Page 236 of Blood & Betrayals

He glances at me, meeting my gaze and waiting for me to continue.

I clear my throat. “I was hoping to ask about my visitor from yesterday.”

“Of course,” he says, gesturing to the seat in front of this desk, and I sit down.

“You told them I found the bodies,” I say. It’s not a question. The investigator already confirmed it yesterday.

The headmaster nods. “I told them a student discovered them. Apparently, they have someone following me.” His lips tighten ever so slightly.

“I see. She was wearing my sweater,” I blurt out.

The headmaster watches me. It is not new information to him. I mentioned it in my response to the one email he sent when I was in Drãculea. The fact is just so horrifying to me that I hoped voicing it out loud to him would take some of its power.

“Did you make a list of other items?” he asks.

“Yes. I think I got most of them.” I pull out a folded piece of paper from my backpack. For a long moment, I stare down at the black lines crossing the page. “Do they know?” I ask quietly.

“They do not know that.”

I swallow hard and hand him the list. I feel my cheeks heat as he starts to read it, knowing some of the items are… undergarments.

The headmaster’s eyes dart over the paper and he frowns, obviously trying to find a link between the items or some answers within the list.

The silence is deafening, and I clear my throat again. “I think the clothing items have been missing since the break-in..” I look down, worrying the strap on my bag. “The… underwear is… an ongoing issue.”

I feel his gaze focus on me, but I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes. “So not from the break-in?”

I shake my head. “Well, two bras have gone missing along with… some other underwear items. But the panties specifically are not from the break-in.”

“When are they from?”

“Well…”

“Miss Tuatha De Daanan. I understand this is uncomfortable, but the more information I have, the better.”

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. “They go missing when I’m… with my boyfriend.”

“At home?” he asks, and I hear him shift uncomfortably in his chair. Clearly, he wants to be here as much as I do.

“No,” I say quietly, heat trickling down my neck in mortification.

“Ah.” The headmaster clears his throat. “If this were on school grounds, they would activate the rune that cleans the floors and grounds.”

I feel my ears burn right to the points. “Right, well. Thank you, sir.”

“I can put you in touch with janitorial?—”

“No! That’s really okay.” I’d rather die, actually. “Thank you, sir.” I jump to my feet and leave his office at a near run.

I’m still flustered and embarrassed when I get to class, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m as red as a tomato. Alice gives me a questioning look as I drop into the seat next to her. I shake my head, and we both turn our attention to the front of the class until the professor gives us our task. The class talks amongst themselves as they start working, and I turn to face Alice. Wanting to divert her attention from my meeting with the headmaster, I change the subject before she can start it.

“So, you’ll never guess what happened this morning,” I say, leaning in as I drop my voice.

Like a moth to a flame, Alice’s eyes light up and she moves in closer, hungry for the gossip. “Tell me immediately.”

I look around and move in closer. I am confident that the soft buzz of the other students will mask my secret, allowing it to drown in the mass of conversation, going only to Alice.

“Max got a boner when I was pinning him.”

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