Page 117 of Her Psycho Beasts

“You’ve got slobber all over it now,” Lyle mutters.

Savage shifts and removes it from his now human mouth. “No, it’s fine.”

It’s anentireoperation after that. Savage feeds me tiny bites of ham and cheese toasties and then Lyle puts pills onto my tongue and holds a glass and straw up to my mouth.

“I’m really not sick,” I say, clutching the hot-water bottle to my stomach and grimacing until Savage offers me a tiny square of fairy-bread.

“Every animus enjoys this, Aurelia,” Scythe says from where he’s on his laptop in the tub chair. “Let them do it.”

“Yes, take pity on us,” Savage says happily.

I’m never going to forget how Scythe called mebabythe other night. It still makes me feel giddy to hear that dark rasp in my memory.

Savage puts a hand to the side of his mouth like he’s telling me a secret, but says quite loudly, “His shark probably wants a taste of your— Argh!” A book flies through the air and slams into Savage’s head.

But Scythe is now ignoring us and has already gone back to his work. I cast wide eyes at Savage and he nods his head conspiratorially. That explains his nose buried between my legs from before. Hehasbeen sort of obsessed with my blood.

Lyle and Savage spend the rest of the day taking turns rubbing my back and feeding me food and tablets. I manage to dodge Savage each time I need to change my pad, but he’s content with the job of ‘pad-sticking monitor’. After I get back into bed each time, I make him try and read each of the random facts on the paper protectors he’s been collecting.

This works surprisingly well.

I make him copy down the facts word by word into a new exercise book he’s labelled ‘Savage’s book of diddlings and doodlings’. I mean, if he wants to make up words, I don’t see why not if it makes him connect the sounds to the letters. He’s been using the book to write down lyrics to his songs and poems about me, but until now, they’ve mostly been pictures. Now that’s changing, and he’s super happy about it.

Mid-morning the next day, Lyle and I are alone in our dining room and he’s feeding me a bowl of pumpkin soup and grilled cheese when a telepathic energy creeps like slime against my mental barriers.

My brows fly up. Lyle is so hyperaware of me and on alert for an attack from my dad that he puts down the soup spoon, immediately sending his power out to sense what it is.

“What is it?” he asks.

I press a finger to his lips and he growls in his throat. The unfamiliar power prods my mental shields and exudes a celestial heat.

This fucker.

Opening a tiny hole in my telepathic shield, I allow him in.“Deputy headmaster,”I say smoothly, although it feels heinous to say that to anyone other than Lyle.“To what do I owe this intrusion?”

“You have not been in class for over a week and none of your mates have been cooperative in their responses,”he snaps defensively.“I am simply doing my due diligence.”

I see the moment Lyle’s animus takes over, no doubt sensing the phoenix. Amber irises are swallowed by his dilated pupils, and his hands tighten on the armrests and he starts to rise from his chair.

The only thing I can do is clamber on top of him. I straddle him in his seat, clapping my hands over his mouth.

“Oh, I have my period,”I reply.“My mates are taking care of me.”I laugh.“You know how they can be.”

There’s a long pause on the other side. Lyle begins to snarl under the two hands pressed against his mouth. So I do the only thing I can think of and grind against him, thanking my lucky stars I chose a tampon this afternoon.

Lyle’s head cocks to the side and he stops his noise. I lean in and lick his mating mark. It’s imperative I stop Lyle from doing something rabid to the phoenix. We can’t afford that sort of trouble right now.

Suddenly, I realise Damien hasn’t replied yet.

“Sir?”I soothingly stroke Lyle’s big biceps.

“We no longer permit period days, Miss Boneweaver.”

Jerk. Lyle always let the animas stay in their dorms if they wanted to. There is no tricking an animus about having your period, so he never worried about people taking advantage.

On the other hand, my pain is actually okay this afternoon. As long as I keep dosed up on my painkillers, I would be alright to get out of here to class.

“Right, well, I’ll be in class tomorrow morning,” I say, kissing Lyle on the neck again.“Thanks for caring.”

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