Page 101 of Angel Lost

“You took your time,” Davina snaps.

I shrug, focused on the ancient tomes behind their heads. “Professor Hannya—”

Beside her, Dean Emrick snorts. “Ah, yes, that would have caused delay. Hannya doesn’t like her students leaving.”

Davina stomps her foot. “You need better control of you staff, Soren.”

Out the corner of my eye I see the vampire’s jaw tighten. I didn’t even know he had a first name. Of course he has a first name. I just never pictured…Hecate, my thoughts are scrambled.

Davina turns to me. “You were seen on our cameras in a restricted area, Aether Lorelei.”

The rapid pulse in my ear quietens. “Uh…yeah, I…”

“We also saw you speak with Aether Reye.”

I scrunch my nose. “You have cameras everywhere.” When did they see me with Reye? Did they see my stunt at the beach? Surely that was too far away.

“We have an obligation to look after the king’s Promised. Of course we have cameras! However, king’s fiancée or not, we will also hold her accountable if she is stirring up trouble.”

Fiancée. Shit, Reye. I lick my lip. “It’s not her fault. Whatever it is, it’s not Reye’s fault.” I pause. “Actually, what is the issue, Dean?”

Davina stands, pacing in agitation. “She will be dealt with. We can’t have her stirring trouble. Directing people to the failed gifted.”

I release a breath. “No, she didn’t. I followed the ley lines to them. I was just practicing. Reye only spoke with me later. Check the time stamps.”

“You have to understand…”

“I think I do,” I interrupt.

She stops abruptly, her gaze fixed on the candelabra in front of her.

“Kai explained it.” She hisses a breath, but I press on. “I understand that those failed aethers accepted the risks. They gambled for more power, and they lost. That’s every day in the slums where I grew up. Every. Freaking. Day.”

Davina sits back in her seat, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “They…did.” There’s a hint too much hesitation in her voice, enough to set me on edge. “What’s your point, Aether Lorelei?”

“It’s not my business.” I keep my voice level. No need to show my hand too soon. “Kai has his reasons for wanting aether, andso did those people…And the king—your brother—made it very clear I should train, graduate, ascend.” I pause, weighing how much she’ll actually believe. “I’d rather be more than simply a wife, a mother to future aethers. If I don’t ascend, then that’s what will happen. I can be more for my husband, for Eltanin.”

A slow smile cracks across Davina’s face. “So, you are planning on returning to the Gifted Academy?”

I blink. She thought…

“Yes! If you’ll let me. I know I was already on a warning, but it was simple curiosity. I wanted the full picture. Look, I grew up in the slums of Venez. Knowledge is power, but I always look out for number one.”

Both of the deans relax, and the temperature in the room thaws by several degrees.

“You’re an adult, Lorelei, at least at the aether academy you are treated as such.” Dean Davina gives Emrick a pointed look.

SorenEmrick. Must remember that.

“However, give me the lanyard back, now.” She holds out her hand.Shit. They saw that too. Reluctantly, I hand back the pilfered pass. She nods. “No more trespassing. You disturbed the failed gifted. It’s why we looked at the cameras. Their behavior has been extremely erratic since you passed through. They are in a very delicate state. Anything out the ordinary can set them back.”

My chest loosens. “Oh! So they’ll recover?”

After a pause Davina says, “I like to think so.”

A blaring siren splits the air, shrill and unrelenting, and I’m on my feet. The professors too. The sound pulses in sharp, staccato bursts, each one driving a spike through my skull. A metallic vibration hums beneath it, closer—too close.

With a deafening clang, shutters slam down over the windows. I flinch, heart hammering. Another metallic groan, and the door disappears behind a solidwall of steel.

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