Page 94 of Demon Found

“Alive. Severe, full thickness burns.” I look up to see the nurse from the medical unit; her tone is clipped. “She’ll need a week in the infirmary at least. And she’ll scar. No amount of supe healing or spells will prevent that. Not even fae magic. Her face is mostly spared, her neck and torso, not so much.”

My hand flies to my mouth. I scarred her for life. Bile gathers in the back of my mouth, and I retch.

Dean Emrick regards me for a long moment. “Did you mean to harm her, Lorelei Smith?”

My mouth tingles, and my tongue starts moving. “Yes and no. I needed her away from Chano. I didn’t mean to hurt her badly.” I clench my jaw tightly, stopping my treacherous tongue. He hates me, this man. That one little yes is all he needed to throw my ass out of here.

The dean peers at me. “Why?”

“She was touching him. I . . .” My spelled tongue falters. “I don’t know why . . .”

A sliver of a smile flashes over Dean Emrick’s face before he schools it.

“Once more, Miss Smith, how much damage did you intend to cause Belinda?”

“I wanted her off him. I wanted to trip her up, to shove her away.” The words explode out my mouth. “I wanted her to vanish.”

“See! She wanted to get rid of Belinda.”

Camille is here. I’m screwed.

“I’ll interpret this, thank you, Camille. I rather think Miss Smith didn’t intend to harm her. Not to that extent. This is a magical academy. Accidents do happen around young hormonal supes learning their powers. Never mind someone who’s been under a powerful suppression.” He turns away, fingering something on his desk. “Lorelei Smith, I am issuing you a warning. After the incident with Camille this is your second strike. Further disciplinary action this year will result in expulsion.”

Relief floods through me, and I sag into Chano again. I want to stay, I have to graduate, but more than that. I don’t want to leave my friends, my allegiance.

“But, sir—”

“Enough, Camille. Miss Smith, you will join demon specialization andpassthe exam if you wish to remain a student in my academy. You have the rest of the academic year—a matter of months. I suggest you remove yourself from my office immediately and start studying.” The dean wafts his hand, dismissing me.

That’s a herculean task. Is it even possible? He’s setting me up to fail. I make my way unsteadily to the door. Camille smirks as I stumble past. SheknowsI’ve an angel’s chance in hell. I want to punch her right in the smug—

My skin tingles, bursting into little purple flames, and I hiss at the effort of pulling my power back. My purple flames make sense now. Not normal fire. Demon fire. I’m a damn demon. And I hurt someone, badly. Maybe I don’t even deserve this small chance.

I focus on the floor and keep walking. One foot in front of the other. The muscles in my legs tremble with the effort.

Finally reaching my dorm door I lean my forehead on the cool wood. I hear shuffling sounds behind me, but I don’t move, swaying from exhaustion. Naeve slips past, putting her key card in the slot. Strong arms sweep me up and into the room. I’m so damn tired I can’t focus. Is that Chano? Chano doesn’t smell of pine. How weird. Why would he... My butt hits the bed, and I sink down into it. Another wave of fatigue hits me. With an irritated huff, I give up on peeling my eyelids apart and let sleep claim me.

Chapter Forty-seven: Lorelei

Stretchingslowly,Iletout a deep sigh of contentment and open my eyes. For the first time in months, I don’t want to scratch my skin off as soon as I move. Reveling in the luxury, I stretch my hand out and sneak my tablet back under the covers with me.

Holy crap. The tablet blinks, informing me it’s already 11a.m. on Sunday. Fricking Sunday? We went for dinner on Friday night. How the hell did I sleep so long? Ignoring the blinking messages on the screen, I scramble out of bed and dash for the shower, a plan forming in my head.

I have to find Belinda. See how she is for myself, apologize. And then I’m going to see how far my aether skills have come, see if I can heal her properly. After that, it’s big-girl-pants time.

Stepping back into the bedroom, I frown at the heap of blankets on the floor, only now noticing more on our small couch. I gather an armful of blanket to my face and take a deep sniff. Pine. Farrell? Farrell was here all night? I bet he was just making sure I didn’t go rambo again, give his precious allegiance a bad name. Still, it’s kinda nice. I drop the throw with a snort. It’s entirely normal to sniff at bedclothes. Sure it is.

Shrugging into my clothes, I throw one last glance at the telltale bundle of blankets before squaring my shoulders and heading for the infirmary.

“It’s not a good idea, Miss Smith.”

“Will she be okay?”

The call bell shrills and the nurse flinches.

“If the number of times she presses that buzzer is anything to go by, she’s just fine,” the woman snarls.

“I’ll go see what she wants.” I flash my brightest smile and walk toward Belinda’s door with more confidence than I feel.

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