Page 281 of Sigils & Spells

“Rebel.” Alessandro cupped my chin and lifted it, forcing me to look at him. “Never, ever go into the tunnels again.”

“Got any other how-to survival tips for me?”

He chuckled in that low manly way of his that irritates the hell out of me, but then everything about the blood-sucking blackmailer bugged me. He vanished without a goodbye. Not even a ‘good job’ comment. No—nothing. I had made his timeline and for now, my secret was safe.

Harvey appeared at my side. As I wiped tears from my face I said to Harvey, “Just another crazy day living in the house of the rising dead.”

CHAPTER15

The next morningRené delivered a big bouquet of black roses, a box of pistachio macrons (my favorite) and a note:On behalf of all the vampires in our academy, I thank you.

I looked up from reading the note to talk to him, but he had vanished. All the fanged had signed the note. I turned it over to see if they said anything else, but they hadn’t. Cryptic and sincere—so vampire.

For the following two days the school resumed its undead night life. Students attended classes, teachers taught curriculum, and locals ignored us. Alessandro took Xiu and Joy, the injured vampires, to a hospital in Amsterdam for dental surgery, and assured me that the mess I had left below ground was taken care of.

I sent Gavin a sanitized version of how I caught the Fang Hunter. He replied, “You need to get away from that place, Rebel. It’s trouble.” I sent him a happy face. No doubt the werewolf would grill me for details at our next family dinner.

The usual rhythm of my crazy life at the academy resumed, almost as if nothing had happened. But Onyx remained missing.

On the third day, he appeared in the doorway of my office with a stern expression. “I have a question, he said in that low baritone voice that sent shivers up my spine, “Why are there naked mages circling the academy?”

I ran to the window. Sure enough, twenty mages exposing all their male bits walked counterclockwise around the building.

My heart soared. “Yes!” I said and saluted them.

Harvey hopped out of his chair and did his own version of the bhangra dance. I would have joined him if Onyx wasn’t watching me.

The dhamphyre’s breath heated the back of my neck as I looked outside. “What did you do?” he asked.

“It’s payback, baby, payback. You of all people know that it’s not wise to cross me.” I turned to face him.

His eyes narrowed. “I may regret asking you this, but as head of security I must know. Why are the mages showing us their willies? I need to know the why of it, Rebel.”

I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. “It’s great, isn’t it?”

“Rebel. What happened?”

“It’s really your fault.”

“Rebel?”

“I went undercover in the mage guild and—”

Shock rippled across his hard face. “You? Undercover?” He chuckled.

“What’s so funny? “

“Honey, everything about you is feminine. Your scent. Your body.” He cleared his throat. “Even the way you walk. No undercover cloak could hide that.”

His words warmed me. Onyx relished my femininity! Now, I knew I shouldn’t care about that, but … I did. I really did. The cold-blooded night stalker saw me as a woman!

He blew out a short breath. “What made you do such a stupid thing?”

Stupid? How to end my gushy feelings—Onyx could write a book on the subject. “I was looking for the Fang Hunter.”

“And the mages caught you in their guild house.”

I nodded.

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