Academy of Beasts XXXII Read online

  Theo nodded. “What Ren said. You should have given us a location. You could have at least told Jasper. He would have kept it a secret, but at least if something had happened, one of us would know where the hell you were.”

  I totally agreed, but I kept the lock I’d put on my mouth shut.

  “I would have if I knew beforehand where I was going.”

  We all stared at him, shocked.

  “You mean, you let the Officials whisk you off to some unknown location. Are you fucking crazy?” Enrique shot from his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “You idiot. Since when are you that reckless. Leave that shit to me, will you?”

  Pursing my lips, I suppressed a smile. It was funny how Enrique and Dracus were always at odds. Yet, they showed time and again how much they cared about each other. Their love-hate relationship had its sweet moments.

  Dracus did nothing but lift a brow and smirk. “I’m glad you can admit that you are stupidly reckless.”

  Rolling his eyes, Enrique sat back down and proceeded to brood.

  Dracus sighed. “Now, if I may talk without further interruptions.” He gave us all a sharp glance. There were murmurs of agreement and he nodded. “Good. For the last couple of days, the Officials have been requesting meetings with me alone on the matter of Dante. I was suspicious at first because the entire Core Council is supposed to be on the hunt for the warlock. This morning, they… magically blinded me, you can say, and took me to some secret location. As it turns out, the group of Officials we usually meet with have been gathering in secret along with another small fraction of the organization they know they can trust.”

  We all exchanged confused glances.

  Dracus continued, “Remember our last meeting with them? How things went awry with us after?”

  “Yeah,” I snorted, forgetting my decision to remain quiet, “you guys wanted to tear each other to shreds.”

  “Yes, and we discovered that a spell had been woven to cause discord, thanks to you, Fiona.”

  Dracus’s gaze met mine and lingered for a moment. Then he looked away. Was it my imagination, or did I see regret in those brown orbs? I swallowed and shrugged. Yeah, I had seen one of the Officials weaving the spell with my powers after they’d left. “That’s when suspicion about the Officials came up.” Of course, we had to keep our suspicions to ourselves. None of us wanted the severe punishment we’d receive if we were wrong.

  “Well, we were right to be suspicious.”

  Theo, who had picked up his fork to jab at his steak, turned to Dracus. The utensil clattered to his plate. “Christ, are you saying we’re working for the bad guys?”

  “Calm down,” Dracus said, “We’re not. It was as we speculated. Dante did infiltrate the organization. The Officials discovered that not too long ago.”

  Silence fell over us like a thick cloak. My mind raced. No wonder it was so hard to find the bastard. He’d had people in the organizations like the Officials all along. “So, they’re essentially innocent? The Officials?”

  “Yes. They have the three individuals who infiltrated the organization in custody.”

  I let out a relieved breath. It was good to know the people we worked for weren’t shady.

  “Hopefully,” Dracus said, reaching for a pitcher of water, “our search for Dante will go much better since he won’t be receiving intel on our every movement.”

  “So, that’s it? That’s why you were requested to meet with the Officials alone?” Jasper asked.

  “No, that wasn’t the only reason.” He went on to reach for the platter of steak and paused when he noticed all of us staring at him. “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to tell us the rest?” Jasper lifted an inquiring brow.

  “Oh, right. Well, the rest has nothing to do with the council or any of you, so no, I’m not going to share.”

  “You have got to be kidding,” Enrique grumbled. He glanced at Theo and me. “Can you believe this guy?”

  Releasing a heavy sigh, Dracus said, “Look, I’d never keep anything that has to do with the council a secret. If something affects you guys, you’ll know about it, I promise. However, my personal business remains my personal business. Fair enough?”

  “So, you’ve got personal business going on with the Officials?” Jasper asked.

  “My personal business remains my personal business. Fair enough?” Dracus bit out through clenched teeth.

