Page 29 of Dryad, Try Again
“I have to go, Tanner. We in the staff have multiple meetings this week, and I’m the only ghost who has a mind of my own. And Halloween is in a month, which is a big deal for monsters. You know, closer to the blood moon, the shifters—”
I bolt up and nod. “Thank you, Professor.” I don’t even listen to what he says as I all but dash out of the lecture hall. Kovi’safraid of something. I’m afraid of tree monsters, too. But I’d face my fears if it meant giving us a fighting shot. What we have growing between us—seeds of attraction that started over a decade ago—may be worth confronting what scares us the most.
13
KOVI
Watching mostof the teaching faculty walk out of the dean’s office is an odd sight. Zombies, golems, and shifters of all species chat while they waltz out the door, paying me no mind. I have no clue what their staff meeting was about or what I’ve been summoned for, but tell that to my sweaty palms.
I look down: not a trace of wood in sight on my hands. So when a cute boy makes me nervous, I accidentally shift, but otherwise, I’m funky dory?Fucking wonderful.
With the faculty gone, I poke my head through the mahogany doorway and make two loud knocks. “Dean Yaga?”
Her head rises as she assembles a stack of papers. “Hm?”
“A zombie gave me your note. You wanted to see me?”
“Mr. Sampath, yes! Come in, come in. Shut the door.” She sounds bubbly and jovial as she beckons me forward.
I shut the door and make my way to the red-velvet-lined chair in front of her massive desk. Gazing around, I take in her office. I’ve never been here before—I’m an unassuming student after all—and I didn’t know what to expect. It’s lavish, with various tapestries of differing colors lining the floors andwalls. I’m surprised there aren’t more taxidermized monsters or animals as décor; instead there’s one jackalope hanging above her sitting area. A translucent curtain is drawn over the one massive window, and the dean uses the light to jot notes down.
After a few seconds of taking in her office, I clear my throat. “Dean Yaga.”
“Oh, yes.” She puts down her pens and parchments and places her hands together. Her smile is as friendly as it was all those weeks ago when she came to my dorm. “Mr. Sampath, I needed to speak to you on an important manner.”
I gulp and nod. Did I do something wrong? More realistically, did Seth do something wrong?
“You’re not in trouble.” I laugh out of nervousness, and she continues, “I just need your help with another tree problem.”
My shoulders relax. “Oh, of course. Point me to the tree, and I’ll help diagnose it. I can work my magic, literally.”
She titters and looks down at her notes. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. But morally, I can’t keep asking you to do me these favors.”
I smile and wave my hand. “It’s not a problem at all. I’m a dryad, and that’s what we do.”
“But Kovi, there are so few dryads in North America. And our school needs constant forestry work. I cannot in good conscience continue to have you do odd jobs for me and pay you in Mummy Mocha gift cards.”
“But you don’t have to pay me—”
“Uh uh uh.” She wags her finger in a chastising gesture. “I won’t hear of it. Kovi, you have extraordinary skills. You’re young, you shift into human, and still manage a high grade point average.”
I nod, recalling that the dean can access my academic records. “Um, thank you?”
“I don’t want to keep hiring you…” She frowns and slides a paper across her desk. “Not without appropriate compensation.”
I look down and my eyebrows furrow. “What’s this?”
“This is your potential salary.”
“Huh?”
Dean Yaga nods. “We want to pay you to be a member of the faculty, the groundskeeper.”
My jaw drops—I didn’t see this coming. “But…I’m a student.”
“We’re prepared to hold the position until you graduate. You’d need a degree to work full-time, anyway.”
My eyes keep darting between the obscene amount written on the paper and the dean. She can’t be serious.
