, “You are about to enter the presence of the Lady Celeste Agra, warden of Draykaris House. Appoint her due respect, Lady Boneweaver.”

A little shock zings through me at his address… and due warning.

“Yes, of course,” I murmur, straightening my spine. I look down at my bodycon mini dress and denim jacket, suddenly feeling incredibly underdressed. I smooth down my hair and blow out a breath. Henry preens himself as if he also feels the same.

“Present to the door on the far side. Knock twice. The cock stays here.”

I give Eugene a little pat before I obey, striding past the intimidating-looking chairs, my heart pounding an unsteady rhythm as I knock.

Minnie described the headmistress as beautiful. Sabrina called her sexy. Connor called her powerful, with great fashion sense. But the woman who opens the door physically knocks the breath from my lungs.

A memory comes back, bold and biting. I sat in an office with her, and she tore my world apart with dark, rhythmic words.

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