Chapter 6
Lying flat on the floor was not where I thought I’d still be when Liam walked in – I mean, I figured I’d have time before anyone saw me coming unglued, tears and snot running down my face.
The loud boom of my rune going off should have had me moving, but I just lay there, almost hoping for someone to end things for me, better than staying in this panic attack.
A gust of wind and rain preceded Liam as the door opened, he flicked a hand and the sound of my rune collapsed into silence. He frowned, then looked down to see me. “Shit.”
A wash of fresh clean and that musky, vanilla cologne of his, and then he was on his knees beside me.
“Harlow, are you hurt? Talk to me, are you hurt?”
I shook my head, then nodded and he slowly helped me to a sitting position, his arms going around me as I caught myself on a sob. He held me against his chest as I shook and babbled, “No, not hurt. Sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Shh. Nothing to be sorry about, Harlow. What happened, where are the others? Did someone else get hurt?”
As usual, he was in full-on doyen mode, assuming that something terrible had happened, like we’d lost one of us along the way . . . or we’d been forced to eat haggis.
“We’re okay. We’re all here. They’re sleeping in the bedroom. No one is hurt.” The words came out stilted and jarring, like I was coming out of a thaw.
“That’s good. Okay, so just a bit shocked. We can handle that.”
His warmth sunk into me, and I realized just how cold I was. Apparently, the shaking I had going on was more than just the anxiety rearing its head. Maybe he was right, and I really was in shock?
I moved my head and left a trail of snot across the front of his shirt. “Ugh. Sorry.”
“You don’t need to keep saying that. Trust me, I’ve been smeared in worse.” Liam helped me stand, kept an arm around me and walked me to the big chair. Then he sank down next to me, keeping me in the crook of his arm.
In the semi-dark of the room, I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I watched as his eyes closed.
“Think you can sleep for a bit? I’ve been on the go for over twenty-four hours. We can talk when the morning comes?”
“I . . . don’t think I can.” The need to do something, anything, to burn off this burst of fear that I couldn’t control . . .
“I’ll help you.” He lifted a hand and cast a rune over my face, the same one that he’d used before when he’d tried to help me find my Quirk . . . and my fears softened, dulling, sliding into nothing but a puddle of empty dark.
Damn, he had the good runes on lock.
I sighed and melted against him, forgetting why I’d been so upset. A blanket was pulled around my shoulders, cocooning me in additional warmth. Liam held me a little tighter . . . and then I was out cold, not a dream in sight.
Something touched my head. I woke with a startled jerk, disoriented and on my feet before I was fully awake. My fingers curled into a shoving rune and I tossed it at the chair Liam was in, sending it across the room and into the far wall with a boom that shook the entire house.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” I clenched my hands and tucked them behind my back, as if that would hide my guilt somehow.
Liam shook his head with a wince, his dark brown hair messy and his face still scrunched with sleep. “Morning to you too.”
My friends burst out of the bedroom, spilling over one another, hands prepped with runes. Ross hit the hardwood in his socks and slid like he was skating on ice before dropping to his knees and shooting back up.
“What happened? Those vampires come back?” He looked over, saw Liam and his panicked face cleared. “Oh, hey Liam.”
“Wait, vampires? Baobhan sith?” Liam’s eyes sharpened. “What happened, tell me everything. How did you get here? Why didn’t you wait for me at the church?”
Ross shrugged, like it was nothing, and even spread his arms wide like he was accepting an award. “We handled it, man. House Phoenix.”
Every single one of the girls rolled her eyes, me included. “Yeah, sure thing, big guy.” I slapped him on the shoulder.
He laughed. “Okay, so the girls handled it. Me and Gary got caught up in some kind of spell, almost messed us up.”
Liam’s face paled and he put a hand to his forehead. “Shit. Of course, we are still dealing with the Nights of the Horned King. I didn’t think of it with everything else going on.”
“Like I said, the girls of House Phoenix kicked some vamp ass, and we had no choice but to cross without you. Then,” Ross did a double finger gun point at Gary, “Our man here found his Quirk, had a chat with the Nessies, and they helped us get in through the secret tunnel.”
Liam pressed his fingers to the sides of his face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah?” Ross seemed to question whether he was indeed sure. “Why?”
“Just . . . never mind. I’m glad you got here safe and found your way inside my house.
