Page 57 of A Lesson in Deceit
He wrapped his hand around his bag strap. “Speaking of fathers…is that why you came here?”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“My question was simple enough. Is your dad the reason you enrolled here?”
“Again, something else that is none of your business.”
He lifted one of his shoulders. “I’m not asking for a shit ton of details. I just want to make sure you aren’t getting involved in something that could involve my brother.”
I gave him a tight smile. “River has nothing to do with anything. I wouldn’t do that.”
“So, you are doingsomething,little liar?”
I found myself stuttering. “I—I…no. Y—you…fuck… that’s not what I said.”
“Accidents happen, Miss Monroe. Maybe you should just focus on school and not get sidetracked playing Nancy Drew, hmm.”
Accidents happen, yes, but I wanted to throat punch everyone who kept saying that’s what happened. I also wanted to bust into tears, thinking about how fucking complicated and confusing this had gotten. The way he said it though, it was like he didn’t quite believe it himself. I crossed my arms over my chest, severely pissed off. I had to focus on not letting my voice sound shaky. “Sounds like you have something to hide yourself, especially since that’s something someone like that would say.”
He tilted his head to the side, raising his eyebrows for a brief second before walking around me. Suddenly, I felt him behind me. His voice surrounded me, almost like I could feel him all over my body. “You seem a little tense. Maybe you should go find my brother to release some of that stress since I didn’t let you finish. If you’d like me to apologize, you’ll be waiting a while. Although, from what I’ve gathered about you, you like a little cliffhanger…to be left right. At. The.Edge…” Each word came out concise and right at my ear. I heard him walking away and I didn’t realize I was squeezing my thighs together until I finally relaxed.
I swiftly turned around, catching him right as he got to the door. “Is that my homework? Getting myself off,sir?” I saw his hand flex as it wrapped around the doorknob.
Fuck his dream magic. And fuck this newfound feeling I had towards him, which was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
28
Riley
Iwasn’t hungry at all, so I made my way to the library. Something Corrin had said still hadn’t left my mind.
They like to handle things in a certain way, especially when it comes to witches.
I knew things about Mystic Riegan, but maybe I didn’t know enough. Now that Corrin and I were a collective unit on this adventure I’d started, anything I found out could help both of us. I felt like her and Ike had done their part tremendously, so it was only fair I discovered some information of my own.
The library had six floors, one of which had a section dedicated to the school’s history. If something was going to lead me in the right direction, it would be in that area. At least I was crossing my fingers that I wasn’t wasting my time.
I got off the elevator, looking up and checking the signs to figure out where to go. I walked past a few aisles, realizing how quiet it was up here. Usually, I would hear little whispers from other students, but this floor was just dead silence.
“Riley?” A familiar voice said, causing me to stop and back up, looking down one of the aisles. Grayson was on the floor, up against a wall, a book in his lap.
I smiled at him, looking around. “You do know there are tables and chairs, right?”
He let his book close, keeping his thumb inside to hold his place. “I like a little seclusion.”
I placed one of my hands in my shorts pocket. “That’s fair.” I nodded towards his book. “Anything good?”
“Just started but it’s good. Vampires and fae. Marriage of convenience, you know, all the good things.”
I laughed. “You are really in your vampire era, aren’t you?” I walked into the aisle, searching the shelves.
“What are you doing here? Like here as in this part of the library?”
I fiddled with the strap of my backpack. “Um, I’m looking for something on the school’s history.”
“That’s very broad. You’re going to need to be a little more specific.”
“Well, something that has to do with the school and witches.”
