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Summer

T he next week of the break seems to blur past, and I spend most of it trying to come to terms with the trauma I faced before Yule. Every single night, I go back to the forest. I see her sitting against that tree, and she’s in a different state of decay every time. When I’m alone, I can still feel the phantom trickle of her blood as it slides down my legs, and how heavy it made my yoga pants.

Alice has done her best to distract me, but she has her own demons, especially when in Dr?culea. There are moments of silence when fear sinks its claws into us. The insular feeling of pain isolates both of us until one of us is able to quell it enough to reach out to the other. I was reluctant to leave Alice to go to Connor’s birthday celebration, but I had promised him, so Alice spent the day at Avalon, which didn’t alleviate my fears even slightly.

Even though I am afraid, I’m excited for the term to start again and fall back into a schedule. When did this campus become my home, and why do I feel like it’s slowly being taken from me?

Summer Tuatha De Daanan, destined to be hunted, destined to run.

“I need a bigger closet,” I say, shoving clothes to the side.

Alice pulls her attention from her phone and looks up at me from where she is lounging on my bed. “I could use a spacial rune,” she says hopefully.

I glare at her. “No.”

“I’ve gotten better!”

“No.”

Alice sighs, looking back at her phone with a pout.

“So, Con and I are going to dinner tonight. What should I wear?” I hold a dress up against me and stand in front of the full-length mirror.

“I thought you bought that fancy lingerie for him?” Alice asks, looking up to check my reflection in the mirror.

“I did, but we’re going to dinner first.”

Alice slips off the bed and goes to my overstuffed closet, quickly rifling through the hangers. She pulls out an incredibly short maroon skater dress. “Wear this.”

I undress and pull on the little dress, looking at myself in the mirror. It truly is very short, but I like it a lot. Given the temperature, I will definitely have to wear stockings, but luckily, the lingerie set I bought has a garter belt. I grab the stockings and wander into the bathroom to slip into the lingerie I bought to wear for Connor. Alice helps me fasten the back garter clips when I rejoin her in the bedroom.

“Well?” I ask when she’s done, spinning to give her the full effect.

“He’ll cum in his pants.” Alice chuckles.

I laugh and sit beside her on the bed to pull on my boots.

“You going back to the Italian place?”

I nod, zipping the first boot.

“You going to fuck in the bathroom?” she asks, smirking like an asshole while scrolling through her phone.

“You know I don’t ever plan to fuck in the bathroom.”

“You’re such a liar.” Alice snickers. “Oh, looks like the headmaster is back on campus.”

I zip the other boot. “Oh?”

“Someone just posted a photo of him on EverydayEmrys .” Alice tilts her phone toward me, showing me the photograph of Headmaster Emrys. He’s walking alone through campus, wearing a dark sweater and dark jeans. It’s the most casual I’ve ever seen him, but he looks tense. Perhaps the search for information about the murders is not going well.

“Do you think he knows there is a whole stalker page dedicated to him?”

Alice shrugs, continuing to scroll through socials. “I mean, if you’re that hot, it’s to be expected.”

I laugh and return to the mirror to finish putting my makeup on.

There is a knock at the door, and I check the time. “That must be Connor. He’s early.”

“Bet he couldn’t wait to get in here and be all gross and mushy with you. I’ll let him in,” Alice says, going to open the door for him. We had started locking the door when we were in the house, just for a little added security. Connor must have forgotten the key I gave him.

“Can I help you?” Alice’s muffled voice carries through the door, and I still at her tone.

“I was hoping to speak to Miss Tuatha De Daanan,” an unfamiliar male voice answers. I glance at my door and slowly make my way to it.

“Why?” Alice asks, and I can hear the hostility in her voice.

“Ah, you must be Miss Legosi,” he replies. I can hear the smile in his voice, but it’s not comforting.

“That’s Your Highness to you,” Alice hisses.

I open the bedroom door and walk to Alice’s side, taking in the man standing in our doorway. He is wearing a brown trench coat, and his pale green eyes settle on me. It’s not immediately apparent what species he is. He looks unassuming, but my instincts scream at me.

“It’s okay, Alice,” I say. I tap on her phone twice, trying to communicate with her silently that she should contact the headmaster.

Alice hisses at the visitor again before reluctantly trudging into her room.

“Miss Tuatha De Daanan. My name is Chief Investigator Thomas Aquino. You’ve been fairly difficult to keep track of over this holiday season.” He waits for a response, but there is nothing to say. “Do you have time for a quick chat?”

I step to the side, inviting him in.

The investigator sits in one of the armchairs and waits for me to settle on the sofa before saying, “I’m sure you know why I have asked to speak with you.” His stare is heavy, intense, and penetrating.

I lift my chin, still not speaking.

