Page 81 of Destined Dawn
“You’ve got a problem holding boys’ hands,” the prof asks, his hackles rising.
The were, darts his gaze towards little rabbit and shifts on his chair.
She rests her hand on the table like the prof. “Come on, let’s give it a try.”
The were takes her hand and then the prof’s – I’m pretty sure the prof must squeeze it because he winces.
I stuff the rest of the pastry shit in my mouth and then lick the crap off my fingers, offering my hand out to the Kennedy boy and the enforcer.
With his eyes on little rabbit, the enforcer hesitates, pulls a slight face, then takes my hand. And now there’s only one break in the circle. The one between me and the Kennedy boy. I shake my hand at him and he looks at it like it’s diseased.
“That is gross.”
“What is?” I ask.
“Your hands got your fucking saliva all over it.”
“You know what else my saliva’s been all over,” I say, winking at him and snatching his hand in mine. He mutters under his breath.
But almost immediately that magic swoops around us, so fast it’s like it’s on drugs.
“Shit,” I say, feeling it swoosh through me again and again.
“It’s strong, right?” little rabbit says, “really strong. I feel like we could blast a hole in the sky itself.”
“Or torch the world,” I mutter.
Little rabbit snatches her hands away and reaches for one of those pastries. She doesn’t like that idea. But I can taste that dark magic inside her, even stronger than it was before.
29
Rhi
“Your father,the Black Prince, wishes to see you.”
I’ve been expecting the summons all morning and now here it is. Finally, we are going to talk, just like he promised.
“Rhi,” Stone says, as I go to follow the young woman who has been sent to fetch me. “Be … be careful.”
“Of what?” I ask, frowning.
His eyes flick to the woman and he lowers his voice. “We don’t know these people and we don’t know if we can trust them.”
“He’s my dad,” I point out. What is Stone going to tell me? That these people are bad, full of dark magic just like me. I’m not sure I want to hear it.
He lowers his voice even further, resting his fingertips on my elbow, “The same dad your aunt hid you from.”
“I need to talk to him,” I say, attempting to push pasthim, Pip at my ankles. He’s right. But, in my heart, I’m hoping that my aunt was wrong. That it was all a giant misunderstanding.
Pip and I follow the young woman down the dark corridors, around corners and down steps.
“Jeez, this place is like a maze,” I say to the girl, hoping to strike up a conversation. I’ve barely spoken to anyone but the Black Prince since arriving here. “How do you not get lost?!”
The girl doesn’t respond, keeping her eyes fixed to the ground. There were students like this at the academy, so painfully shy they were unable to make eye contact. Sometimes they just needed a little encouragement to emerge from their shells, although most of the time they simply didn’t want to talk to an unregistered magical like me.
Pip begins to snort, scuttling around my feet in agitation and I reach down and pick him up. Then I try again with the girl. I’m curious about this place, about my father. I have a million trillion questions I want to ask her. “I’m Rhianna and this is Pip.” I lift Pip slightly. “Short for Pipsqueak.”
Her eyes slide from the floor to the pig and back again, but she says nothing.
