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“Oh, I… I wasn’t feeling well, so I came to get some rest.”
I didn’t mention Brodgan in the hallway. Whatever was going on between them was absolutely more than she had let on, but since I had secrets of my own, I let it go.
“Yeah, same. I’m gonna go crash.”
“Are you sure? We can talk if you want. I know tonight wasn’t exactly the fun night out we planned on.”
She had no clue how right she was. “I’m sure, I promise. You know, we can always talk about your stuff, too, if you want.” I raised a brow in challenge. She knew my personal life was in shambles, but how much was she willing to share about her own drama?
“Of course, that’s what friends are for.” She hiked a thumb toward her room with a forced smile. “I’m gonna head to bed. Have a good night.”
“You, too.” There was no point in pressing. I wasn’t about to share my truth, so I’d let her keep hers to herself, too.
The second the door clicked shut behind me, I turned the lock and leaned against the cool wood. I’d made it back without incident, and the safety and solitude of my room sapped some of the underlying panic from my bones.
It was tempting to just throw myself onto my bed and let sleep take me under, but I was still covered in grit and grime from being on the alleyway asphalt. With a look of longing toward my bed, I reluctantly trudged into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
As it warmed, I peeled off Kate’s dress and tossed it aside. I was truly looking forward to never wearing it again. My underwear and bra followed suit, and I eyed the pile of discarded clothes. There was no blood on them to indicate what I’d done, but the urge to burn them to ash still rode me hard.
A hiss escaped me as I stepped under the scalding spray, followed quickly by a sigh of pleasure as the hot water burned away the remnants of the cool night air that clung to my skin. That was a start, but not nearly enough.
I lathered up my washcloth and scrubbed my skin as hard as I could stand. Every single inch needed to be cleansed of the events of the night so I could leave it behind me for good. Then I could go on pretending like everything was normal. Like everything was just fine.
My flesh was rubbed raw and my damp hair was up in a bun as I dressed in a comfy pair of my black leggings and a loose t-shirt after the shower. A pang had hit me when I remembered I couldn’t pull on Dad’s old shirt to give me that sense of safety I so desperately needed. Finally about to answer the siren call of my bed, I was pulling back the covers when a thunderous banging on my bedroom door stopped my heart.
My heart restarted after a second, pounding like a jackhammer. My hands had gone clammy between one breath and the next.
“Just a sec.” I needed that sec. I needed several secs, actually, to get my breathing under control. Opening the door while I was hyperventilating was a guaranteed way to raise questions.
The hammering came again, more insistent this time. I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and threw the door open.
“Gods dammit, Puff! What the hell happened to you? Where were you?” Sam’s onslaught of questions came out in rapid fire that was too fast to answer, but my relief that he wasn’t Alvina was too thick to form words, anyway.
His hands came down on my shoulders, eyes roving over me in search of injuries, and my heart clenched in my chest. The worry radiating from his wild eyes touched me, and I almost forgot I was pissed at him.
Almost.
I grabbed his hands in a gentle but firm grip and pulled them off of me. “I’m alright.” I stepped back to put some much needed space between us. “Just tired.” I couldn’t stop my eyes from darting behind him into the living room, half expecting the headmistress to bust in any second to confront me about the murder of four mortals.
“Seriously, what the fuck? Where did you go? We were frantic, worried something had happened to you. You couldn’t even call any of us? The others are still out searching the city for any sign of you.”
“My phone was off. The others?”
“Darrio, Remy, and Varon. Remy thought he knew where you were, but he lost your trail before we got too close. Your other friends came back with me to see if you were here.”
One of those names caught me off guard. Why would Varon be looking for me? It wasn’t like he gave a damn about me, no matter the strange and unwanted attraction that always seemed to rise between us.
“What if someone had tried to grab you off the street?”
“I was with River.”
“Bullshit, she came back alone not too long after you guys went outside. You were wandering the city alone. At night. In that dress.”
“What does my dress have to do with it?” I knew he wasn’t saying my dress would have been cause for someone to accost me. If he was, we were about to have so many more problems than we already did.
“Men—and hell, some women—don’t know how to control themselves when they see a woman like you in a dress like that. That ass of yours, barely covered and begging to be touched? Those curvy hips, perfect to hold you in place while you’re being fucked senseless.”
I’d never heard him so angry, the passionate fire roaring through him visible in the burning blue of his eyes.
