Page 120 of Gemini Queen
I feel like my world’s crashing down around my ears.
Or maybe that’s how Neo feels.
Either way, I feel horrible. Like I’m a total self-obsessed monster for leaving. And for lying. Even if I never lied outright, I never told him I’m going, I let him believe I’m staying, so it’s a lie by omission.
I set down my cup and reach for Neo’s hand, but he shifts out of my reach. His shoulders are stiff and he’s staring straight ahead and he’s hurt, he’sreallyhurt, and it’s all my fault.
“I-I was definitely going to tell you, Neo.” My voice sounds thin and unconvincing, even to my own ears. “I just wasn’t sure…”
I’m also not sure how to finish, and no one else looks ready to help me out of this hole I’ve dug to China. Vasili looks vicious (he’s literally been a complete shitallmorning), Ronin’s avoiding my gaze, Racetrack’s basically eating popcorn and watching the show, while Dez looks like she wants to envelop Neo in a sympathy hug.
I’m relieved when Lucius returns with a fresh mug of coffee, but his grim expression sucks all the air out of the room. He doesn’t return to his abandoned pancakes, but prowls over to lurk near the window, where he sips his coffee and watches the street with a pensive expression. That storm’s getting worse, and I’m not sure we’ll be having class at all today, but that can’t be all that’s bothering him.
“Oh, bloody hell, now what?” Ronin mutters.
Lucius lowers his cup with a sigh. “That was the Dean on the phone. I’m afraid Mistress Agrippina hasn’t recovered from her illness. In fact, her condition has considerably worsened. It’s beginning to appear that perhaps we’re not dealing with a bad case of foodborne illness at all, particularly since no one else appears to have fallen ill. And the Dean has decisively ruled out witchcraft.”
“Well, hell, spit it out, Teach. What are we into then?” Racetrack demands, while the rest of us just stare at him. “Poison?”
“That does appear to be a distinct possibility.” Lucius raises a hand to fend off our rush of questions. “As you’re aware, this island’s medical clinic is functional but rudimentary. We certainly lack a toxicology laboratory. Agrippina really ought to be flown to the mainland for treatment, but the plane can’t take off in this weather. Meanwhile, the Dean is tending her welfare, which also means the Dean is guarding her safety. In short, there’s very little we can do for Agrippina at the moment.”
I’m frowning with concern for the frazzled-looking, grandmotherly headmistress of Villa Hadrian who taught my Genetics of Witchcraft class before she got sick. If this were Hogwarts, the Hadrians would be Hufflepuffs. And Aggie’s like the Minerva McGonagall of Icarus. It’s impossible to imagine anyone hating her.
“Who’d want to poison that sweet old lady?” I demand. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe it’s part of the pattern,” Neo says slowly. Despite my worry over poor Aggie, I’m relieved to see him trying to get past my lack of trust in him—or at least back-burner it for later. “Aggie’s a known royalist. She always has been. If that wolf was meant as a warning for Lucius as well as Zara, the killer could be getting ready to act against the royals and their strongest supporters at Icarus.”
“Oh, well done, Einstein.” Vasili lounges elegantly in his chair. “Do you truly think this is some sort of vast anti-monarchist conspiracy? If that were the case, wouldn’tIknow, since I seem to be the prime suspect for offing Cybelle?”
Lucius glances toward him with a frown. “You’re hardly the prime suspect, Mr. Romanov. I fear that distinction belongs to Mr. Pendragon, given the victims’ animosity toward his sister. But if I harbored any real suspicion regarding either of you, you may rest assured you wouldn’t still be residing under this roof with all your residential privileges intact.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Vasili’s poisonous gaze slews to me. “If someone’s killing royals again, darling, that’s another reason to expedite your abdication. Assuming your plans haven’t changed?”
My skin tingles with danger. I can still hardly believe we’re talking about my abdication so openly. And I don’t dare betray a hint of ambivalence, since my apparent certainty might be all that’s keeping me breathing with a warlock like Vasili in the house.
“No,” I say flatly. Another lie to add to my ledger. “My plans haven’t changed. I’m leaving.”
Lucius turns toward me with betrayal written in every line. “So much for your promise to give the witching world a chance, Ms. Gemini. Are there perhaps any other pertinent secrets to which I as your headmaster should be made privy?”
“Oh, are we sharingallour secrets then, Lucius?” Vasili says silkily.
That’s a loaded comment which makes Lucius look absolutely hunted. A look passes between them that would intrigue me mightily, if not for the fact that both NeoandLucius are now disappointed in me.
Unexpectedly Ronin surges to his feet to loom over the table. “Maybe it’s blooming time for that, mate. We’re choking to death on the secrets in this house. Someone bumped off Cybelle and Damien, someone just poisoned Agrippina, and now that same someone’s apparently got their sights set on LuciusandZara. I, for one, am bloody ready for a bit of honesty. Just among us.To get to the bottom of this mess.”
“Hear, hear,” Racetrack murmurs. Dez nestles up against her side in silent concurrence.
This is what I wanted, of course, more of our secrets in the open.
But now that it’s actually time to pull back the curtain, I’m suddenly not so sure.
“Very well then. Mr. Pendragon makes a compelling point. There are lives at risk. Including the life of our queen and my own student.” Lucius pushes out a heavy breath, his sherry-colored stare meeting mine. His jaw hardens with steely resolve. “In that case, I believe it’s my duty to begin. I suspect at this point you’re all rather aware that I violated my own code of ethics, to say nothing of Academy expectations, when I inflicted a mating bite upon Mr. Pendragon.”
Wow. My mouth pops open. I can hardly believe my reserved and intensely private prof is willing to share a secret that’s like a mortal sin or something in his rulebook. Maybe it’s a secret that could even get him fired. Fired from a job to which he’s deeply committed.
And the fact that he’s doing it to protectme?
A feeling I can’t even put a name to unfolds and flutters in my heart.
