Page 13 of Cruel Destinies

I cocked my head. “You didn’t fail. Like you said, you can’t always control everything. Mean girls will go out of their way to be mean. That’s not your fault.”

She looked down, the sad frown looking out of place on her pretty and usually confident face. “It’s not just that. I failed in training you. I delegated the task to Letti because I didn’t truly believe you were the girl from my vision. I decided to keep looking when I should have been doing my best to prepare you. Because of my failure, we almost lost you to Hadrian.”

I could almost feel the guilt emanating from her like an infectious fog.

“That wasn’t your fault, either,” I insisted. “It was my fault for being out after dark. We should’ve been back hours before curfew. We were foolish. As for Letti, I’m glad you pushed us together. We…bonded.” I smiled as I thought of my frenemy.

Celeste attempted a smile, which I could tell was forced. “Yes. Well, you should get to dinner. You’ll need to take extra good care of your health now.”

I nodded, hearing the period in our conversation loud and clear. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow.”

I watched her walk away, wishing there wasn’t this strange tension between us. She felt that she had failed me, but I had failed her multiple times, and I was afraid I would fail her again—fail everyone. They all expected me to become some great savior of our kind. How could anyone live up to that? But what choice did I have?

Chapter 6

Caesar

“And then the whole contraption exploded in Sora’s face,” Kai said, tears streaming from his dark eyes from laughing so much. My Japanese-American friend was sitting in my office, the two of us enjoying dinner together after another long day of classes. “When the smoke cleared, that poor student was staring atanothermelted project.”

I couldn’t help but laugh along with my oldest friend. “And you’re positive Sora Ito is a kitsune?”

“Oh yes,” Kai replied, wiping his wet cheeks with one of his long sleeves. “The boy can transform so eloquently. But when it comes to electricity manipulation? Let’s just say he controls currents about as well as he controls his tongue after attempting to channel electricity.”

Smiling and shaking my head, I asked, “Was the boy hurt?”

“He singed his fingers a bit, but nothing he isn’t used to,” Kai replied. “I sent Sora to see Maya—against his will, mind you. Maya has been stern with him regarding the frequency of his visits.”

“Poor kid,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m sure Maya gives him an earful.”

I took a bite of my buttered roll, then pointed it at Kai. Between chewing, I said, “I’m jealous you see such action in your engineering classes. It seems there’s never a dull moment. All I get in Shifter History lectures are a bunch of glazed eyes and wide yawns.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, then,” Kai said with a wink, taking a mouthful of rice. “You’re such a bore, Mr. Rex.” The kitsune teacher tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and fake-snored, then began coughing as he choked on the food he hadn’t quite swallowed yet.

I shook my head, laughing bitterly at his sadly accurate portrayal of many of my students. “Serves you right. Besides, history isn’t about fun and games. Especially shifter history.”

My mind wandered into the past, remembering the dark days I’d endured before, during, and after The Island had been destroyed. How too many loved ones had died from vampire brutality.

Kai guzzled some water, coughed a few more times, then dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “Try making math fun.” He cleared his throat. “‘Students, the quadratic formula is like a thirsty vampire.’ You’d think that kind of analogy would bring excitement into the classroom. But these kids... It’s like theyknowthey’re being tricked into learning their ‘rithmetic.”

I pointed my lettuce-loaded fork at Kai. “I know I’m going to regret this, but how exactly is a thirsty vampire like using the quadratic formula?”

“Well, if you ask the students, they’ll tell you that they both suck,” Kai said with a sly grin.

Rolling my eyes, I slipped the leafy greens into my mouth and shook my head. “You know, I think people with your kind of humor should have their jokes regulated. There’s only so much dryness normal people can take.”

Kai shrugged. “Perhaps for merfolk. But us? Wethrivewith dryness.”

“Okay, Kai, you’ve made your point.”

“Oh, I don’t think I have!” Kai stabbed his stir fry with his fork. “Tell me, when was the last time you laughed at a wet joke? Hmm?”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. What in the world is a wet joke?”

“Exactly my point.” Kai threw his napkin on his not-quite-empty plate, as if it indicated some finality to the argument.

Three sudden knocks came at the door of my office and not as timid little taps. I could tell by the solid pounding that someone with authority stood on the other side. Kai jumped a mile in his chair.

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