Page 32 of Validus Vale Academy 1
And Drakeward reaches out his hand.
I look at it, then at him. He grins again, showing bloody gums. A small part of me wishes I could shake, but I can’t. I take one step forward and punch his lights out.
Ding ding.
Don’t mess with the nymph.
14
Ilie on my bed, hands on my chest, trying to feel if my heart is still broken.
Yes, it continues to be in three terrible lonely pieces. Having the guys back, sandwiching me from both sides with their love, is the only thing that would fix it.
That’s not the only part of me that’s broken. The binding mark Cosmo placed on my neck throbs. Telling myself it doesn’t matter, that it’s totally inconsequential compared to my missing twins, doesn’t help.
FuckCosmo Drakeward. Seriously,fuckhim.
I let my fingers trace over the brand again. It's painful, but less than before. I did some research as soon as I got in; the illegal binding mark will be invisible by tomorrow. Everyone knows being marked and bound by an Elite is illegal, but possible.
Never in a million years did I think it would happen to me. Whatever. The only thing to do is ignore it and get my priorities straight—finding the twins.
And to that end, Cosmo banned me from talking to the authorities, but he didn’t say I couldn’t do my own investigation.
I pull out my tablet and fire it up. One thing Cosmo Drakeward doesn’t know is that the twins fully trusted me. Wes let me use his computer all the time. He’d told me all his accounts had thesame password, and I was welcome to poke around to my heart's content.
With a sigh, I type the details into Wes’s email.
USER NAME: WHART
PASSWORD: SWEETTHEO4EVA!
A couple of seconds later, I’m in.
Hundreds of unopened emails sit in the inbox. Most are school notices or automated messages from subscriptions. I click back and forth until I reach November of last year. The last thing Wes clicked on was from something called Store-U-Stuff.
It’s a contract and receipt for a storage unit in town. One-year lease; paid in full.
Next down is an unopened message from Dean Dartmouth. I skim what it says, and learn that last November the dean expressed his disappointment with the twins' withdrawal from school.
I keep digging and find an unopened email from Haven Airlines, confirming their upcoming flight to London Heathrow. I follow the links to see a flight booked for November 1st. Several days later, Haven Airlines sent another email noting that Mr. W. Hart and Mr. D. Hart did not board their flight. The email offers options for rescheduling, none of which Wes has used.
Sitting up, I lay the tablet in my lap and look blankly at the mildew stain on the drywall. Wes and Donovan had left the Academy but never made it onto their flight. I’m filled with a confused mix of dread, worry, and a smidge of elation.
They’d been on their way—to me! Yay!
But then…what? They went somewhere else? Changed their minds?
It’s all unknown. But my guys are strong and smart, the last people who’d, I don’t know, get kidnapped or something? Butwhat else could have happened? Had they gotten in a car wreck, and somewhere there was a rusting car, home to their dead bodies? No, no. Not that. They’re not dead. I’d know if they were. I’d have felt it, I know I would.
And anyway, why would Dean Dartmouth pretend they were still at school here? That’s what throws everything off. I hold my hands over my heart, willing it to lead me to my loves.
Take me to them, please, please, please.
Just a hint, anything to guide me in the right direction.
???
The next thing I know, the morning alarm on my tablet blares, forcing me awake. Once again, I’d dreamed of Wes and Donovan, and once again, the dream quickly slipped through my fingers and was gone before I could make sense of it.