The inspector smiles weakly, but his eyes remain flat and cold. “Miss Tuatha De Daanan. We can do this the easy way or?—”

“You are not to interview my students without me present, Tom.” The headmaster storms into the dorm, his expression thunderous.

The inspector holds his bland smile. “Ah, Jim. I was wondering how long it would take you.”

The headmaster walks to the side of the couch and narrows his eyes at Thomas. “Clearly, Miss Tuatha De Daanan is on her way somewhere. Surely, this can wait.”

The inspector’s smile hardens. “This won’t take long, Jim. And Miss Tuatha De Daanan has nothing to hide.” He looks at me. “Isn’t that right?”

I blink, looking at him. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have anything to hide,” Thomas repeats, his gaze like a rash across my skin.

“No,” I answer, my voice hard. Though his words do not convey it, I can hear the accusation in them.

Thomas’s smile deepens. “Well then, Jim informed us that you found the newest victim, Alicia Tuatha De Daanan. It almost seems she was placed for you to find.”

Tension radiates from the headmaster. “That is a suspicion of yours, not mine.”

Thomas never drops his smile. “Ah yes, but it does seem odd to have you discover not just one, but two bodies.”

“I thought I was being questioned.”

“You are,” Thomas replies.

“You’ve yet to ask me a question,” I reply coldly.

Thomas laughs, and the sound is icy. “Right. Did you have any interaction with Lucia and Alicia prior to discovering their remains?”

I lift my chin. “I met Lucia once at a party.”

Thomas flips his notepad open and begins taking notes. “That’s a bit odd, is it not? To not be enclosed in your people?”

I shrug. “Whether it’s odd or not, it is my situation.”

Thomas’s pen scratches over the paper as he writes furiously. “We tried to pull a full history on you, Miss Tuatha De Daanan. We came up empty. That is also very odd.”

“Someone applied to Avalon on her behalf,” the headmaster replies tightly. “She had no contact with this realm prior to admission.”

I glance at the headmaster and then back again at Thomas. “Once again, Chief Investigator, I’m not hearing any questions. If you don’t have questions for me, I do have plans.”

He smiles at me again. “Was your foster family fae?”

My body tenses before I can stop it. I wasn’t expecting that question. I didn’t think anyone knew about them. Fuck, I barely know about them. They were barely a family to me.

“No,” I answer simply and more sharply than I mean to.

Thomas makes another note. “And you had no contact with any fae before arriving at Avalon, correct?”

I have to make a conscious choice not to react, not to betray my lie. “No,” I answer.

“And how would you describe your feelings toward other fae? You don’t seem to resemble them…” He looks me over, and once again, I feel my skin burn and itch in the wake of his gaze. “Friendly? Hostile?”

“Completely indifferent,” I grind out, though I try to keep myself as relaxed as possible.

Thomas raises a brow at me. “So you felt nothing seeing two fae killed?”

“That’s… I didn’t say that,” I stammer, caught off guard. “And that wasn’t your question.”

“You said you felt indifferent towards fae,” Thomas pushes on, and I feel the headmaster getting more irritated beside me. “The three bodies found have been fae.”

“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t just as affected by the murders as everyone else.”

Thomas watches me for another long moment before writing something else down and flipping through a few pages of his notebook. “Your boyfriend found the first body, correct? A Mister Connor Morningstar?”

I tense again at the mention of Connor. I want to keep him as far away from this as possible. “Correct.”

“It seems these murders are related to you,” he states, looking back up at me. “Have you had any unusual encounters?”

“Encounters?” I ask.

“Contact with someone you don’t know, perhaps.” Thomas pauses. “Strangers reaching out to you. Cryptic messages?”

“No.” The word slips out, and I don’t fucking know why I don’t tell them about the stranger. I’ve not heard from him in weeks. He left me, and he’s probably not even around anymore, so why shouldn’t I mention it now? What if it is helpful to the investigation? Why do I continue to protect him?

“You’re sure? Anything would help.”

“No strangers,” I say. Again, the words are almost compulsive, like a deep instinct.

Thomas watches me for a long moment before he nods and then stands up. “I’ll be in touch.”

The headmaster still has his arms crossed across his chest, his brows drawn. He follows Thomas to the door, nodding at me before he leaves, closing the door behind him.

I’m about to go to Alice’s room to debrief her when someone else knocks on the door. I open it to see Connor’s concerned face. “Babe?”

I smile at him, relaxing immediately. “Hi, big guy.”

“Why was the headmaster here?”

“Oh, I was just being questioned about the murders. I guess because I’m fae.” Connor looks even more concerned, and I know I desperately need to distract him. “Do you like my dress?” I ask, twirling for him.

Connor watches me, his eyes darkening. “Is this for me?”

I nod. “As is what’s underneath.”

Connor stalks toward me, and I back toward my room. “Well, then. Let’s skip dinner,” he growls, pouncing.