  “Fair enough.” I was the one to answer because the guys were all glaring at Dracus again. “Come on, you guys. If it’s something personal and has no effect on the Core Council or any of us, we don’t have a right to pry. I’m sure Dracus will share whenever he feels to… or not. Right, Dracus?”

  His gaze shifted to me to move over my face. I held my breath because I didn’t want to get too hopeful when I detected a shred of affection. “Right,” he said.

  With that, we proceeded to have dinner. There was no playful chatter coming from Theo and Enrique, no grunted responses from Ren, no reprimands from Dracus and no sly smirks from Jasper. It was quiet. Painfully quiet. What hurt more was that Dracus didn’t even look my way again. I sure missed the subtle, affectionate looks he used to give me. Suppressing a sigh, I wondered if I could put up with the tension between us for much longer. We needed a little space, perhaps. The idea of spending a little time away from the manor returned. It wouldn’t be permanent, and I was sure I could work around it for the nights I had council duties.

  Each time I lifted my hand to knock, I dropped it. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. My knuckles refused to touch the door. I was too nervous. What was I doing in front of Dracus’s office now, anyway? I could have waited another day or two to make my request. I was probably the last person he wanted to see.

  Just when I dropped my hand for the last time and was about to walk away, I heard, “I know you’re out there, Fiona. Come in.”

  I froze and stupidly stared at the door.

  “Fiona? Just come in. I know you’re there. I can hear you breathing.”

  Slapping my forehead, I reluctantly pushed the door open. Peeking around, I smiled. “Hey. Sorry to bother you.”

  “I’m not all that busy.” Dracus glanced at me with a hint of amusement. I was a little shocked that he didn’t look all that displeased to see me. “Feel free to come all the way in.”

  With a nervous giggle, I brought the rest of my body inside. “Right. Um… this won’t take long.” Lacing my fingers together, I studied him behind his desk. He was in his wing-backed chair with a bunch of paper in front of him. I was reminded that I had to ask him about us continuing our work together. Since Enrique flaked out on the job of helping Dracus with the administration stuff a while back, I had stepped in. Just about every Friday evening, I reported to his office to work. With Friday approaching and with our current precarious relationship, I wondered how that was going to go.

  Brows lifting, he asked, “What can I help you with?” His tone was cool and formal and it was disappointing.

  “I have two questions, actually.”

  “Have a seat.” He nodded to the chair in front of his desk, not the one right beside his chair. The one I usually occupied when I came in.

  Holding back my sigh of despair, I sat. “I was wondering…” I paused and pondered if I should ask how he was doing. It was killing me that I didn’t know that small detail. Was he okay? Was he still upset? Did he completely despise me? Although, that last question was ridiculous. As pissed as he was and as cold as he behaved, he didn’t really hate me. I felt it. Deciding to keep things as formal as he was, I continued, “This coming Friday, do I still come here to… work? You know,” I glanced at the massive amount of paperwork that involved the running of the manor and the council, “help you out.”

  He blinked. “I gave you the job, why wouldn’t you still be required to show up? Is it that you want to quit?”

  “No, not at all. I just thought you’d be uncomfortable.”

  “We have work to do. Surely,
we can be adults.”

  I stared, annoyed that he appeared so unbothered. I knew he wasn’t, really. “Of course.”

  “You mentioned two questions.”

  “I did. Has any council member ever lived away from the manor?”

  I was hit with that annoyingly cool stare. “Not that I know of. Although, probably not. The whole point of this manor is to provide the convenience of all members under the same roof. It’s much easier for us to operate especially when we need to gather quickly.”

  “Right, I understand that part but what if one member feels it’s best to take a little break from the house, and maybe say… live in the dorms for a little while?”

  He remained unreadable as his eyes moved over my face. Obviously, he knew I was the member. “That request has never been made before.”

  “But can it be done?”

