Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
If we say it behind their backs, then we must be able to say it to their faces
“It was crazy seeing him out there. I mean, who blows up the place they created, you know? Maybe he was spelled.”
Ethan sat beside me with a cup of coffee in his hands. He looked off. His eyes kept darting around, his knee wouldn’t stop bouncing under the table, and his fingers missed the handle of the mug more than a few times.
He was nervous, but why?
“Could it have been someone else who looked like him?” I asked calmly with a sweet smile, a face that said, come my child and tell me all your secrets instead of the reality where I wanted to shake the truth out of him.
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe. It looked just like him, though.”
He managed to sip some of his coffee and hissed like it was suddenly too hot.
“I don’t know if mimicking people is something magic could do. At least nobody we know has control enough to do it if so. They’d have to be really powerful, and skilled,” he said with the corner of his lips lifting up for a second.
“Yeah. That would scary. To think anyone could be disguised as someone you love, tricking you.”
“Agreed. I’m sorry your boyfriend is in trouble. I know you’re talking to me because of the interview. I only reported what I saw. Hopefully I’m wrong.” Ethan bumped my shoulder in a friendly manner, then stood, coffee firmly in hand.
“If you need a safe person to talk to, I’m here for you. Anytime, day or night. I’m your guy.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped back from the heat in his palm. His hand wasn’t hot enough to burn me, but more or less caught me off guard.
“Ethan, are you okay? Your hand is hot. Maybe you have a fever.” I stood and pressed the back of my hand against his forehead. His eyes closed, and his mouth went slack at my touch.
“I want you,” he whispered, then his eyes flew open, and he stepped back, his head shaking. “No. I’m fine. I’ll see you around, Temperance.”
He left without looking back and my mom senses blared. He had a role in all this besides being an eyewitness, I just didn’t know exactly what.
My phone beeped, alerting me that it was time to meet up with the others. Remy was looking over the security, the ones she wasn’t supposed to have access to despite creating the systems. Imogene announced that she’d “get the tea” and I’m not sure what that entailed but I’d find out shortly.
“You’re so clever, darling.” Speak of the devil.
I rounded the corner near the painting Remy, and I escaped through during that fire incident and saw Imogene and Lawrence having tea.
She meant literal tea and not the pop culture tea definition?
The silver armor laughed at something right as Imogene spotted me and called me over with a wave of her hand. “There are you are, darling.”
Before I could ask what she was doing, she patted Lawrence’s armored hand.
“We were discussing some odd behavior around the halls.” Imogene winked and I should have known Imogene wasn’t simply gossiping with Larence this time, she was searching through the gossip for any clues relative to our “case.”
“Yes! Oh, I saw them arguing in a saucy little corner of the courtyard while I was out looking at the fountain,” Lawrence said, and Imogene nodded.
“You know I love taking breaks to watch the bubbles. I wish we had that when I was being used. Life seems more hopeful with bubbles, you know,” he continued, and I bit back smile.
What a cutie patootie. I’d had a few chats with the sentient armor a few times, but nothing routine.
Maybe I’d join Imogene for tea dates in the future.
“Yes, darling. We need to catch Temperance up on the who. We can’t be keeping secrets. That’s not our style.”
Lawrence raised his metal hand and stuck up three fingers like some sort of scout. “Right, yes. Our motto. If we say it behind their backs, then we must be able to say it to their faces.”
Imogene sipped her tea and waited for the armor to readjust himself. Moving all that metal must be tiring. Well, if there was a body inside, but there wasn’t.
“Ethan and Delanie were talking all serious. Hands were thrown in the air a few times. She was frustrated. I heard her say something like, “Bitch out of the way and needing money for the family business.” He said all of it in Delanie’s exact voice and that sent a chill down my spine. I didn’t know they could do that.
“Ethan kissed her cheek, and they separated. Very odd behavior.” Imogene finished giving the deets and thanked Lawrence for the tea. He waved us goodbye as we left for my room to tell Remy what we found.
“Pretty sure the bitch part was meant for me. Or maybe I’m being conceited,” I said as we entered the room.
Imogene agreed while scooping up an excited Edith. “That girl has it out for you since she thinks Rylan wants her.”
“Rylan wants who?” Rylan walked into the room, arms wide like he knew I’d be jumping onto him upon entry. Well, shit, he probably did know.
My arms and legs wrapped around him, and he held me close.
“I missed you.” It had only been twenty-four hours since I saw him, but ever since our talk, I felt like I needed him to fully breathe.
“I missed you too.”
“Everyone missed you, now scooch so we can discuss what all we’ve found,” Remy said from behind us and Rylan walked with me in his arms over to the bed. I crawled off him but stayed at his side, hands clasped together.
“Rylan definitely did it,” Remy announced while holding her tablet up with security feed showing Rylan setting a fire outside the window. The timestamp was five minutes before the explosion which coincidentally was when I was getting pounded by Rylan’s dick in the classroom.
“We all know it wasn’t him, but that does look like him.” Remy turned off her tablet and set it on her desk.
I nodded and looked into Rylan’s eyes. “I think it was Ethan and Delanie, but I can’t one hundred percent prove it.
” The way Ethan spoke, his nervousness was off-putting.
Then there was the tiny smile of pride when he talked about someone being powerful and skilled enough to take the shape of another person.
Imogene finished tying fairy wings onto Edith, then set her in front of a mirror to check out the new look. “I’m with Temperance. That boy has had a crush on Temperance since he arrived, and we all know who Ms. Templeton is after.”
“She is relentless.” Rylan sighed and I squeezed his hand.
“So how do we get the truth out?” There had to be a way but the silence after my question didn’t give me hope.
Then Edith piped up, her scales glowed yellow like a little light bulb. “I have an idea!”