Page 90 of Blood & Betrayals

38

Summer

“Is he going to be okay?” Alice asks, watching me run my fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him even in sleep. Connor’s out cold, his big body heavy in my arms.

I nod and shift slightly, getting comfortable with him lying partially on top of me. “Yes. Will you text Rafe to let him know Connor is safe and that he’s here? I can’t reach my phone.” I wasn’t moving an inch while Connor needed me.

Alice pulls her phone out of her pocket, and her thumbs fly over the screen as she types out the message. A reply comes almost immediately, and Alice’s lips twitch. “He said, big surprise. I guess no one knows about the murder yet.”

Connor whimpers, and his body tenses. I stretch for the small dagger on my bedside table and slice the tip of my finger before blindly drawing an overly familiar rune on the back of Connor’s neck.

“What’s that for?”

Connor immediately relaxes on top of me. His breathing evens out, and I kiss the top of his head. “It’s for dreamless sleep. It’s not perfect. Sometimes, the darkness of nothing can be justas terrifying as anything the mind can conjure up, but I think he needs it now.”

Nothing is always a comfort to me. The yawning abyss of darkness feels closer to a cradle, shielding me from the horrors of my history.

Alice looks at Connor, something like concern flashing over her face before her attention diverts to an alert on her phone. “Fuck, socials are already suspicious.EverydayEmryscaught him in casual clothes.” She scrolls through the comments. “They’re wondering what brought him back.” Alice looks up at me. “Sum?”

I glance at her over Connor’s shoulder. “Hm?”

“Memory walking is some heavy shit.” She gestures gravely at Connor, the concern back in her eyes. Until now, Alice only acted as if she tolerated Connor’s presence for my sake, but she’s openly revealing that she actually cares for him.

“My dad tried to learn it once. It got us in a lot of shit with the Sorcerer’s Guild when he kept ripping open vamp’s heads with his attempts.” Alice grimaces a little. “Though, I did warn him that gouging the eyes from the guild representative’s head was a bit much.” She stands from the chair and walks over to the bed, carefully climbing in behind me. “I’ll order breakfast.”

“Delicious, an eye-gouging story followed by waffles.” My lips twitch and Alice lets out a loud laugh before grimacing again and whispering an apology to Connor, but he doesn’t even stir.

Alice only leaves our side long enough to collect our food from the door, and she dutifully hand-feeds me with a care that surprises me. I’m half surprised she didn’t just launch pieces of waffle into my mouth from the end of the bed.

I finish eating and am sliding my fingers through Connor’s hair again, but I can sense Alice’s gaze on me. I know she would never hurt me, but she is a predator, and my neck still tingles with the primal acceptance of that knowledge. Her body is tense,and she is worrying her lower lip with her fangs. “What is it, Alice?”

“I wasn’t sure whether to mention this, Sum, but when the headmaster was here, I looked up Gia onNexus.”

I tilt my head, shifting slightly beneath Connor. “Okay?”

Alice taps on her phone and then turns it to show me the screen. The photo is of a fae female. She’s paler than I am, but her hair is almost the same length and shade of brown as mine. I frown at the photo, noticing how similar she looks to me. Her nose may be a little wider and her jaw more curved, but there is a definite passing resemblance. It could just be a coincidence, though, right? There are a lot of brunette fae on campus.

“She—”

“She’s like the poor man’s version of you. Weird, right?” Alice turns her phone back to look at the photo.

I shake my head. It is paranoid and self-centered to think this is about me. We’re not that similar. It’s ridiculous. “I mean, we both have brown hair and faces.”

Alice squints at the screen and tilts her head a little. “Hm, maybe. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

I nod and go back to stroking Connor’s hair, but as the hours trail past, I can’t keep from thinking about Gia and our physical similarities. Was it thatthingthat was chasing me in the woods? Had it thought I was her? But then my mind supplies an even more terrifying thought. Maybe whoever killed Gia was looking for me.

I’m confident this has nothing to do with Torin. This isn’t his style, not even a little. I’ve been running from him long enough to know how he operates. But why would anyone else be after me? I’m nobody. Just some random female who was cast out and lost when I was an infant, a fae freak with pale eyes.

“Babe?” Connor’s groggy voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I look down at him, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. “Hi, big guy.”

Alice nods at me and quietly leaves the room, giving us time.

“Do you think I’m a coward?” Connor whispers, pain in his eyes. The question spears me through the chest. Connor is an angel. He is a protector at his core, and now he believes he has failed.

I hold his gaze, tunneling my fingers in his hair. “Absolutely fucking not. You did what needed to be done, and then you came to me. Just as you should have.”

He buries his face into my neck, mumbling against my skin. “I’m supposed to be a warrior.”

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