Oliver rendered me speechless. He had said the rudest, most hurtful, and most brutally honest thing I’d ever heard.
“Leanne’s freaking out,” he said. “Despite her reliable abilities as a seer, which foresaw otherwise, she thinks you’re dead. But I knew you weren’t—you’re a survivor. So while she’s running off her stress, I decided to wait for you to show.”
“Has anyone told you that you are a mean little fairy?”
“Oh, no one’s told me that. The boys have always told me I’m a big, rowdy—”
“Oliver!” I threw my purse at him, which he gracefully dodged.
The door to my dorm jiggled a second before opening. A wet and panting Leanne came in. Her jaw slackened when she saw me.
“Told you,” Oliver said.
She pointed a finger at me and between gulps of air said, “Stop doing this to me. You’re going to kill me with all the stress.”
Immediately I felt guilty. “You’re right. I’m sorry—I should’ve called.”
“So what did happen if you didn’t die?”
I spent the next fifteen minutes filling Leanne and Oliver in on my trip, including my make-out session with Andre, and the possibility that world’s oldest vampire might be trying to kill me.
For a moment, the room was silent, and then Leanne cleared her throat. “You met a fate? I didn’t even think they were real. What was a fate doing as your nanny?”
I glanced at our rain-splattered windows. “That’s what I want to know.”
***
The next day in History, I began jotting down notes on what I knew about my past and the attacks. Andre was the prime suspect, but I wouldn’t let my feelings cloud my sleuthing skills. After all, someone else could be responsible. I didn’t have many hard facts.
As usual, Caleb was absent. In the background, Professor Mead droned on. “The Glashtyn is a water horse who appears as a dark and astoundingly handsome man only distinguishable by his pointed horse ears. In all folktales he captures or attempts to capture women—”
A voice boomed through the room. “Gabrielle Fiori, Principal Hazard requests your presence.”
You have got to be kidding me. Thirty different heads swiveled in my direction.
I made my way out of the classroom. From memory I traced my way back to Principal Hazard’s office. Beyond his open office door he leaned over a scattered pile of papers. I knocked, standing in the doorway.
He glanced up. “Oh, Miss Fiori. Come in, come in.” He beckoned me over. Unceremoniously I dropped my bag and coat on the floor and took a seat across from Hazard.
I folded my arms together and lounged back in the chair, annoyed and letting it show. “I haven’t done anything to Doris, so what is this about?”
“Well, Miss Fiori,” he said, flustered by my gruff manner, “you certainly have not done anything wrong.” He loosely folded his hands on the desk. I could literally smell the waves of distaste coming off of him. He might have said I’d done nothing wrong, but he thought otherwise.
“However,” he continued, “the school is worried that with the multiple attempts on your life, your presence poses a threat to other students. Especially after the second attack occurred within campus grounds.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What are you saying?”
Principal Hazard looked uneasy. And guilty. “Miss Fiori, we cannot endanger the entire student body because of your situation.”
“Let me try to understand this better. You’ve determined that, because there have been multiple attempts on my life, I, the victim, am a threat to other students?”
“Miss Fiori, you must think of the other parties involved here. Innocent students. Your presence puts them in jeopardy.”
“So, are you kicking me out of Peel?” I fixed my gaze on a bust of Pallas Athena that sat on a shelf behind him.
“No, no. We are putting you on independent study. You can come and go into the school and use all the facilities outside regular hours. You will, however, need to find an alternative place to stay. … Perhaps your leader will be accommodating.” My nostrils flared as I took in his disgust.
I stood up, shaking from head to foot. “Please,” I implored, “make an exception. Andre might be the one who’s trying to kill me.”
Principal Hazard shook his head, his withered skin flapping. “I’m sorry. I cannot.”
All the willpower that had kept me going left, and my body sagged in on itself. “How long do I have until this comes into effect?”
“Independent study will begin tomorrow, and you have until Sunday to find a place to stay. I’d suggest discussing this week’s assignments with your teachers so you can stay on schedule.”
“And what will happen when my attacker is captured?”
Hazard stared intensely at me for a few long moments. “Everything will go back to the way it was.”
I forced myself to smile. “Great. I look forward to it.” He frowned, his creases deepening.
Without another word I grabbed my bag off the ground and headed for the door. It was as I walked out of his office that I smelled it.
Hatred.