Page 49 of Blood & Betrayals

I decide to forgo my heels and wander back to my dorm barefoot. I pull my phone out of my purse and scroll through my feed, clicking through the stories I’ve posted over the past twenty-four hours. As I’m tapping through them, I notice an icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. I frown, looking down at it. There is a collection of small circles with the profile photos of people who have viewed my story, but one isn’t aphoto. It’s a small gray icon with a generic faceless shape. I frown and open up the list.

The school’sNexusnetwork has a policy that you can’t view anyone else’s account unless you have a verified photo on your profile. I scroll down the list until I find the profile. It’s not a name, simply four numbers:1015. I tap on the name and open the account but find it completely blank. I back out of the page, clicking through the rest of my stories. The1015account has viewed every one of them. They don’t seem to be following me, though. Maybe it’s just an error or a bug? Could it be… No. It can’t be. I shake my head and push1015from my mind, but unease gnaws at my gut. I put my phone away in my purse again, deciding to focus on enjoying the still summer night.

20

Summer

“What are you doing home?” Alice asks, appearing in her doorway. Her cheeks are flushed, and while she’s still wearing that blood-splattered onesie, it’s buttoned up wrong. I give her a look, and she leans on the doorframe, trying to fake nonchalance.

I tilt my head and drop my purse on the sofa. “I live here…”

“Yeah, right. I mean, why are you not with angel boy?” Alice frowns and glances behind her, waving frantically.

“I was,” I respond simply, pulling at my fingers as guilt surges inside me. I don’t feel good about not staying with Connor and leaving in the middle of the night. But I’d rather die than face that crazy, intimate moment in the morning when our eyes meet, and there are no barriers.

Alice searches my face, her eyes slowly softening. “Ah, okay. Just give me one second.”

She disappears back into her room, and there are a few hushed whispers before Alice re-emerges, pulling a naked incubus behind her. She pushes him out rather forcefully andtosses his clothes after him before slamming the door in the poor guy’s face.

“Okay, tell me everything.” She comes over and drops down next to me on the couch. Her shoulder-length hair is mussed, no doubt from the incubus’ fingers.

I sigh and sit back, resting my feet on the edge of the coffee table. “We had a really good time.”

“Okay…” Alice waits for more, but I’m unsure how to articulate the thoughts in my head, knowing how neurotic they sound. “So dinner was good?” she prompts, trying to get more information from me.

I nod.

“What was the secret plan?”

“He took me flying.” I smile at the memory. “His brothers set off fireworks.”

Alice rolls her eyes, but her lips are pulled into a genuine smile. “He’s such a mush.”

“Then we got caught by the headmaster, who was furious.”

Alice grimaces. “Fuck. What did he say?”

I shrug. “Something hot,” I reply without thinking. Now that I try to recall his exact words, I just remember how he made my cheeks flush and my stomach flutter and knot simultaneously. I really dislike how much I agree with everyone about how gorgeous he is.

Alice bursts out laughing. “Oh, no! You have the hots for the headmaster.”

I roll my eyes. “Please, Alice. Even you can see that he’s annoyingly attractive. Even if you don’t think he’s physically attractive, his attitude is hot, in a terrifying and intimidating kind of way.”

“So, what did he actually say?”

I frown as I try to remember, and his voice shoots through my skull like a threatening caress. “This is the second time I’vefound you at the center of something,” I begin, poorly imitating his voice. “This is a poor start, Miss Tuatha De Daanan.”

“Okay, so all that command and strength might be a little hot, but you better not get expelled, Sum.” Alice laughs. “So then, what happened?”

“Then we went back to his place.”

“And… then you came home?”

I nod. “Well, he went to sleep.” My stomach churns, and I desperately want to stop talking about this. I want to push it from my mind so I can rid myself of the horrible, unfamiliar clawing of guilt down my spine.

Alice watches me for a minute before standing and walking into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of tequila. “Drink?”

I nod. “Absolutely.”

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