Page 113 of Black Castle

“I thought he was just here until Mr. Wayne came back?” someone asks, ripping the question on Vivienne’s tongue right out.

James Fadden moves to his desk, adjusting his glasses with a finger, sharp eyes sweeping the room. “Unfortunately.” His voice drifts across the room, bathing Vivienne’s skin in goosebumps. “Mr. Wayne won’t be returning. I’ll be handling the class for the rest of the semester.”

No.

His gaze finds her at last, locking on her like a man with a purpose.

The last few days before winter breaks float into Vivienne’s memory. He was always watching her. In his class, his sharp gaze always found her, a bone-chilling presence settling behind it. In the hallway, on the bleachers, in the parking lot—no matter where she went, she felt eyes watching her. And when she searched, she would find him, lurking in the shadows like a predator waiting for its prey to wander into the trap.

But as winter break came, she thought it was over. He was just a temporary teacher till Mr. Wayne would return. James Fadden was never meant to come back. But here he is anyway, and this time, he is here to stay?

“I enjoyed the few times we shared together last semester,” he says, his eyes barely straying from Vivienne. “I am happy to be back.”

There’s something cruel and deliberate in every sweep of his gaze. And the smile he manufactures to ease the tension in the class feels like something from the pit of hell.

Her pulse pounds. There’s a purpose in his stare. A promise.

He definitely is challenging her, waiting for her to break.

“I really think you should talk to him,” Kenji says, his pace falling into rhythm with Vivienne’s as they weave their way through the chaos of students flooding out of the school.

“Talk to him about what, exactly?” she asks, her voice taut, clipped, tension weaving into her bones.

He sidesteps a kid who almost barrels into him. “He’s clearly making you uncomfortable. And I think that’s what he wants. To make you scared. You need to ask him why he’s trying to make you scared.” Vivienne tightens her grip on the strap of her backpack, his words making her chest heavier. “Remember what he said about being here for the rest of the semester? Yeah, that’s fucking six months. Imagine going through anxiety for six months?”

Vivienne takes in a sharp breath before speaking. “Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it because he knows something. Confronting him will cement whatever he thinks he knows if it was just a guess before.”

“There are ways to do these things.” Kenji slings an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “You gotta be coded when you ask him.”

She arches her brow. “And by coded, you mean?”

Kenji doesn’t answer immediately. His hold on her seems to tighten protectively, his gaze somewhere far away. And when she glances up at him, she notices his expression hardening.

“What is it?” She follows his line of sight.

“He’s here.”

Alarm prickles down her spine. And when her eyes finally fall on the black SUV Kenji is staring at, her stomach lurches.

It’s parked in the teacher’s spot again, windows tinted, the weight of unseen eyes pressing, assessing.

Her heart pounds.

Who is here?

Zev or Lucan?

Chapter Thirty-four

Vivienne

All Vivienne takes is a glance to realize which version is sitting next to her. And even though disappointment is suddenly a living thing stirring at the pit of her stomach, she can’t help it when her heart stutters. They might seem like they’re two different people but they look the same. She misses Lucan so much, she doesn’t even care if it’s the malicious version of him she gets.

Two weeks is too much time to stay without the person your heart craves so much, it feels like you would die without them.

She wants a conversation. She wants to hear him speak, no matter how cold or detached his voice. But Zev hasn’t uttered a word since she stepped into the car. But his jaw is sharper than usual, his eyes dark. It seems like he is angry. But he doesn’t confront her so maybe she isn’t the source of his anger.

She tears her gaze away from him to look at the window. And although she isn’t exactly surprised that Zev is doing something without her consent, her eyebrows furrow. The driver has taken the opposite direction to her house. And as much as there has never been a day she is thrilled to go home, she has to. Carla Rivera didn’t get breakfast because she had to escape from her questioning. She needs lunch at least. Old people shouldn’t stay without food for long.

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