Page 26 of Wicked Chains (Serpentine Academy #2)

Twenty-Four

Rose

White flakes drift past my window silently, the first snow of the season transforming the academy overnight.

Even Serpentine Academy, with all its darkness and secrets, looks almost innocent under fresh snow.

Almost. I press my hand to the cold glass, watching my breath fog the pane.

It's beautiful in the most ironic way, like finding a tree with perfect red apples growing in a graveyard.

"First snow," Drake says from behind me. "I used to love the first snow when I was alive."

I turn to find him lounging on my bed, arms crossed behind his head. Yesterday’s activities seem to have relaxed him somehow. The thought makes my face feel hot.

"It makes even this place look kind of magical," I admit.

"The snow covers a lot of sins." Drake sits up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Hides all the ugliness for a while."

I'm about to join him back on the bed when his gaze shifts, focusing on something behind me.

"Nice coat," he says, a knowing smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

I follow his line of sight to where Lucien's black wool overcoat hangs draped over the back of my desk chair. My stomach does a weird little flip at the reminder of how it got there, Lucien draping it around my shoulders, his concern about me, his fingers lingering too long.

"It's not mine," I say. Duh, Rose .

Drake's smirk widens. "Obviously. It’s Italian wool and a man’s."

I cross my arms. "Lucien lent it to me. I was cold."

Drake stands, moving toward the coat. His fingers hover over the fabric without touching it. "You should return it to him today."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." His eyes meet mine, a challenge in them. "And because I think you want to see him."

I scoff. "I don't want to see Lucien."

"I don’t think that’s true.” He glides his hand down my back. “And I am certain Lucien would like to see you, too.”

“How do you know that?” I watch his face, carefully.

"One advantage of being a ghost, I can watch people when they think no one's around to see."

“Normally that’s called spying.”

He shrugs, unapologetic. "What else am I going to do for entertainment?"

"So you've been watching Lucien?" The thought makes me uncomfortable, though I'm not sure why. It's not like I care what Lucien does in his private time.

Except maybe I do, just a little.

"I've been watching everyone," Drake clarifies. "You learn a lot that way. Things people don't want you to know." He pauses, giving me a look I can't quite decipher. "Things I think you deserve to know."

"Like what?" I ask, suddenly wary.

Drake runs a hand through his hair, choosing his words carefully. "Like the fact that Lucien de Lacroix is nothing if not bound by his own version of morality. His code might not look like yours or mine, but it's rigid, inflexible. Part of that code is his sense of duty and loyalty."

"So he's a rigid, inflexible asshole. Tell me something I don't know."

"I'm telling you that for him to turn against the Crescent Moon Coven, after centuries of service..." Drake gives me a pointed look. "He must have felt very strongly about something. Or someone."

The implication hangs in the air between us. I turn back to the window, watching the snow pile up on the grass and the walkways.

"I don't know what you're getting at," I say, feigning ignorance.

"Yes, you do."

"He's self-serving," I argue. "He probably just saw which way the wind was blowing and jumped ship before it went down. Survival instinct."

"Maybe." Drake doesn't sound convinced. "But I've been watching him for a century, Rose.

I've seen him follow Victoria Wickersly's orders without hesitation, even when they went against his personal interests.

I've seen him enforce rules he privately disagreed with.

I've seen him sacrifice his own desires for what he believed was his duty. "

"So why switch sides now?" I ask, more to myself than to Drake.

"What changed?" Drake counters, voice gentle. "Or more accurately, who came along that was worth risking everything for?"

I whirl around to face him. "Stop. I'm not—it's not like that. Lucien doesn't—" I can't even finish the sentence, because I'm not sure what I want to say. Doesn't care about me? Doesn't think about me? I know both would be lies after that kiss by the willow tree.

"Doesn't what, Rose?" Drake prompts.

"He's playing the long game," I say instead. "He's got some angle, and he's using me to get it."

"Is that what you really believe?"

"It makes more sense than the alternative."

"Which is?"

"That he actually..." I trail off, unable to say it out loud. "Look, I don't trust him. He's a vampire who's lived for centuries. He's been the Coven's enforcer. Why are you defending him?" I demand. "I thought you couldn't stand him."

"I can't," Drake admits with a wry smile.

"He's arrogant, condescending, and has a superiority complex the size of Manhattan.

But that doesn't mean I don't understand him.

" He pauses. "We've both lived a long time in this place, watching things we can't change, hands tied by forces beyond our control. "

I shake my head, frustrated. "Even if what you're saying is true, why would he risk everything for me? He barely knows me."

"Sometimes it doesn't take much," Drake says. "Just a spark. I felt it the first time I saw you."

My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. Drake's eyes are so earnest, so open, that I have to look away. It's easier to be angry than to deal with whatever this feeling is.

"So what, you want me to go thank him for his noble sacrifice?" I snort. "Pass."

"I want you to return his coat," Drake says simply. "What happens after that is up to you."

"Is this your way of pushing me toward him? Because that's weird, even for a ghost."

Drake's laugh is hollow. "I'm not pushing you toward anyone. I told you before, you're not mine to keep, Rose. Not really." His expression darkens slightly. "And I'm not always going to be here to protect you."

There it is again, that hint that something's wrong, something he's not telling me. "Drake."

"Go return the coat," he interrupts. "Talk to him."

"He's still working with Ash now, and Ash is a monster."

"People do complicated things for simple reasons sometimes," Drake says, moving closer, hands coming up to frame my face. "And sometimes, they do simple things for complicated reasons."

"That's confusing and unhelpful," I grumble.

His mouth tips into a smile. "Being confusing and unhelpful is in the ghost handbook. Right after 'how to rattle chains' and 'haunting 101.'"

Despite myself, I laugh. It breaks the tension, and Drake's smile widens in response. His thumb brushes over my bottom lip, and just like that, the mood shifts.

"If you're trying to distract me..." I start.

"Is it working?" he asks, leaning in.

"Maybe."

His lips find mine. The kiss deepens quickly, his tongue sliding against mine, making my toes curl. For a ghost, Drake sure knows how to make me feel like I'm the one who's not quite real, like I might float away if he wasn't holding me here.

When he pulls back, his eyes are intense. "Go," he says. "Return the coat."

"Now?" I'm breathless, unwilling to leave his arms.

"Now," he confirms, giving me a gentle push.

I glance back at the coat, then at Drake. "You really think he switched sides because of me?"

"I think," Drake says carefully, "that you need to figure that out for yourself."

I pull away reluctantly, grabbing the coat from the chair. It's heavy in my hands, still carrying the faint scent of mint and vetiver that I've come to associate with Lucien.

"Fine, I'll return it," I say, heading for the door. "But don't expect me to come back with some grand revelation about his secret feelings."

"I expect you to come back with the truth," Drake says. "Whatever that turns out to be."

I pause at the door, looking back at him. "And what if the truth is that he's just using me like everyone else? Present company excepted, of course." I wink at him.

An odd expression flickers across Drake’s face, but it’s gone as fast as I notice it. “Rose?”

“Yes, Drake?”

“I love you.”

My mouth drops open and my eyes widen, and I feel like all the air has been knocked out of me. I don’t move. “Drake?”

“Yes, Rose?”

“I love you, too.”

We stand there, staring at each other. Then Drake smiles, and waves his hand, shooing me out the door.

Sending me to Lucien.