Page 15 of Mortal Shift
Her laughter trilled around me, tinkling off the walls like crystalline glass. “You really don’t know the first thing about where you are, do you?”
“I know that it’s full of people who think they’re better than me, and that I’m going to prove them wrong.”
She narrowed her eyes a fraction, and steepled her hands. “Interesting. Perhaps you’re not so meek as we first believed. Perhaps there is some justification in you being matched to Cole Bryant, after all. Time will tell, I suppose.”
And just like that, she resumed her indifferent posture, as though my survival or otherwise was of no more interest to her than the weather. Perhaps it wasn’t, which was not a fun thought at all.
“Yeah, I’m not interested in being anyone’s mate.” A shudder ran through me. I couldn’t think of anyone I waslessinterested in hooking up with—aside from Mr. ‘Call Me Master’ asshole—and frankly, the sooner I could rid myself of the pair of them, the better. But apparently it wouldn’t be by getting out of here, at least, not on Astor’s say-so. She seemed pretty keen to watch me die a horrible death. And I was damn well going to prove her wrong about me. Prove them all wrong about me.
But there was something I had to take care of first. Someone.
“Look, I’m stuck here, fine. I get that. This council or whatever want me to stay. But I have responsibilities out in the real world that need to be taken care of.”
“Thisisthe real world. The charade you left behind in the mundane world no longer concerns you.”
“My mother concerns me,” I ground out. “And if you want me to stay here, then I need to know she’s safe. And that she’s going to stay that way.”
“I understand she is in the care of the mundane authorities. She is no longer your responsibility.”
“She’s my mother!”
“So?”
“So, I don’t know what the deal is with you… supernaturals, but family is important to me, and I need to take care of her.”
“The authorities seem more capable of that than you, if the events of the last twenty-four hours are any kind of indication.”
My anger rushed out of me, leaving me deflated. She was right. I’d messed up, and I’d totally let my mom down. Maybe shewasbetter off where she was, getting professional help from someone who knew what they were doing. Knew how to keep her safe. But didn’t she at least deserve to hear about it from me? I should be the one to tell her she needed to stay there while she got help, and dammit, I needed to know they were taking good care of her. I needed to say goodbye.
I swallowed hard, and became aware of Astor scrutinizing my face.
“Can I see her, at least?”
“You are not to leave this academy until you have a full and complete education in the supernatural.”
“Unless I die first, of course,” I bit out, and Astor inclined her head, the light catching her eyes in a strange way that made my breath catch in the back of my throat. “Well, what about a new room?”
“A new room?” Her brow knitted, like I’d asked if she could change the color of the moon. “Whyever would you want a new room?”
“Uh, I don’t know, maybe because I’m stuck with a guy I don’t know and don’t like?”
“If you don’t know him,” she countered, “then how can you already have decided you don’t like him?”
“Oh, believe me—”
“You believe me, Ms. Ellis,” she said, pushing herself to her feet and staring at me through hard eyes. “I do not believe you deserve a place at my academy, but you have been assigned one because you were fortunate enough to share a mate bond with Cole Bryant. You will stay here, and you will follow my rules, and you will accept your room assignment with your mate, as tradition and law dictate.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you’ll discover that dangerous as it is inside these walls, it is far more so outside them.”
I blinked at her as she echoed Zane’s words, and she raised a brow at me.
“I trust you are now done wasting my time?”
“I guess so.” I knew when I was wasting my breath. She clearly had no intention of giving so much as an inch, and all I was doing here was creating yet another enemy I didn’t need.
“Good. Then I suggest you eat, and return to your common room. Try to find some allies. Classes start tomorrow. Donotbe late.”
