Page 104 of A Lesson in Obedience
ASHER
You know how to be sassy and annoyingly frustrating so just do that and I’m sure Lena will regret ever having to meet with you. You are so much stronger than you think.
My eyebrows furrowed with my mixed emotions. Corrin had messaged telling me that everything was in place and I should just go about my school day as normal. I’d gotten three calls from my mom, all of which resulted in her trying not to cry. She trusted me and I had been surprised that the minute I’d blurted out that I’d killed someone, she didn’t make a sound.
It was almost like she knew something like that was inevitable, but her soothing words to me about how yet again none of this was my fault, echoed in my head.
“Okay, Riley, sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure I had everything I needed.” Lena smiled at me with all her teeth and she already had me on edge. She scanned her eyes down the paper in front of her. “How are you settling with your powers?”
“Fine,” I said, looking right at her and swiveling my dampener ring around my finger.
“I highly doubt that based on what I’ve been told. No mishaps or confusion?”
I scowled at her. “Nope.”
Lena hummed, looking down at her papers again. “I’m just trying to help. Based on what he’s told me, you recently gained your powers again, so I would assume you’ve had some trouble.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Some trouble? Is that what he’s calling it?”
She blinked over at me, innocently. “He’s concerned about you. The fact that the chancellor is hiding the fact that you’re his daughter is quite nice of him. I am sure you’re trying to maintain as much of a stable existence as you can, but that kind of outing would make it harder.”
“Are you trying to get me to give him some kind of sympathy?” I asked, leaning back against the couch.
She pursed her lips. “Well, of course not, but cutting him some slack could be good for you. He understands your powers, things those boys could never understand.”
“How the fuck do you know about them?” My shoulders tensed as I tilted my chin towards her.
“Of course, they aren’t in your file, but Chancellor Fowler made sure to let me know everything I needed to before our meeting. We don’t have to talk about them if you don’t want to.” Her voice was calm and collected. I felt something change in the air just a bit, like an overwhelming sense of peace.
The feeling was abrupt and my body started to relax but the sudden difference felt foreign. I rolled my neck and tried to shake it off. I took in a breath and focused on her. Her expression was one that exuded patience, like she was happy to wait for this rush of relaxation to take me over.
“The fuck are you doing to me?”
She sighed. “I felt you getting a little hostile so I just made it better. I want to be your friend, Riley. Your father won’t be happy with me if I don’t make sure you make progress here.”
“He’s not my…”
“I’ve been told you are having your first Celica meeting today, that must be exciting. Getting to know your fellow witches while you are struggling to figure things out will be very helpful. Are you nervous about seeing them? Anxiety is quite common when presenting yourself to new people.”
“What the actual fuck are you—” A wave of that feeling hit me again and I wanted to slump back into the couch. Her words weresounding more appealing, and I could have been lulled to sleep by them.
“I think it might be best after the meeting for you to start coming to see me maybe twice a week, just until you are fully in a routine with them. Also, as long as your lips are sealed, so are ours. The coven doesn’t need to know how much superiority you have over them. Being humble is a wonderful attribute.”
I rubbed the side of my head. “Yeah…I guess…”
“So, let’s talk classes. I see you’re an English major. How is that going?” She smiled at me again with all her teeth and I almost wanted to smile back, but I looked off to the side.
I zeroed in on the window, an influx of memories flooding my mind. I remembered taking the potion Corrin had made, I’d seen what I now knew was Chancellor Fowler pushing my dad out a window and I heard Corrin screaming for me while I tried to focus. This office may have changed, but that window and what it represented didn’t. I blinked, shaking my shoulders.
I gripped one of my backpack straps and started to get up, right as Lena went to repeat her question to me. “Riley, our session isn’t over.”
I shook my head, the weight of the soothing feeling leaving my body in waves. “Yes, it is.”
“You need to stay and talk,” she insisted, her powers trying to pull me in and the need to go back to the couch and rest was strong.
I waved my hands in front of me as if I was slapping away the mood she was trying to set. “I’mdone. This meeting was a stipulation, and now we’ve had it.” I tugged my backpack over my shoulders and leveled my gaze at her. “Try to keep me here and you’ll see how fast this ring comes off and how easily your spine snaps in half.” I had no idea where that had come from but I wasn’t taking it back.
Lena didn’t look alarmed, but she lifted her chin towards her door. “You really are your father’s daughter.”
