Page 13 of Laid Bare

The balcony doors are wide open letting in the fresh air and sunshine most supernaturals enjoy. It all screams cheery to me. Way too cheery when I’ve spent most of my life listening to the screams of purgatory’s inhabitants. But I’ll suck it up because I don’t have a damn choice in the matter. For now.

Even if Bane and I have to carry this kid on our backs so she learns her shit quicker, we’ll do it. Just so we can go home.

Jasper nods to two empty chairs as he rounds the desk and reclines in the large one made specifically for his stone frame. It creaks slightly as he shifts his weight, but there’s only patience on his face as Bane and I sit down.

Indecision flashes across his face when his eyes crinkle in the corners like he’s trying to decide what all he wants to tell us. But the three of us know we need every lick of information if my twin and I are supposed to do the job we’re hired for.

“This is…” Jasper grimaces, “a delicate situation. How much did Councilman Cassian tell you?”

I raise a brow, exchanging a loaded look with my brother. “Not much, if we’re being honest here. Just that we needed to be here to protect a kid from her classmates while she learns her magic. So, as you can imagine, he was vague as fuck.”

Hellfire ash puffs from Bane’s nostrils as he snorts a laugh. “Vague really is an understatement. Because that damn angel wouldn’t let us send anyone else. It had to be us, but he refused to tell us why.” He throws a pointed glance at Jasper. “Maybe you can fill us in on why that is.”

“Of course, the fucker didn’t say anything,” the gargoyle huffs under his breath in amusement. “Plain and simple, Miss Matthews is in danger.”

Matthews?

“We must have wires crossed here.” I shake my head. “We’re here for a Miss… shit, hold on.” I pull my phone from my pocket, double-checking the minuscule information we were given. “A Miss Foss. Not Matthews.”

“Ahh, yes. Clever woman,” he mutters more to himself than us. “They are one and the same. Matthews was her human adopted parents’ last name. Foss is her birth parents’ last name.”

Wait. Did he say human?

Bane seems to be on the same page as me when he asks, “So we’re not dealing with a child then? We’ve been under the impression that we’re shadowing a young kid, not a twenty-one-year-old woman who just found out she’s supernatural.”

“No, definitely not a child.” A shot of lust from Jasper hits me square in the dicks, fueling my incubus magic.Interesting. “But compared to us, yes, she is young. And very new to our society.”

“So, what makes her so different that the supernatural council wants guards on her?” That’s the million-dollar question here because I just can’t see a damn new wolf or witch needing protection from those around her.

Jasper gets up from his chair, his wings shifting behind him. “That’s where things get interesting. I feel it would be better for you to meet her and see for yourself before passing judgment from my words alone.” He rifles through a few papers on his desk before holding out a file. “This has Miss Matthews’ new class schedule along with locations and information on those closest to her. It also has intel on her mates—who they are, what they do, etc.”

Holy hellfire. Mates? As in plural? Already? Most supernaturals take years, sometimes decades, and even centuries to find their mates. And this woman already has more than one. But if that’s the case, again I stress the question, why are we even here?

Bane collects the file and tucks it under his arm and sends a look at me that screamswe’ll rifle through it later. My fingers twitch to tear it apart now to find out what makes her so special, but I refrain. Just fucking barely.

“Let me show you where you’ll be staying, and then I’ll take you by to meet Miss Matthews.” Fucking dismissal much? “You won’t be needed until Monday morning because I doubt her mates will be very far from her until then. Besides Miss Matthews, her mates, Miss McHale, and a few teachers, no one knows where her room is. Which yes, before you ask, we did it on purpose for the very reason you’re here. Protection.”

Well, that’s just fucking peachy.

* * *

The overuse of artificial lighting irritates my eyes, and I grumble my displeasure under my breath as Bane and I follow in a single file line behind Jasper through the halls. The talons topping mine and my brother’s wings scrape with every step we take, making me grit my teeth. I could put them away, but why should I when this kid—sorry, woman—needs to know who she’ll be messing with if she refuses to follow our orders. We finally reach a sparsely doored hallway that looks vaguely familiar, but that could be because every damn corridor looks exactly the same, or it could be that we’ve stayed on this floor before.

“This is what we consider our faculty wing.” Jasper’s gravelly voice breaks the tentative silence we’ve been existing in since we left his office. “Miss Matthews stays in room 580, the last one at the end of the hall on the right, and you both will be in 579. They’re set up?—”

“As apartments,” Bane finishes for him, his mind obviously remembering this area better than I do.

“Correct,” Jasper throws over his shoulder, still walking toward our new accommodations. “Professor Winterton is across the hall from you both, and my room is across from Miss Matthews.”Doubly interesting. He seems to like keeping her… close.“Thaddeus—Professor Winterton—is her mentor helping her learn the magic she needs to know. Though it’s a bit tricky. Again, you’ll see why. But here we are.”

Jasper pulls two iron keys from his pocket, passing one of each of us and pointing at the door for us to go in. Bane steps forward, but I put a hand on his shoulder, halting his advance.

“Now that we know where our room is, how about we get the introduction out of the way first, that way, we can spend the rest of the day figuring out what we need supply wise.”

Jasper’s eyes tighten at my blatant rejection of his carefully laid plans and moves further down the hall till he reaches the only other door on this side of the hall. The golden plaque on the wall with our charge’s name etched on it just screamssomeone come attack mewith it on display the way it is. That’ll have to change. As soon as possible.

Fuck it.

My nails dig under the golden name plate, and with a pop of hellfire, it twists and distorts beneath my fingers, leaving her name unrecognizable.

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