Page 49 of Vicious Kings
"Am I?" I drawl, injecting just enough boredom into my voice to be insulting. "How fascinating. And here I thought I was exactly where I'm supposed to be."
He stops just outside my personal space, close enough to be threatening but not quite close enough to justify violence. He knows how to toe the line well. He is a professor, after all.
"Your brother asked me to ensure you're keeping up with your training." He pauses. "He worries about you."
"How touching." I finally turn to face him, making sure my smile shows just a hint of fang. "Does he also ask you to tuck mein at night? Make sure I've brushed my teeth like a good little prince?"
Locke's expression doesn't change, but I catch the slight tensing around his eyes. Good. I hope I'm giving him a migraine.
"What are you doing here, Caelyx?" He asks it like he actually expects an answer, like I owe him anything beyond contempt.
"Existing. Contemplating the meaninglessness of academic bureaucracy." I lean against the window, the picture of casual insolence. "Was there something specific you needed, or are you just playing hall monitor because it makes you feel important? Playing at being my keeper?"
"I am, in fact, responsible for you in your brother's absence." The words come out clipped. "So yes, I suppose that does make me your keeper."
The urge to tear his throat out with my teeth is almost overwhelming. But that would be messy, and I'm wearing my favorite shirt. Plus, killing one of Corvinus's triad would kill him indirectly, and there's no fun in that. I have plans, and they don't involve acting on impulse just because this pompous ass thinks he has any authority over me.
"How delightful for you," I say instead. "It must be so fulfilling, being my brother's attack dog. Tell me, do you fetch his slippers too, or is that beneath your dignity?"
His jaw tightens. Score one for me.
"Speaking of interesting developments," he says, changing tactics with all the subtlety of a charging bull, "I heard we have a hunter on campus."
I keep my expression bored. "Do we? How exciting. I do hope they're here to give guest lectures."
"You haven't seen her?" His eyes narrow slightly, and I can feel him trying to read me.
Good fucking luck. I've been hiding my true nature behind masks since before I could walk. The Seelie court taught me tosmile while bleeding, and the Unseelie court taught me to bleed others while smiling.
"Should I have?" I examine my nails with feigned interest. "I don't make a habit of associating with failures. Bad for the reputation."
It's not technically a lie. I don't make a habit of it. This is a delightful exception.
"She's supposedly an omega," Locke continues, watching me carefully. "Quite the curiosity."
"How thrilling for everyone involved." I push off from the window, done with this conversation. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be. Specifically, anywhere you're not."
"Caelyx." His voice stops me, and there's something in it that makes my hackles rise. "Be careful. Your father sent you here in the interest of stability. Don't do anything that might disrupt that. For your own sake."
I turn back, and this time I don't bother hiding the malice in my smile. "Worried I might do something rash? How unlike me."
"I'm serious."
"So am I." I take a step closer, close enough that he has to tilt his head back slightly to maintain eye contact. Drakiss is six-seven or thereabouts, and I'm quite sure I'm one of the few people he's ever had to look up at. I hope he enjoys it. "But here's the thing about stability, Professor. It's just another word for stagnation. And stagnant water breeds disease."
I leave him with that thought, striding away before he can respond. My footsteps echo off the ancient stones, and I imagine each one is landing on his face.
The encounter has left me edgy, but it's crystallized something in my mind. They don't know about Billie. Not really. They know there's a hunter-turned-omega on campus, but they haven't seen what I've seen.
She's mine, then. My mystery to unravel.
And I'll keep it that way for as long as possible.
Sixteen
BILLIE
My boots track a clean line across the stone path as I navigate through clusters of students who still pause their conversations to stare when I pass. Day two of supernatural university, and I'm already considering whether throwing myself off one of those floating bridges in the distance would be less painful than enduring another omega biology lecture.
