Page 33 of Poison

I lift my arms, gritting my teeth ready for the onslaught of pain I know is coming. Nothing. I drop my arms and lift my top, my eyes nearly bugging out of my head as I see the perfectly clear skin.

“How?” I ask in surprise.

“The healing potion Rowena gave you last night must have had one hell of a kick to it,” she says with a smile. “I hate to do this now, dear, but Mr Skullmyer needs to see you in his office.”

“Do you know what for?” I enquire curiously. My aunt’s words replay in my mind and dread fills me.

“I don’t, but I do know he would rather do it where there aren’t ears,” she says, tapping her own, nodding her head to the side signalling the guy that’s been healed still sitting on his bed.

I nod, untangling my legs from the bed sheet, sliding to the side of the mattress. The cold stone floor makes me pull my feet up from the shock. Fucking hell, that’s cold, there is a soft breeze coming in from somewhere and now I’m no longer under the sheet, I can feel it. It makes me want to climb back into bed and huddle up away from the cool air. I look down, happy to find I’m still in my clothes, but my shoes and socks aren’t on my feet. I open the door on the bedside table, relieved to find them there, and quickly put them on before tugging my hair free from the bobble, making quick work to retie it, trying to hide the fact I’ve just rolled out of a hospital bed. Bed head would really not help me hide that, but people probably already know I was in the infirmary again, so I don’t know why I bother.

“Thank you,” I say as I make my way out of the room and into the bustling corridor.

Eyes widen as I push my way through, and the laughter and joking stops, replaced by whispers, which is just great. Not.

“Freak!” someone hisses as I push through a group of guys blocking the end of the corridor, everyone laughs but I ignore it.

“Argh!” someone screams and I whip around. “Did you just bite me?” a girl yells at the guy standing next to her.

“No,” he spits back, looking around wildly. “Why the hell would I?”

“You did, you bit me, don’t lie,” she screeches in his face.

I wince at the decibel level, I’m pretty sure if we were in the human world at the moment every single dog close to the school would start barking. Two more people in the corridor gasp…oh shit.

I spin in a circle, my heart beating frantically in my chest. Where the hell is he? Kevin slithers his way through the corridor, a huge grin on his face as he pushes people out of his way. They jump in fright, with no idea what’s happening, and I realise the girl who’s complaining she’s been bitten is the one who called me a freak.

“What did you do?”I hiss at him in my head.

His smile widens as he gets to my side, and I look to the girl, seeing her nursing the puncture wounds on her arm. I shake my head at him in disappointment.

“Just because someone is being a douche doesn’t give you the right to bite them.”

“Yeah, well she shouldn’t have been a bitch,”he retorts with a chuckle.

With a huff I take off, lengthening my stride enough to put distance between us as I make my way to the headmaster’s office. I can hear Kevin’s scales moving across the floor as he tries his hardest to keep up with me, and I pick up my pace when Mr Skullmyer’s door comes into view. With a swift knock, I don’t bother to wait for an invitation, I push the door open, step inside, and close it in Kevin’s face.

“Good to see you up and about,” Mr Skullmyer says.

I turn to face him, trying my hardest to keep my features stoic. I can hear Kevin cussing me out from the other side of the door. I have to block him out because I will end up laughing at the tantrum he’s having.

“You wanted to see me, Sir?” I say, making my way further into his office. He extends his hand to motion me to sit in the red leather chair in front of his desk. I drop down ungraciously in the seat and slouch down onto my tailbone.

“How are you feeling after the healing potion?” he asks, his fingers threaded together in front of his face as he rests his elbows on the desk.

“I feel good, I can’t believe the potion cleared me of everything,” I answer honestly. “But how did Rowena manage it, when my aunt has struggled a little with healing potions in the past?”

“Rowena is a hybrid, she is half Fae and a Witch,” he says, leaning back in his own chair, the leather creaking under his movements. “She has somewhat more of an affinity for healing than your average Witch.”

“That makes sense, I feel like I’m wired,” I say with a chuckle. “My body feels like my blood is buzzing in my veins.”

There’s a knock on the door, and Mr Skullmyer’s face drops as he looks between me and the door. I can see him shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Who is that?” I ask, sitting up fully. Seeing how unnerved he is I lean forward and rest my forearms on my knees. “What’s happening?”

“I’m so sorry, my dear, I thought I would have enough time to explain this to you,” he says with a harsh breath. “But it seems your aunt has other ideas.”

“What?” I whisper, my heart racing in my chest when there’s another knock on the door. This one a touch more forceful than the last, and I swing my gaze left and right, not moving my head to see if I can spot Kevin in the room. But he isn’t here, so he’s either gone back to the house or he’s out in the hallway.

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