Page 108 of The Howl
“You’ll find out when you go home tonight,” Lauv said. “Until then, play it cool and don’t acknowledge us if you see us in the hallways. Got it?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I left the bathroom while they were still cleaning up the remnants of the spell. There were more mermaids in the pool now, but none of them paid me any attention as I hurried away.
The halls were only slightly crowded as I made my way to the first-hour session. A few people gave me disappointed looks, but no one commented on my clothes or lack of makeup. I’d never been more grateful to resume my unremarkable existence.
Sliding into my chair, I waited for Lucas to begin the Human Studies lecture. Yet, it was hard to remain focused on his words once he started. My mind kept going to Mom, wondering if she was standing outside the barrier in her robe. I hadn’t thought about that and hoped she wasn’t cold. Surely, the liaison would notice her on her rounds and give her a ride somewhere. What if the liaison reported what happened to the Council and the Council invited Mom back in?
I wanted to groan and hoped that wouldn’t happen. It would unlock a new level of hell in my life. There’d be an investigation. I’d have to come forward just to protect the druids. I should have listened to Ashlyn.
No. I’d done the right thing.
My mind went back and forth the remainder of the hour. When the bell rang, I was the first one to escape the room. I needed to talk to Ashlyn.
However, when I entered the self-paced study’s room, Ashlyn wasn’t there.
Yanet was, though. She watched me enter with a slight look of disappointment.
“I made you something,” she said, reaching into her pocket. She withdrew a diamond ring.
“I can’t take that, Yanet.”
“I know. Just thought I’d show it to you in case you wanted to go home and put something nicer on.”
“Um, no. I think I’ll stay like this. Thanks.”
Her gaze swept me head to toe, and she stuffed the ring back into her pocket. It was almost laughable if it wasn’t so sad. Her attitude wasn’t solely the fault of the clothes and makeup I’d been forced to wear. A good portion of what she’d felt had been from me. My natural lure had kicked in with the right clothes. The same lure that should have kicked in last night when I’d been with Fenris. Was he actually immune?
The bell rang, and I turned to the front of the room.
Ashlyn still wasn’t there.
A thread of worry wormed its way into my middle and only grew as the minutes slowly ticked by without any word from Ashlyn. I needed to talk to those druids and figure out what they’d done. Ashlyn didn’t just not show up. Okay, she’d done it once, but she’d left a note that time.
I could feel my panic spiraling, and I was once again the first one out of the room when the bell rang. I jogged through the halls, threading my way through my peers while looking for any of the three druids. The halls started to clear without any sign of them.
Ignoring the bell, I went back to the pool bathroom. It was empty. I hurried out, ignoring the heckling calls of the mermaids, and went to my third-hour session, unsure what to do.
I opened the door to a nearly empty room. Fenris straightened in his chair at the sight of me.
“Didn’t think you were going to show,” he said.
“What? Why?” I asked. Could he smell the smoke on me? Did he know what I had done?
He grinned.
“Relax. Your heart is going to jackrabbit right out of your ribcage. Last night was no big deal, and I’m glad you’re not avoiding me because of it.”
“Right. Last night.”
I realized he was talking about how I’d almost fed from him and quickly took my seat.
“So, what are we supposed to be doing today?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged.
“Discovering ourselves, I guess. How are you feeling? You look a little flushed.”
