Page 72 of Live To Tell

“If the academy discovers you’ve a powerful magical item in your possession again—one that you stole from an out of bounds room—there’d be consequences.” She tips her chin. “Such as expulsion.”

Leaning back in my chair, I cross my arms. “Why mention this now? We met in that room days ago, and you’ve told nobody.”

Her voice lowers and becomes urgent. “Leave Julius and his crazy crusade alone. His obsession is twisting his mind and ruining his life. I’ve spent months helping him move on because nothing he does will bring back Madison. Your little gang fueling his paranoia doesn’t help.”

“Paranoia? You know there’s more to his sister’s disappearance. The tiara she wore holds powerful magic—a curse, even.”

“Julius had calmed down, but seeing that tiara triggered him again,” she says stiffly. “As for ‘curses’, the Circle ward their items against human interference. Now your girlfriend wants to turn the situation into something sinister because she loves a good mystery to deflect attention from herself.”

I stare at the thin-lipped woman. “If you know about Julius’s ‘crazy crusade’ then you’ll know he has other evidence.”

“Diaries and video clips? I’ve seen some.” She shakes her head. “That’s a lot of information about Madison’s life, so why hasn’t he found anything yet?”

Because he never had the photo of the guy who’s the missing link.

Julius hasn’t told her.

“Leave the poor man alone,” she continues.

“Seems suspicious that you’re telling us to stop investigating.”

“I care about him,” she says tersely. “Stop this or I’ll inform Mrs. Lorcan about the rules you broke.”

“Report me. I don’t care,” I challenge.

“You want to leave Thornwood and never return?”

“For taking something that belongs to my family? Hardly a major crime.”

“Rowan. Your family’s aware how power-hungry you are and that the stone caused you trouble once before. The family name would come into disrepute if you’re out of control.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I retort. “I’m not intending to use the stone for illegal purposes.” Not anymore. Not now I’ve Violet.

“And what if somebody’s looking for an excuse to remove you from Thornwood?” she asks.

My head snaps back. “Who? You?”

“You’re a powerful witch bonded to Violet Blackwood.” I open my mouth to protest. “You’ve not told many people, but the staff know.”

“And what’s happening at the academy that’s threatened by my presence?” I arch a brow.

“Don’t cause trouble for yourself, Rowan.”

“Well, if there’s something dodgy happening inside the academy, there’s no way I’m returning that stone.” I close the laptop lid.

“Then don’t get distracted by tiaras and missing girls from thirty years ago.” Mrs. Eldridge takes the books and hugs them to her chest again before adding sternly, “Leave Julius alone.”

As she turns to leave, the librarian almost bumps into someone rounding the bookshelf towards us. Violet. The two pause to regard each other but neither speak before Mrs. Eldridge strides away, head high.

“Did she have new information?” asks Violet curtly and walks over.

“Not exactly. But I do.” I pat the chair beside me, and Violet sits. “How are you? What happened last night? You seemed worried when you messaged me.” I stroke hair from her face, using any excuse to touch and steal a kiss.

She rubs her lips together—better than wiping the kiss away like she once would’ve—and pauses. “Grayson happened.”

“Oh. Can you be more specific? Is he alright?”

“Josef and his associates assaulted Grayson. I found him and helped.” She sighs and side glances me. “The blood thing, Rowan. That’s definitely true.”

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