Page 72 of Shattered Illusion

But damn, one thing is for sure. I can totally see myself using this one a lot in the future. It’ll enable me to get all the juicy gossip happening around the academy, and maybe I can even find out what’s going on with Marion and that pack of shifters who are constantly hovering around her.

A rhythmic tap, tap, tap starts up in my ears, a sound that reminds me of heels clacking on a stone floor. Every step brings whoever it is closer to the containment rooms, and her voice becomes louder, too. And damn… She is freaking pissed.

The unknown female stops talking and walking, nothing but harsh breathing in my ears.“You can do this, Ronnie. You guys have been drifting apart anyway. He’s always researching. You deserve better.”

Well. Damn. Now I feel bad for listening in. Especially if they’ve been falling apart. That has to be the worst feeling ever. But I agree with her. It’s better to find out now and move on.

“Thaddeus Snow Winterton! I know you’re in there! Open this door!” the person screeches, followed by heavy pounding on the containment room door. A scream rips from me at the decibel level she’s emitting, dropping me to my knees as I grab my head. “What the fuck are you doing in there? Thaddeus!” she shrieks again, this time with desperation.

My magic pulls back harshly, like a rubber band snapping, stealing my very breath. Everything gets quiet around me, minus Ronnie’s screams for Thaddeus to open the door. But without my magic, her words are almost silent, muffled behind the steel door.

“Sunshine, what happened?” Thaddeus crouches in front of me, reaching out to pull my hands from my head. My fingerscome away wet, and a wave of dizziness washes over me at the sight of blood on my hands.

“Thaddy,” I breathe, looking up into his icy eyes. “I…I think your girlfriend is here.”

He reels back, not expecting to hear those words come out of my mouth. “Fuck. I’ll handle this. Put your necklace back on, Bailey.”

Thaddeus heads toward the door as I wipe my fingers on my joggers, crying inside at the stain my blood will cause, before fumbling for it in my pocket. My hands shake as I undo the clasp, and I barely manage to get the damn thing around my neck without dropping it.

Everything hurts as I fall back on my ass, trying to catch my breath, waiting for the shitshow that I know is about to start. Hopefully, I’ll manage to slip by them, and they can fight or whatever without an audience.

Thaddy tosses a look over his shoulder, checking to make sure I’ve secured my glamour before mouthing, ‘I’m sorry,’ and opening the containment room door.

A purple blur whizzes into the room, all frantic and chaotic. It’s then that I realize the person I heard in my head is none other than Miss Izzicle. So that means…

“I knew it! I knew you were cheating on me, Thaddeus Snow!” Whoop, there it is. She’s the illusive girlfriend. “And with a student! You should be ashamed of yourself! Disguising it as research and helping learn magic. You’re despicable!” She continues without letting Thaddy get a word in edgewise. I feel bad for the poor Smurf. She’s so damn far off base it’s not even funny. “I’m going to report you to the headmaster!”

Ahhh, shit. That’s exactly what I was afraid of.

Thaddeus snatches a distraught Miss Izzicle right off her feet before she can storm away. She squirms and fights to get free, but finally, she relents, sagging in his hold.

“Ronnie, I am not cheating on you. I never have, and I never will. I don’t know where you got that crazy notion, but if you’re listening to those narcissistic people you call friends, then it’s time to find new ones.”

“I don’t belie–”

“Shut up, Ronnie, and listen to me. You said what you needed to. Now you’re going to hear what I have to say. And if you question me again or embarrass me again in front of one of my students, you won’t like the repercussions.”

“You wouldn’t,” she hisses, renewing her struggle.

“Oh, I will definitely send your ass right back to the fae realm. Don’t think I won’t.”

There are soooooo many questions I want to ask because, damn. I didn’t know Thaddy had the power to do something like that. But he isn’t wrong. There isn’t anything going on between us but magic practice, and she’s completely blown it out of proportion.

“If I believed even an inkling of this,” Miss Izzicle grits out through clenched teeth, “it’s wildly inappropriate for you to be behind a locked door with a female student.”

I so badly want to chime in and say it’s wildly inappropriate for her to bust in here and act a fool, but I swallow the words down, knowing they won’t help in this situation.

“I have never given you a reason to think I’m cheating. And I have never accused you of this when you’ve been behind a closed door with a male student while you tutor in history. Bailey has rare magic and a hell of a lot of it. Jasper, your boss, chose me to teach her because of who I am. If you have a problem with it, you take it up with him.”

My hand slowly starts to raise, hoping he’ll call on me to ask the burning question, but I think better of it and drop it back into my lap.

A song comes to mind from his words, with a little twist.

Will the real Thaddy Winterton please stand up?

Because I’m starting to feel that I know nothing about Thaddy except for the fact that he’s fae, has a girlfriend—for how much longer, I don’t know—and has strong magic.

“Oh, I will. And I’ll tell him that I’m taking over the training.”

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