  “It isn’t impossible. All students have the right to feel comfortable wherever they are.” His jaw clenched and he looked skyward. “Look, Fiona, you don’t have to―”

  I sucked in a breath when I felt the ground move from under my feet. “What the… Ah!” Landing on my feet, I fought a wave of nausea and looked around. I was definitely not in Dracus’s office anymore. The canopied trees, curved in weird shapes and the thick forest floor with huge tree trunks and leaves and smell of decomposing vegetation and soil told me where I was. Death Forest, at the witches’ favored meeting spot.

  “Come on guys,” I whined, “a little warning would have been nice.”

  “We’re sorry, Fiona.” The head witch appeared out of nowhere, making me jump and clutch my chest. She was decked out in her usual pristine white robe. Honestly, how did they keep their garments so white in the freaking forest?

  Her laughter made me lift a brow. “Your mind goes to the most random of places. You remind me so much of someone with your humor.” There was affection in her voice which left me to wonder who exactly I reminded her of.

  “Did you just read my thoughts?”

  “Not that I usually pry in anyone’s private thoughts but once you’re here, in this circle, nothing is hidden from us. It’s a measure of safety for us.”

  “Right, yeah, I get it.” It sure was a good thing I wasn’t thinking anything overly embarrassing like―

  Don’t even think of it, stupid. She’ll hear.

  The witch chuckled again and I frowned. It was so uncomfortable having her in my head. “Before I demand to know why you whisked me here without warning― totally rude, by the way― what’s your name?”

  She smiled, a serene curve of the lips that reminded me of the way Leia smiled… Leia’s ghost, anyway. I had to keep reminding myself that she was dead. “I’m called Agatha.”

  Of course, a real old-school witchy name if I ever heard one. Agatha giggled and I almost told her to stop reading my thoughts. “Agatha. It’s nice to have something to call you other than the head witch. So, where are the others?” Usually, I’d be surrounded by robed witches.

  “They’re close by. I have something to tell you. Again, I apologize for bringing you here without a warning. I got a little excited I guess.”

  I almost laughed out loud. So ancient, powerful witches acted rashly based on emotions sometimes too? That made me feel so much better about myself. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ve got a lead on Dante.”

  I gasped. “Great.”

  “And your group needs to act quickly. Tonight.”

  I nodded, eager to hear the news to bring back to the guys.

  “We’ve gotten word that Dante is meeting up with his followers tonight. In a village on the outskirts of his home town. We’ll transport you and your team there unnoticed.”

  “Okay, send me back. I need to tell everyone so we can―”

  I spiraled again, annoyance mixing with my nausea this time. “Damn it, stop doing that!” I shouted into space. Suddenly back in my seat in Dracus’s office, I glared up at the ceiling where I'd apparently dropped from. Agatha was awesome with the landing, though. Right back into my chair. “Impressive,” I murmured.

  “Fiona,” Dracus growled. I spun around to the door. “Dracus, what are you doing over there?”

  “I was on my way to get the others so we could figure out where you went.” He moved towards me with quick strides, his eyes swiping me from head to toe. “Are you alright? What happened? Where did you go?”

  “You were that worried?”

  His creased into confused lines. “We were talking and you vanished. That’s not exactly normal. Plus, we haven’t gotten to the bottom of your other disappearing incident. Of course, I was worried.”

  “Can we not call it my disappearing incident, please? I feel like enough of a freak already. We don’t need to start naming things.”

  Dracus huffed, his frown deepening.

  I smiled. “I’m glad you worried. I mean… that came out wrong. I just thought that since you’re still mad at me, you wouldn’t―”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Fiona. I care about the safety of all my teammates.”

  I was just his teammate now. Of course. “Right.” I clear my throat lightly, feeling heat fill my cheeks. I felt so foolish for getting my hope up. “No need to worry. It was the witches. It was urgent so I didn’t get any warning.”

  Scowl deepening, Dracus scrubbed a hand over his face. “The witches? They can’t just take you away anytime they want. That’s unacceptable. We don’t fully trust them. They can't do things like that without… I’ll have to have a little chat with them.”

