Page 98 of Dragon Unleashed

She tosses her hair and attempts to push past the fae. To a man, every fae shoulder-blocks her. I snicker as she gets nudgedoff the grass for the third time, before turning and leading the way to the fae’s quarters.

“Wait, this can’t be right. It’s a construction site,” I mutter. There’s industrial chic and then there’s this. There are doors and windows, granted, but not much else. Poking my head into a dorm reveals the bedrooms are worse: two small cots sit against a gray cement wall, a thin blanket resting on each.

Kai sticks his head in behind me. “Standard-issue.” He shrugs.

“At least we’ve eaten well today,” a tiny slip of a fae pipes up, before shuffling up to me. She peers at me. “You’rethe killer?”

The fae huddle closer, faces all weirdly lit with excitement.

“I was arrested for the prof’s murder,” I admit.

They surround me; hands reach out, touching my clothes, my hair, my face. I back up until I hit a muscled chest. Two hands grip my upper arms and I’m spun around. Kai grins down at me. Crap, he might look skinny, but under those drab clothes he’s ripped. I snatch myself away.

“What the hell is this about? I didn’t do it.”

A disappointed sigh reaches my ears from the fae behind me, but the hands keep touching. And Kai just grins more.

“You have to understand, little killer, the fae worship strength. It’s almost irrelevant whether you did or you didn’t. The authorities…” his face screws up as he says it “…theauthoritiesthink you, an unascended supe, have the power to kill an ascended? You must be strong.”

I bat away the hands still reaching for me.

“And you don’t like those in charge,” I hazard, staring at the scar on his neck.

His face darkens and he grabs me by the elbow, barking orders at the others to find beds and settle down. For the first time today the fae scuttle to follow a direct order. He moves us to another room. This one is just as bad, if not worse. I swear there’s a draft in here. What is the dean thinking?

“You might think the accommodation is sparse, little killer, but it’s better than we’ve had recently. The correctional facility is not…nice. And most of these fae were used to the finer things before our academy was shut down. It’s been an adjustment.”

The youngest fae here can only be about seventeen, but I’ve seen her reactions. She flinches at every loud noise, cringing away from the unknown. They all do, to an extent.

“Are they…?” Dammit, I don’t know how to ask. “Are they hurting you?”

Kai scowls. “Not your business, little killer. We just have to fae up and get through it. Get to the start of the next academic year. We might be okay at Fates if we keep our heads down.” He stares, entirely unseeing, at the intricate tattoo winding up his wrist, muttering to himself, “It can’t be much worse.”

Without thinking I reach for his arm. He stills. A bizarre sensation brushes at the edge of my consciousness and I pull back, moving farther from him.

“You felt that, huh? Most supes can’t. Your energy is off, by the way. You’ve had a rough time too,” Kai says.

Crap. Fae can sense energy. Or taste it. I back off toward the door. I’m done with these guys and their bizarre edginess. My energy is mine alone.

“I can siphon it, if you want.” Kai holds his hands out. “The negative stuff.”

I shake my head brusquely and shoulder my way out the door. With measured steps I walk away from the fae, from the hideous gray building they’ve been stuck in. The moment I hit the tree line I take off. My boots hammer down the cobbled paths, my breath heaving and muscles screaming. I have to get away. Away from whatever crap they’ve been through, away from the grim little rooms and hard beds, away from Kai and his odd offer. My emotions slosh everywhere. Life has been stressful enough. Adda day of wrangling standoffish, jumpy strangers and it’s just too freaking much.

Maybe I should have taken Kai’s offer.

“You okay there?” Val’s perky voice says in my ear.

My breath whistles in my chest as I fight for air. I nod and take the arm she offers.

“I need to hear all about the newbies!” She’s practically bouncing on her toes.

I let her steer me toward the second year common room. She’s part fae, of course she’s interested. To be fair, the whole school is interested. If Allegra hadn’t been killed, then the fae visiting would have been the biggest thing to happen all damn year.

At least by the time we get there I’ve got my breath back. My insides feel less raw too. Maybe it was something Kai did…

It doesn’t take long to tell Val, and the students in the common room, about the fae. It was mostly a day of fighting with them about stupid nonsense and trying to get everyone to stay in one damn place. Not super exciting. To my surprise Chano doesn’t leave the moment I enter, instead lurking in the corner, listening in.

“Watch him,” Val says, her voice cold.

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