Page 153 of Blood & Betrayals

I slip through the front door, panting. I press my back against the solid wood and close my eyes, trying to calm my breathing.

“It happened again.” My eyes fly open at the voice, and I meet Rafe’s gaze. “Didn’t it?”

“What?” I ask wearily, closing my hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

Rafe rolls his eyes and heads upstairs to his room. The second I’m back in control of my breathing, I hurry back up to Connor. He’s barely moved. I strip out of my clothes and crawl into bed with him, trying to settle into his warmth.

Less than an hour later, Connor’s alarm goes off, and he kisses me tenderly. I groan softly, trying to deepen the kiss, but he chuckles and gets out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I have early practice this morning, babe. You have another hour. Go back to sleep.” He kisses me again, but I’m already drifting off again.

When Alice comes into the room an hour later, I’m grumpy and ready to kill everyone. Maybe this is the way to prevent my vulnerability, keep me sleepy, horny, and cranky.

“Come on, Sum. I need coffee.”

I grumble under my breath about also being in dire need of coffee and hurriedly get dressed. I grab my bag, push my feet into my heels, and follow Alice downstairs. It’s not until I am halfway through my coffee and we are walking down the corridor to class that I feel alive and start listening to what Alice is saying.

“He came back this morning, and he was furious about something or other. I swear, he’s like in love with her, Summer.”

“You think they fought?” I ask.

Alice shrugs. “Probably, but he also smelled like sex, so who knows?” She pauses, and her nose twitches a little. Her normally animated face has gone stony cold, and I am suddenly looking at the legendary killer. Her gaze is fastened on one of the doors off the long hall, her eyes burning crimson.

“Al?” I squeeze her arm. The pendant pressed against my chest pulses. It’s barely noticeable, and I doubt I would have realized if it weren’t for Alice’s reaction.

“Summer.” She turns to look at me, her red irises glowing. “Get the headmaster. Someone else has been killed.”

62

Summer

Ifeel the color drain from my face, my entire body going cold as those words fully sink in.

“What?” I ask, hoping that I’ve heard her wrong.

She hisses, looking back at the door. “Get the headmaster. Now.”

I turn on shaky legs and run to the headmaster’s office. I barge in without knocking, not even caring if he yells at me. My blood rushes in my ears, and my head spins as my eyes lock on him. He takes his glasses off, dropping them on the desk.

“Miss Tuatha De Daanan. What’s wrong?”

My whole body is numb, but as I stare at him, my mind clears a little, and I can think again. “Sir, someone else has been?—”

He is out of his seat and standing beside me in a flash. “Show me.”

My heart is pounding, and my lungs burn as I try to gulp down oxygen, but I nod and lead him back to where I left Alice.

She is standing in front of the door like a diminutive guard dog, looking more intimidating than I have ever seen her. If anyone approaches, they’re immediately dissuaded by a glareand a snarl. I stop about ten feet away from her, but the headmaster breezes past me straight to Alice.

“I know the scent. It’s too much blood to be living.” Alice glances at me, fear flashing in her eyes before she looks back at the headmaster. “Definitely fae,” she says. Her voice is low, but I can still hear her as clearly as if she were standing right next to me in an empty room.

The headmaster nods once. “No one in, Miss Legosi.”

My gaze remains fixed on the door, imagining all the horrors it conceals.

The headmaster slips into the room, and for a few minutes, I remain frozen, staring at the door. But then my feet are moving of their own accord, taking me closer. Alice blocks my way, and I stop. I don’t say anything, but I hold her gaze, silently asking her to move aside, telling her with my eyes that I need to see what is behind the door. I need to know one way or the other if this is something I need to be afraid of or if it is just random.

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