  “What were you going to say? That they can’t whisk me away without your permission?” The way he fell silent and glared said it all. I snorted. “I hate to break it to you, Dracus, but I don’t need your permission to see people whom I trust. For the last time, the witches had nothing to do with what happened to me in Ren’s room.”

  “How can you be sure they’re trustworthy?”

  “My gut instinct, but that means nothing to you so you wouldn’t understand. Now, my relationship with the witches has nothing to do with you. It’s personal and you're just my teammate. Can I get on with delivering their message?”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw and his nostrils flared. Just as he refused to discuss the personal level of his relationship with the Officials with us because it had nothing to do with the council, the rest of us should have the same right. “What did they have to say?”

  “We should get the others.”

  Chapter 7

  “A meeting? With his followers? That’s great news!” Theo’s smile dropped. “Not that he’s meeting with his insane murderous friends, just that at least we know…” he waved a hand. “You guys know what I mean.”

  I smirked at him and shook my head, smiling harder when his cheeks took on the slightest tinge of pink.

  “The witches said they can get us there unnoticed. I’m guessing Dante is powerful and skilled enough to have magical feelers out or whatever.” Was I even making sense?

  “You're right,” Dracus confirmed. “He’ll know if we use magic to teleport there.”

  “The witches know how to cloak their magic,” Jasper explained. “We shifters who practice magic from time to time are nowhere near that level of experience.”

  I guess I made perfect sense. Again, I’d learned something new. “So, how are we doing this? Are we just going to crash the party and take everyone out?”

  “You’re so hot when you get bloodthirsty,” Enrique purred.

  I elbowed him in the side and he chuckled. Ren, sitting across from us, smirked at me as if agreeing with Enrique. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Out of all of us, they were the two that enjoyed violence a little too much. As evidenced by their ridiculous behavior with Radolf. I had yet to get an apology for them embarrassing me like that.

  “There is no we, Fiona,” Dracus announced.

  “What?”

  He sighed, his expression twisting into a scowl as he prepared himself for a fight. I scoffed. Good. I was glad
he knew I’d argue. “You’re at the top of his hit list.”

  “That’s just a rumor.” It was totally true. I knew and felt it. Dante had a different hate towards me that made no sense. I mean, I wasn’t the only one that helped to take him down the first time around. Yet, his rage against me was unlike he had for anyone else. You’d think I knew the man before he tried to kill us all and did him wrong or something. I frowned. I’d never really thought about why Dante despised me so much.

  “Sending you right into his clutches would be foolish,” Dracus said. “End of discussion.”

  “Uh, no. Why have you bothered to invest time and energy into my training, then? If I’m going to be sidelined every time. That’s what’s really foolish.”

  “You’ll be a part of every other fight. You are a part of a fight. There’s still the mysterious killer running amok in the villages. You’re sitting out the fight with Dante.”

  “Bull! I’m not going to sit back and do nothing. I’m already a part of it. The witches came to me first, after all. If it wasn’t for me, you and the Officials probably wouldn’t even know the evil bastard was on the loose.”

  “I’m sure we would have figured it out.”

  I snorted and crossed my arms defiantly. “Yeah after he killed half the shifter population.”

  Dracus seethed, his eyes narrowed and fixed on me. The rest of the guys had been looking from him to me while we argued. No one said a word. Maybe because they felt the tension rising and didn’t want to fuel the anger. I didn’t want to fight with Dracus either, especially since we were already at odds. But, no way was I going to sit this battle out. I had a personal interest in finding Dante.

  It was the surest way to ensure Demetrius’s freedom. It had already been established that I couldn't plead his case with Dracus or his mother. Not after the way Dracus had gone ballistic. Getting Dante to confess was my only chance. It was Demetrius’s only chance. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure why I felt so strongly about saving the man. Sure, I cared about people. Seeing an innocent person punished wasn’t something I wanted. But, there was something else to my determination for saving Demetrius. I felt like… I knew him. Talk about things that made no sense.