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Summer

“ S ummer! Dad is here!” Alice shouts from downstairs.

I kiss Connor again. “Will you go tell him I’ll be right down? I’m just finishing up.” Connor nods and kisses me again before disappearing downstairs to convey my message to the headmaster.

Suspecting that Connor is now the target makes it even more difficult to be away from him. I know he’ll be safe at home while the headmaster wears his face, yet I still long to be with him, to protect him from all harm.

I draw some red kohl on my water line, really selling the grieving look, and add a little powder beneath my eyes before I head downstairs. I’m back to wearing my heels thanks to the headmaster’s rune yesterday, and the pain in my ankle is nothing more than a twinge.

The view when I come downstairs is similar to the one yesterday. Connor is awkwardly sipping coffee, and the headmaster stands by the door, his arms crossed. Alice happily sits in the awkwardness, enjoying every moment of their discomfort.

“Ready?” the headmaster asks the moment he spots me.

“Yes, sir,” I say, grabbing an apple and kissing Connor as I pass. The headmaster fixes his glamour, causing Connor to grimace.

“Too fucking weird,” Connor grumbles.

Alice nods. “One bird brain is enough, thank you very much.”

My lips twitch, and I take the headmaster’s hand as we leave the house.

“Are you prepared for another day of this?” he asks.

I nod and take a bite of my apple. “Yesterday was a little easier, less staring and whispering.”

“I felt someone watching me while sitting in Mister Morningstar’s classes.”

I glance up at him, my shoulders tensing.

“I couldn’t find the source, but someone is watching.”

I nod. “How are you getting away with being absent so much?”

“I have my ways, Miss Tuatha De Daanan,” he says, throwing me a stern look.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics, and we morph into our characters as we get closer to the school. We stop for coffee as usual, and the headmaster walks me to my class. We’re in the building early, so the corridors are still fairly empty. Happy we don’t have to pretend for a few moments, I relax a little more when we turn the corner to find that no one is in the hall.

Hushed voices come toward us, and I shift closer to the headmaster, ready to pick up our pretense again. He tenses but wraps his arm around me, pulling me against him.

“You hear what happened to that bitch fanger?”

The voices become more clear as they get closer.

“Fuck, she got what was coming to her, disgusting leech.”

The headmaster tightens his arm around me, and then he turns, pushing me into an alcove and pressing his body to mine. We will still be visible here, but less so. He braces his arm on the wall at my head, concealing us even more. To an onlooker, we look like a young couple making out against the wall.

My chest heaves in fury as they near.

“You hear what Brett said about it?” the first voice says as they get closer.

The other laughs. “Yeah, that guy’s a freak.”

My eyes widen, and I look up into the headmaster’s eyes, no longer Connor’s soft blue. He presses his body against mine, so close he is nearly crushing me against the wall as they pass. I can’t fucking breathe. What did Brett say? I thought he was my friend. Could he have been part of this?

“At least we know our pack is safe from the psycho…” The voices trail off as they get further away again.

The headmaster slams his fist against the wall so hard that it shakes behind me. He then closes his eyes, takes a breath, and corrects the glamor before moving away from me. I don’t move, my back still pressed to the wall and shaking with rage.

He takes my hand and pulls me against him as we start walking. He drops his voice to barely a whisper, sounding more dangerous than I’ve ever heard him. “I’ll speak with Gideon.” I glance up at him in a silent question, and he replies, “He’s extremely integrated with the shifters.”

I nod, and we continue toward my class, Brett’s possible betrayal sitting heavily on my shoulders. The headmaster squeezes my arm as we arrive, and when I’m safely inside my classroom, he hurries away.

Once again, I can barely concentrate on my lesson. Instead, I doodle in my notebook, trying to create a few strong defensive runes. I succeed, but I’m not sure any of them will work.

I consider the three M’ s, murder, malevolence, and malice. I tilt my head, studying my doodles. What if I am able to harness one or all of them? A rune starts taking shape in my mind. It’s sharp, beautiful, terrifying, and devastating.

“Miss Tuatha De Daanan?” Professor Ambrose pulls me from my thoughts.

My head snaps up at the sound of my name, and I shift in my seat, seeing the entire class has turned to look at me. “Yes?”

“I think you need a moment to freshen up.”

I frown, and only then do I realize I’ve been crying. The tears come in silence, leaving large wet splotches on my paper, and I can feel the prickle of tears on my cheeks. I wipe my face on my sleeve and close my notebook before standing and grabbing my bag. Out in the corridor, I lean against the wall.

“What the fuck was that?” I whisper into the void.

I close my eyes and wrap my arms around myself, feeling another tear fall. Something brushes past me, and I freeze. It feels like a breeze, but I already know it’s not the stranger. I swallow, trying not to react, but then I feel that gaze on me. That awful, dark gaze I’ve not felt for months is suddenly back.

