He opened the door to leave.
“Theo—” I started, figuring I should apologize more fully.
“Don’t,” he hissed. “I don’t want to hear it.”
In the morning, I found Adelaide waiting outside the door.
The first thing out of her mouth was, “What was all that married couple bickering about?”
“You heard that?” I asked sheepishly, cringing at the thought of her overhearing my fight with Theo.
“You two weren’t exactly quiet. Plus, Theodore was a madman looking for you. He even injured his shoulder trying to break your door down.”
“I didn’t know he hurt himself,” I said softly as we started for the stairs.
Adelaide grabbed my arm to stop my progression. “Theodore would die for you, Mara. That’s his job as your protector. You shouldn’t be so hard on him.”
I looked down at the floor ashamed of my behavior. I knew what she was saying was true.
“Don’t be stupid,” she warned and dragged me the rest of the way to the dining hall.
Theo was already seated at the table and he glared at me with a look that should’ve turned me to stone. I flinched. I put my hand on Adelaide’s arm, halting her. “Can you give me a moment with him?”
She shrugged. “Just try not to kill my brother. I kind of like him.”
I smiled as she headed over to get her breakfast. When I turned toward Theo, my smile disappeared. He was glaring at me.
I slid into the seat across from him. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” I said.
“You should be,” he stated. “You disappeared all day and well into the night.”
“Theo, I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what else I can say.”
“I’m just doing my job, Mara.” He sighed. “Could you not make it so difficult?”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I said. “I’ll even meet Nigel.”
He grinned. “Deal.” He stuck his hand out to shake on it.
“Deal.” I took his hand.
“Aww, look at you two makin’ up. Ain’t that sweet as tea?” Adelaide said in a thick, very fake, Southern accent. She set her plate down and scooted onto the bench beside me.
Theo grinned at his little sister. “Thanks for the biscuit.”
“I didn’t get you a biscuit.” Her brows furrowed in confusion.
Theo’s hand flashed out in a blur and he came away with her biscuit. “You did now.”
Adelaide stuck her tongue out at Theo. “You did that so I wouldn’t talk about how cute you two would be together.”
Theo sent his sister a withering look while he chomped on the butter biscuit. “Obviously, it didn’t work.”
“Your plans rarely do.”
“Mara,” someone yelled coming into the dining hall. Instinctively, I looked up. Winston grinned merrily at me. “’Ello, love.”
“Churchill’s back,” growled Theo under his breath.
“Churchill?” I asked. “Who’s Churchill?”
Theo rolled his eyes. “You know, Winston Churchill? He was the Prime Minister of England during WWII? That’s what I call him.” He pointed at Winston.
“You have a nickname for everyone, don’t you?”
“You betcha’, doll face.” He said with a wink—though from what Adelaide said yesterday, what he claimed was hardly true.
“You’ve never given me a nickname,” Adelaide spoke up.
“Yes, I have.”
“What is it then?” she asked.
“Pain in my—”
“Look at these lovely faces.” Winston plopped down in the seat beside Theo with a plate of food.
Theo closed his eyes and grimaced as if in pain.
“Come on, Mara,” he said and stood. “Let’s get breakfast.”
“Did you call me Mara? I think that’s one of the first times you’ve actually said my name,” I gasped.
“Let’s get breakfast, doll face,” he growled.
“Doll face?” said Winston.
“Apparently, I look like a doll,” I explained with a roll of my eyes.
Winston studied me, tilting his head this way and that. “You kind of do, love.”
“Thanks,” I replied sarcastically as I stood.
I followed Theo to the buffet-like setup. “How do you know Churchill?” Theo hissed under his breath.
“Why does it matter? He’s like me. I don’t think he’s going to try and hurt me.”
Theo glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. His gray eyes rooted me to the spot. “Answer the question.”
“I ran into him yesterday when I was trying to get away from you,” I said under my breath so that the few students milling around wouldn’t hear our conversation. “He let me hang out in his room.”
“Ah,” breathed Theo with a sudden clarity. “That explains why I couldn’t sense you.”
“Sense me?” I asked startled.
Theo gave me the look. The one that made me simultaneously want to curl my toes and smack him.
“I’m your protector. I have a … a sense for where you are. Especially if you’re panicking or near danger. But not many people know that Winston is—” He looked around and instead of saying a chosen one he said, “—special and since he doesn’t have a protector, his room is a sanctuary. Meaning that essentially his room does not exist and when he’s inside he doesn’t exist, either. It’s sort of like limbo and it’s very, very powerful magic. It never occurred to me that you’d be there. You see, you need Churchill’s permission to get into his room, and I thought he was still gone.”
“If Winston,” I emphasized his name, “being special is supposed to be a secret then how do you know about him?”
Theo grinned cockily. “Since I’m a protector, I’m privy to very important information.”
“Of course you are.” I rolled my eyes. I did that a lot around him—he was extremely irritating. “What I don’t understand, though, is why Winston being special is a secret when I don’t seem to be?”
Theo’s eyes darkened from gray to a stormy black. “That would be my fault.”
“Your fault? How?” I asked.
Theo sighed and scrubbed at the back of his head nervously. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” I pleaded.
He looked around at the people in the dining hall and then back at me. “After breakfast we’ll go to the library.”
“And you’ll explain it to me there?”
“Yes,” he replied honestly. “If I don’t tell you, someone else will.” His gaze locked on Adelaide.
I grabbed a plate and shoveled some food onto it, not really paying attention to what I was getting.
I waited for Theo before heading back to the table. I didn’t need him yelling at me about going off without him. I was going to be on my best behavior. We’d see how long it lasted, though.
Winston and Adelaide seemed to be getting along which only angered Theo. I wondered what his problem with Winston was. He seemed to hate the guy—well, honestly, he seemed to hate everyone except his sister.
“So,” started Winston, “you’re the jerk she was running from?”
Theo’s jaw tightened, and I feared he might punch Winston. Theo opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted.
“What’s that?” I pointed to the ceiling. They all looked up, including Adelaide. She figured out what I had done and giggled. The boys looked at me.