Page 81 of Dark Embers

“Hold on,” Brett said, making me shake my head because that was not an acceptable answer.

“Wait!” Niko hissed, making a breath catch in my lungs and Brett freeze with his finger hovering above the screen as we both turned to look at him.

Niko pressed his ear against the door frame, then his eyes widened. “Someone’s coming. Quick, hide!”

Wasting no time, he sprinted on tiptoes to the first row of theater-style seats and knelt behind it.

Before I could react, Brett quickly ducked under the desk, hogging all the space for himself and leaving me out in the open.

I had seconds to think as I heard the footsteps growing louder in the hallway beyond the door. Doing the only thing I could come up with, I burst into my dragon form and willed my scales to camouflage, turning fully invisible only seconds before the door opened.

A happily whistling Mr. Inari strolled in, heading for Caesar’s desk. I held my breath, not daring to so much as blink as hereached the polished wooden structure. I watched Brett slink backward to crawl behind the desk, skirting just out of Mr. Inari’s view as he began digging through the drawers.

Within minutes, he found whatever it was he was looking for, taking a stack of papers from a drawer and mercifully leaving the room. None of us let out a breath until his footsteps disappeared down the hall.

“Holy shit, that was close,” Brett gasped, pulling himself up against the back of the desk.

I shifted back, the shreds of my ruined shirt falling off my shoulders.

“That’s a nifty trick,” Brett commented, giving me a suspicious side-eye.

“You saw nothing,” I hissed in warning.

He put up his hands in disarmed and silent promise, then turned his attention back to the tablet.

“Hurry up,” I urged, coming around behind him.

“In!” Brett whisper-shouted suddenly. “Okay, are you ready, Tobias?”

“How’d you do it?” I asked, my brows jumping into my hairline.

“Katya Sayuri,” he replied as if that answered my question.

“The kitsune?” Niko asked as he emerged from his hiding place, sounding as confused as I felt.

“Yep,” Brett brushed his fingers on his shirt in a cocky gesture. “She has a crush on me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get this over with.”

Brett tapped several times on the tablet, then pointed at the button on the screen for me to push.

I cleared my throat, then tapped the button with my finger.

“Good afternoon, shifters!” I announced in an authoritative voice that I hardly recognized, channeling my inner dragon. “This is Tobias Dracul, and I have a very important announcement.”

I glanced at Brett, who tapped his watchless wrist, indicating that I needed to speak quickly because the time was ticking. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Niko move closer to the door to stand watch once more.

“The incident with Letti was unfortunate, and we are all upset thatanystudent had to go through something so horrible. But…” I paused for effect. “It has come to my attention that Arya Walker has been accused of involvement and, therefore, become the target of harassment and ostracism. Arya hasnothingto do with what happened.

“So I’m going to make something perfectly clear. Arya is now undermyprotection.Anyonewho so much as looks at her with hostility will answer to me. Shewillbe allowed to return to her room and be treated with the respect she deserves.” I leaned closer to the camera and narrowed my eyes. “I’m sure Celeste will make sure of that.”

I leaned back again and flashed my best princely smile. “Thank you for your time.”

I clicked the button to shut the transmission off, feeling very proud of my performance.

“Ha!” Brett barked a laugh, staring at his phone.

Niko and I looked at him expectantly.

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