Page 60 of Savage Elites

My brows drew together. Perhaps now, I’d find out what was wrong.

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair. “Leo thinks Miss Claymore is trying to kill you.”

I shook my head. This had to be some wild speculation brought on by their hatred of the woman. “She has no reason to—”

“She thinks she’s in love.” Sebastian dipped his head. “With me.”

“The woman is obsessed,” added Leopold.

I shook my head Neither of them appeared to be joking, but the idea of Miss Claymore wanting a student was ludicrous. I glanced up at Prakash, the least likely of the kings to fall prey to such crazy speculations. His features were solemn, and he gave me a confirming nod.

“Why?” I blurted.

Sebastian’s head snapped up, and my stomach flipped like a crepe as I realized how much incredulity I’d injected into the word. It was as though I thought no one could ever find Sebastian attractive, but that wasn’t what I had meant.

Heat bloomed across my cheeks, and I stuttered out an explanation. “I mean… You’re gorgeous and everything, but she can’t stand you. Miss Claymore is always telling you off for—”

“Consorting with you,” Sebastian said with a sigh.

Narrowing my eyes, I thought back. Most of the times I’d seen her reprimand him, it had been because she’d seen Sebastian try to get close to me. But hadn’t that been part of her attempts to stamp out bullying?

Cormac had also firmly believed that Sebastian was sexually harassing me. I just assumed he had reported his concerns to Miss Claymore, who had acted accordingly.

“I still don’t understand why a grown woman would think she had a chance with a seventeen-year-old.”

Sebastian wrapped his large, warm hands around mine. “You’ve got to understand my mental state at the time. I’d just lost my whole family, and my grandfather was still recovering from a heart attack.”

A frantic pulse beat in my dry throat. This additional detail was even more confusing. The plane crash had taken place when Sebastian had been twelve or thirteen. Swallowing hard, I gave him a sharp nod, even though I still couldn’t piece together how Miss Claymore might have fallen for a grieving child.

“I returned to school a complete wreck, desperate to get control over my emotions. Grief counseling wasn’t working, and neither was lashing out in classes. Miss Claymore tried her best to make allowances, but I was disruptive and ended up in detentions.”

“She seduced you?”

Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut. “I played the pull-a-pig game on her.”

I shot to my feet, and the blankets pooled onto the sofa. “What?”

“There’s no excuse,” said Sebastian. “I screwed her over and broke her heart, but I never knew she would ever turn her anger onto you.”

Leopold crossed the room and took my hand. “On that Monday you don’t remember, Claymore pinned him to the bed and tried to force herself on him.

“You walked in on us,” Sebastian rasped.

My throat closed up. “S-she saw me?”

Sebastian nodded.

“That’s why I think she put you in that car,” said Leopold. “To remove you from the equation and to stop you from reporting her to Mrs. Benazir. Or to the police.”

My knees weakened, and I collapsed back onto the sofa. Leopold’s hostility toward Sebastian now made sense, as did Miss Claymore’s strange reactions. She had been twitchy on my first day back, only relaxing after discovering that I’d lost my memory.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered.

“I didn’t believe she could be capable of something so horrific,” said Sebastian.

I rested my clenched fists onto my lap and squeezed my eyes shut. Miss Claymore had been my enemy all along. One who had posed as my ally to get close enough to do maximum damage.

“She needs to know that I’m not falling victim to her anymore,” I snarled.