I take a deep breath and open my eyes before pushing off the wall. I walk down the corridor toward the bathroom. My skin prickles and heats where their gaze is locked on me, and I can feel them following me. Deciding it’s not a good idea to go into a room with only one way in or out, I adjust my course and head toward Connor’s class. My heart thunders as I walk, but I keep a normal pace, trying not to seem panicked or worried.

There’s a dark rumble of laughter from behind me, and the sound sends a terrified shiver down my spine. They seem to speed up, so I walk a little faster, whimpering as fear tingles through my extremities. I push into a run, and it matches my pace, chasing me through the corridors. They laugh again, this one even more maniacal than the last.

I burst into Connor’s class, my chest burning as I gulp down the air. The headmaster as Connor stands the second he sees me. He hurries to me and cups my cheeks. I shake my head, so overwhelmed with fear I can’t even talk.

“Excuse me, Professor Berkley,” he says without looking away from me.

The headmaster leads me from the class and back out into the corridor. I look around frantically, but I can’t feel them anymore.

“The headmaster. I need to see the headmaster,” I say, unsure if we’re still being watched.

He searches my eyes and then nods. Sliding his hand into mine, we walk to the headmaster’s office. He drops the glamour the second we’re in the safety of his office. It’s obviously heavily runed and locked down tighter than a fortress.

“Tell me,” he says, looking down at me. His silver gaze is so intense that it helps clear the fog of fear enough that I can think clearly.

“S-someone was following me.”

“Where?”

“I left class because I was crying, and I felt something brush against me, then I felt…” I swallow and try to find my voice again. “Those eyes on me.” I shake my head. “So I walked to the bathroom, and they followed me, so I came to get you.”

“Wait here,” he growls, and a portal appears. Through the darkness, I see the door to my last class. The headmaster steps through, and it snaps closed behind him. Less than a second later, he appears again. “Nothing,” he says, standing with his hands on his hips, studying me. “Can you show me?” he asks.

It takes me a moment before I realize what he means. He wants to look through my memories. I feel the blood drain from my face, but I need to do this. I need to protect my family. My stomach twists at the upcoming invasion into my memories, but I nod.

The headmaster places two fingers on each of my temples. He looks down at me and says, “Close your eyes and focus on that memory.”

I wrap my fingers around his thick wrists to ground myself and close my eyes, making sure the memory starts when I’m leaving class. He can’t see that rune. I don’t want anyone to see it ever. I concentrate on the feeling but try to skim over the moment I thought of the stranger. Why the fuck am I still protecting him?

Though I can feel the headmaster probing, it’s not painful or uncomfortable, and I can tell he’s limiting himself to that particular memory. I’m very aware that he could easily comb through my mind, seeing absolutely everything and leaving me nothing but a husk. It seems like hours pass, but it’s only a few moments before he slips out of my mind.

Suddenly, my whole body starts to shake, and the tears come. The headmaster conjures a blanket and wraps it around me before leading me to the sofa.

“You’re going into shock,” he says, pulling the blanket tighter around me. “I need you to focus on my voice.” My whole body shakes and trembles as the adrenaline continues to course through me. Not only was the experience terrifying and horrible, but I just had to live through it a second time as he replayed the memory. The trauma of it seems to have opened the floodgates, and all the fear and pain from the last week surges through me. The headmaster kneels in front of me and grabs my arms. He squeezes gently, his silver eyes on mine. “Say your name.”

“S-s-s-summer…”

He nods. “Again.”

“S-s-s-summer.”

He nods again, keeping his gaze on me. “Who are you?”

“S-summer,” I say, the stammer improving.

He tightens his hands on me, the pain grounding me. “Say your name.”

“S-summer Tuatha D-de Daanan.” The shaking eases.

“One more time.”

“Summer Tuatha De Daanan,” I say, my tears continuing to fall. He nods, and I close my eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“For?”

I shake my head. “I want to go home.”

He nods and stands up, helping me to my feet. I slip the blanket off my shoulders and lay it over the back of the couch. He fixes the glamour, and we leave his office. Connor wraps his arm around my back as he walks me through the corridors and out onto campus.

“What’s the matter?” he asks as we walk through the quad.

Unease settles heavily on my shoulders, and I can’t quite explain why. “I just want to get home.”

We walk faster, and when we arrive back at the Morningstar House, the headmaster comes in with me. He drops his glamour when the door closes and follows me to the couch, sitting down next to me.

“Miss Tuatha De Daanan?”

I lean my head back against the couch. “I’m okay. Just tired,” I say, exhaustion sinking deep into my bones.

“I understand. It’s wearing having someone walk through your memories.” The headmaster stands up and takes a couple of steps toward the stairs. “Mister Morningstar,” he says, raising his voice a little. Connor appears a moment later, coming down the stairs. He looks at me and frowns.

“You guys are back early.”

I look up at Connor, smiling softly.

Connor walks to the couch and sits beside me, cupping my cheek. “Babe?”

The headmaster opens a portal, and I meet his gaze. I can see the same unease in his eyes that is roiling through me, but neither of us voices it. He nods once before stepping into the portal. I wait for it to slam shut before I smile up at Connor and lean into his hand.