Page 73 of Monster's Delight

“Brecken,” Aiden said immediately.

“My thoughts exactly.” I shivered. “And he still works here. Grandfather still trusted him enough to send both my father and me here.”

“Declan thought that he’d killed Grandmother,” Aiden pointed out. “He never suspected foul play.”

“That’s even worse,” I said, shaking my head. “Poor Grandfather. Such a weight to carry.”

“What are we looking for in the mirror?” Aiden asked. “I feel like I’ve relived it every night in my dreams since the first time we saw it. I wouldn’t want to watch it again without a very good reason.”

I put my hand on his knee. “I’m sorry. I know it wasn’t easy. Thank you for being willing to watch it again. I think I should be the one to watch Bridget this time. Maybe I’ll spot something that you didn’t.”

“I’m fine with that. I’ll focus on the spell components around her. Give me that list of ingredients. I’ll memorize it before we go to the office.” Aiden held out his hand and I passed over the paper.

“I should probably also copy it out,” I said, shame-faced. “I should have thought of that earlier. We would have gotten to his office and then had to waste time while I made the copy.”

Aiden grinned. “See how much better your brain works on a full stomach?”

“Shut up,” I said playfully, pushing his arm. It didn’t move an inch. “That’s so unfair,” I complained.

“I thought you liked that I was strong enough to toss you around,” he replied with a smirk. “Something about, ‘Oh yes, Aiden, I love it when you pick me up! You’re so strong!’” He finished in a falsetto.

“I donotsound like that!” I gasped. “Take it back!”

“I think you’re remembering wrong. Your mind was too clouded by orgasms,” Aiden teased.

“Excuse you! I’ll showyouclouded by orgasms,” I retorted. I knew it didn’t make sense. I just wanted to get the last word.

Aiden chuckled. “Get to copying, Siobhan. You can drain me dry through my dick later.”

He didn’t sound disappointed. I guess that was a good thing.

Copying the spell was an easy incantation. I pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and the spell Aiden was looking at copied itself, lifting off the old page and onto the new one like the flowing of a river. I also pulled out the rhyme to look into Apollo’s mirror and looked it over, just to refresh my memory. It had been over a month since I last used it, after all.

“Do you have a plan to get into his office?” Aiden asked, handing me back the original page.

I shook my head. “I’m hoping we’ll get lucky, or a plan will occur to me on the way. I can’t stand the thought of living in a castle with a killer for even one more night.”

“I get that,” Aiden said soberly. “But you might get expelled instead of solving the case.”

I winced. I hadn’t really thought of that. “Do you have an idea?”

“I might.” He pulled out a mirror and turned away from me, speaking into it. “Okay. Let’s go.”

We hurried out of the kitchen to the main hall.

“What was that about?” I asked, curious.

“Oh, I just asked my roommate to cause a distraction on the fifth floor. It should be enough to get Professor Dunlop out of his office.” Aiden grinned. “Bruce is always up for causing mischief. He particularly liked your bouncy floor, by the way.”

“Have I told you lately that you’re brilliant?” I asked him.

“Not today.”

“Well, you are.”

We snuck through the main office to the hallway where the teacher’s offices were located.

“Do you know which one is his?” I asked.

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