” He shot me a look like he knew I’d been the one to pick the lock, and I shrugged.
“Good decision not to stay and wait for me if you were being hunted. Way to think on your feet. When I left Neverthorn, Tarquinius was still keeping a lid on the fact that you’d gone.
He’s both arrogant and foolhardy enough to believe there’s no way a bunch of students – mature or not – can outfox him, so my guess is we have at least another couple of weeks before he pulls the alarm. ”
“That’s not long,” Fable said.
He held up a hand, stopping her. “I know it doesn’t seem like enough time, but if we all work hard, every one of you can grow by leaps and bounds now that you’re away from that place and your magic isn’t being stunted.
Let’s get something to eat and plan out how to get you enrolled into Heathermoor. ”
His words were like a dash of cold water.
“Enrolled?” I shook my head and took a step back. “You’re kidding right?”
“No, I’m not. How did you think you were going to continue your training?” Liam smiled, as if he thought we were having a good joke.
Fable lifted her hand in the air like she was already back in class. “I thought we were just hiding out here and you were going to train us. Like . . . here. In your house. Secretly.”
Those deep brown eyes of his took in each of our faces and his smile slowly slid away.
“Look, I’m sorry if you feel misled. And, as flattering as it is that you believe in me, there is no way I could keep you all hidden, train you, and still be a teacher here.
You can attend the classes and get the benefit of all the doyens here.
They have magical skill sets I couldn’t even begin to scratch the surface of.
That’s the only way to get you guys ready.
” At our extended silence he seemed to slowly understand.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like Neverthorn here. You’ll be safe.”
I snorted. “I’ve heard that before.”
Liam made his way over to the kitchen and started pulling out pans and ingredients. “Look, Heathermoor is different . . . you won’t even have to wear a uniform. They encourage individuality here. The only thing you have to wear will be the emblem of your House, on a necklace.”
I frowned. I didn’t know a lot about Heathermoor – it hadn’t been high on my priority list when I’d been in Neverthorn the first time around, and certainly not the second. By the time I knew we were headed here, there hadn’t been time to bone up. “Same classes?”
Liam cracked an egg and dropped it into a batter. “Similar, but –”
“Same books?”
Another egg and a shrug. “Mostly.”
“Sages and doyens? Rules against swearing? Treating House Phoenix like a problem?”
Liam didn’t slow his mixing. “Yes, depends, and sort of. Look, Sage Thalienne is not like Tarquinius. Not in the least. I promise you, things will be different. You have to trust me on this.”
“Did you tell her we were coming?” Marina leaned over the counter.
That gave him pause. “No. As free spirited as the Sage here is, there are definitely rules in place that would require her to hand you over to the Senate. So long as we make an effort to keep you hidden and we can give her some shred of plausible deniability in the event she does sense your presence, she won’t make a fuss.
” I felt like there were some unsaid words he would have muttered to himself.
Words like ‘I think.’
A whole lot of fucks rolled out from under my breath. “How exactly are we going to stay hidden?”
His grin was immediate. “Let’s eat. Then I’ll show you what I’ve got whipped up.”
Okay, so breakfast was amazing. The pancakes were fluffy, and he managed to make bananas foster, fresh cream, and toasted walnuts on top .
. . add to that, probably the best coffee I’d ever had loaded with milk, sugar, and a small hit of cream liquor that added a velvety texture, and I was humming with happiness.
“Nectar of the Horned King for sure,” I mumbled as I clutched the pottery mug to my chest.
I couldn’t seem to fully toss the cold from the night before. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the weather, but more to do with my state of mind and the mental gymnastics I was doing to keep myself from coming unglued again.
As it was, the coffee and liquor helped.
A lot.
“This is good.” Gary hung onto his own mug, which was hot chocolate with a splash of hazelnut liqueur. We each had a drink of choice: tea, hot chocolate, mocha, espresso, coffee . . . and we’d all decided to add a bit of the liquid courage.
Something told me we were going to need it for our first day at Heathermoor.
Liam lifted his mug in my direction. “Come on, I’ll show you how we’re going to pull this off. It’s a genius move really.”
He led us downstairs to the games room that I’d explored the night before. I thought the two guys would have gone to the pool table, but they stayed with us.
No one could complain about House Phoenix not being focused. Not today.