Page 26 of Entwined
The sheet covering me slides down, and I yank it back up protectively, pressing it to my chest with shaking hands, inhaling as a scream of agony shoots through me. My focus is wholly on him and the almost imperceptible upturn to his mouth—too small to even be called a smile.
“Connor’s gone to get some food,” he says quietly, never shifting his eyes from me.
There are so many questions running through my head, but I stuff them all back, too afraid of the answers.
“I s-should go,” I say falteringly.
He lifts one dark brow.
“I need—I have things I need to do. An assignment,” I ramble. “For my human diplomacy class.”
He makes a low sound of amusement, his eyes flashing. “Diplomacy,” he repeats. “Guess that was Frederick’s choice for you.”
It feels like he’s judging me, and I bristle. “I choose my own courses.”
“Do you?” he drawls, golden eyes glinting.
I twist my fingers in the sheet, all too aware of the fact that I am sitting here,naked, discussing my life choices and the power my grandfather may or may not hold over my life. I look away from Vaelor, searching for my clothes, but they’re nowhere to be seen.
“Can you, um, get me a shirt? Pants?” I try to infusepoliteness into my tone, but he doesn’t move, his mouth twitching down. “I need to use the bathroom,” I add.
Vaelor blows out a breath, standing up and heading over to the closet, rustling around inside. He comes out with a pile of clothing in his hands, setting it on the bed—a black cotton shirt and light gray sweats. The warlock eyes me, a furrow in his brow like he wants to say something, but he shakes it off.
“I’m gonna go find Con.” He tips his head to a closed door. “Bathroom’s through there. I’ll be right back.” The wordsdon’t leavego unsaid, but seem louder than anything else.
I wait until the door shuts behind him, trepidation sliding down my spine, and then I’m throwing myself off the bed, quickly getting dressed.
White-hot pain steals my breath when I lift my arms to pull the shirt on. I’m not brave enough to look, biting back a whimper with sheer determination. There’s a chant blasting through my head—get out get out get out—and I don’t waste a second, heading for the door. I open it cautiously, sticking my head out and finding Vaelor standing at one end of the hallway, near the elevator. He’s talking into his phone, a dark scowl pulling at his mouth. I don’t linger, slipping out the door and heading in the opposite direction at a fast clip.
My heart races, my stomach tight with anxiety, expecting to hear a shout or footsteps when he comes after me. But when I round the far corner, there’s only blissful silence.
I don’t stop moving until I’m locked safely in my dorm room, pressing my back against the door and trying to calm my labored breathing.
Memories are slowly trickling back in, but they feeldisconnected, leaving me wondering how much of it is my imagination.
Maybe it was an alcohol-induced dream?
A hallucination?
Maybe I have a brain tumor.
A knock at the door has me yelping in fright, even as Florence calls, “Felicity?”
Swallowing hard, I straighten, pulling my shoulders back and pretending I’m not wearing Vaelor’s too-big clothes. I turn to pull the door open, giving her a weak smile. “Hey.”
She doesn’t smile back, her eyes trailing over me. “You disappeared,” Florence says after a moment.
I cross my arms over my chest, shifting from foot to foot. “Yeah.” I laugh nervously. “Sorry, I just…” I’m not sure what to say, but she’s already talking over me.
“You’re an adult, right? I figured you could take care of yourself.” She flattens her mouth into a line. “But when you didn’t show up to your classes on Monday, people were talking, saying they’d seen you being carried through the forest. The rumor is that you were unconscious.” Her ponytail flicks from side to side when she shakes her head. “I came by, looking for you, but you never answered the door. I was really worried, Felicity.”
My mouth opens and closes, shock stealing my breath. “Monday?” I whisper. “What do you mean,Monday?” She stares at me, nonplussed. “It’s Sunday, right? The party was last night?”
“Girl, no.” Florence steps forward, pressing her hand to my arm. “It’s Tuesday.”
Florence stays for over an hour, talking me through the rest of the party and what happened. She’s trying to jog my memory, but there is no way I can tell her that I woke up intheirdorm room, with Vaelor watching me while I slept. And I can’t tell her that every time I move, I feel a telling ache between my thighs or the pain on my chest that seems to be growing worse the longer we sit here.
So, when Florence asks me what happened, I tell her I came down with something—a stomach flu—and dipped out of the party to go back to my room to sleep it off. Florence doesn’t look like she believes me, but lets me change the subject easily enough. She tells me that Ada disappeared on her too—something about her stepbrother chasing her off. Normally, I would have more questions aboutthat, but I am still too shocked that I’ve lost three goddamn days.