“Hey, wait up Gabrielle.” Caleb’s voice came from behind me. Unconsciously my muscles tensed.
I paused and watched him jog over to me. He smiled when he reached me and kissed my cheek in greeting. His lips lingered longer than was polite.
“Isn’t it crazy?” he whispered into my ear.
I leaned away from him. “What are you talking about?”
His eyes sparkled. “Being on an investigation—together.” The Politia had paired Caleb and I together. Just like my boss, Inspector Comfrey, I didn’t think this was a coincidence. But I’d never voiced my opinions.
I shrugged and began walking again. “It’s definitely creepy,” I said, stifling a yawn.
His hand captured mine, his fingers sliding between my own. There it was again. The subtle signals that he wanted something more from me than just friendship.
So I not-so-subtly removed my hands from his. “Caleb, what do you want?”
But when I turned to face him, he was gone.
***
I entered my room and leaned against the door. Finally, some peace and—
“I was hoping we could look over the report together.”
I screamed. Caleb stood next to me, stark naked.
“All that is holy Caleb!” I said, shielding my eyes and throwing him a towel to cover himself with. “You could’ve just signed in downstairs.”
“You wouldn’t have invited me up.”
Damn, but he was perceptive. “That’s because I want to sleep.” I glanced out my window. His clothes sat out on the lawn in a rumpled heap. Huh, I should’ve noticed that.
“We should get a head start on the investigation,” he said, wrapping the towel around himself. “Inspector Comfrey will want to see our progress when we meet next.” He folded his arms over his sculpted torso. I tried not to stare.
“Yeah, I’m all for it,” I said, “but maybe we can do this some other time?” When you’re clothed.
His lips pulled down at the corners. Like Andre, he wasn’t used to getting rejected. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.” All I wanted was a little nap. Just an itty bitty one. Was that too much to ask for?
“Fine.” He walked over to my window and opened it. Outside, a group of girls clustered in front of the building, chatting about the upcoming Witches Festival, a party hosted by—surprise, surprise—the school’s witches.
Caleb whistled and they glanced up.
Oh. No.
“Hey ladies, can you toss me my clothing?”
A couple of them giggled, and I heard at least one heartbeat stutter. Did everybody but me have a crush on this guy?
I spent the next few minutes watching the girls try to throw Caleb’s clothes up to him—try being the key word here.
“Why don’t I just push you out the window?” I said, eyeing Caleb’s exposed back. “Then you can just turn into a bird and fly your way out of my room.”
He swiveled to face me. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”
Caleb stretched his arms over his head. The skin rippled and shrank. Feathers sprouted along his skin, until his arms became wings, and his face acquired a beak.
An eagle stood on top of my towel. It cocked its head at me and screeched.
“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth all day,” I joked.
Caleb ruffled his feathers, just to let me know I wasn’t that funny, and then hobbled over to the windowsill. Letting loose another shriek, he dived off. I closed my window behind him, muffling the girls’ surprised screams as he swooped over them and collected his clothes in his talons.
I stretched and yawned. Just another normal day at Peel Academy.
Behind me I heard Caleb’s squawk and the tap of a beak on glass. I guess he thought he was coming back in. Ha, sucker.
I took my shoes off and slid under my topmost sheet, the woolen blanket I’d snatched from Andre.
Andre. My heart did something funny in my chest. I’d placed my phone on my nightstand next to my bed, and now I stared at it. It had been almost two months since that fateful night at Bishopcourt, and I hadn’t seen or heard from him since.
I should get over it and call him.
This was no longer just about me; there was a dead girl involved. But then a creeping thought snuck up on me. Did he think I did it? It had to have crossed his mind. And if it had, then why hadn’t he contacted me?
I swallowed my unease. We couldn’t go on like this forever—I was going to have to call him.
Eventually.
***
The next evening I worked on my enchanted engineering homework when Oliver and Leanne came into our room.
“A little birdie told me you had a naked man in your room yesterday,” Oliver opened. “And I do mean birdie literally.”
Leanne ignored him. “Whatever plans you had for this evening, drop them,” Leanne said, “and come with us.”
I twirled the pen in my hand. “Where are you guys going?”
Leanne smiled. “A séance.”
***