XI
Tori
“H ow were the eggs?” Royal asks me. “I can tell the kitchen to make them again if you’re still hungry?”
“I’m fine.” It’s been a while since I’ve left a plate as clear as this, and for once, I’m still not hungry.
As soon as it was clear that no one else had anything to say about his declaration, I’d told Syn I wanted poached eggs on toast for breakfast. It had taken a few moments for him to process what I’d said, but then he asked me how well I wanted them before walking over to the serving area.
Since the start of the year, I’ve never seen Syn, Royal or Gemini eat in this dining hall and serve themselves. While I had no intention of serving them, I didn’t want Syn to instruct one of the Elite to take up that position either—simply because I didn’t trust anyone not to mess with my food.
And of course, I could have gone myself, but I’d thought the opportunity for the shoe to be on the other foot and have Syn serve me was too good to miss.
The three of them separating off to make sure I had cutlery, breakfast, and a drink had certainly caused more hushed whispers in the dining hall, but the act hadn’t left me feeling as satisfied as I’d expected.
Not as much as announcing who the others were in my sex tape.
Gemini promised he’d gotten the video removed from the site, but I know more than one person had downloaded a copy of it. Even though I’ve told everyone in the room who the others in my video are, it’s my name, my face, and my entire body on display—not theirs.
“I’m going to head back.” As I start to stand, Royal beats me to it, moving my chair out of the way before pulling my coat off the back and holding it up for me. The effort he’s putting into this is quite impressive. “Thank you,” I mutter.
“Are you ready for dessert?” Gemini asks with a grin, which instantly has me suspicious.
“Dessert with breakfast?”
Gemini nods and then sticks his hands into his hoodie pocket before pulling them out and holding them in front of me. In his hands are a mess of chains; small loops of bright silver, that glint under the dining hall lights.
“That better not be what I think they are,” Syn tells him in a low voice.
“Well, if you think it’s a pony, you’re safe. I brought Vixen some accessories for our collars.” Gemini’s gleeful eyes are focused on me instead of Syn.
“Is that a leash?” Royal asks.
“Nope.” Gemini’s hands move quickly, and then three separate chains drop from his grip, the ends hitting the table with a metallic clink. “It’s three of them.”
“Don’t you think a better accessory would have been a fucking diamond?” Syn asks through gritted teeth. “Put the fucking things away before I use one to chain you to—”
“I think they’re perfect,” I say loudly as I turn to look at Syn.
There’s a vein pulsing at his temple, and he really looks ready to carry out his threat on me.
I don’t care.
I know he’s not going to wear it, but just the idea—
“Not a chance,” he hisses under his breath.
I’m not sure what we’re saying is loud enough for the whole dining hall to hear, but I know everyone’s attention hasn’t left us since we walked in, and even if they can’t hear us, it’s pretty obvious what’s happening.
For some reason, Syn doesn’t seem to be focused on anyone but me.
I snatch one of the chains from Gemini’s hand. “I’m not joking,” I tell Syn.
“Neither am I.”
Without further hesitation, I reach up and clip the leash to his collar with a soft click. The noise seems to echo around the room, but when I glance over, I realize from the number of open mouths, the sound is a collective gasp.
Feeling emboldened while holding tightly to Syn’s leash, I turn back to Gemini and Royal. Gemini already has the chain connected to his collar and is offering the end to me, while Royal is in the process of attaching his. With my head held high, and the three leashes in my right hand, I stride towards the exit like I’m on a catwalk.
Over the last few years, I feel like I’ve changed and evolved so many times that I’m not sure who I really am anymore. While I don’t feel like this behavior is completely true to me, I can’t say I don’t enjoy the power—even if it is fleeting.
The moment we’re outside, Syn jerks his leash out of my hands, unclipping it before I can turn around. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Before I can respond, another voice joins the conversation.
“Considering the recent events on this campus, I find it hard to believe you consider this type of behavior acceptable.”
The statement doesn’t come from one of the three guys in front of me, but from the professor behind me.
“And here I was, worried that the student who died was my own T.A., considering she neither turned up for her office hours, nor had the decency to inform me she was… ill?” As usual, Payne’s dark eyes are filled with a combination of anger and contempt—the usual expression he has when he looks at me.
“It’s exam week,” Syn says. His tone seems lazy, but his eyes are already narrowed.
“Lectures may have finished for the semester, but as my T.A., Miss Reynolds’ employment still stands. Not that you’d know much about work.” Payne folds his arms as he gives Syn a cold smile.
“Just because you think a white-collar job is an aspiration doesn’t mean you have any authority over what work looks like.” Syn lets out an exasperated sigh as he looks away.
“I’ll be there at our usual time,” I hurriedly tell Payne. I give the leashes a gentle tug. “We should go. You have exams to study for,” I tell the men, even though they’ve probably got someone handling their final grades for them.
Despite Syn’s announcement at breakfast, I’m surprised when he doesn’t stop me from going to Dr. Wright’s office instead of dinner… Until we reach the path that branches off from the dining hall.
As Syn stops, I stick my hands deep into my coat pockets and glare at him. “If I don’t go to Dr. Wright’s office, he will come to Denali House.”
Syn tilts his head. “If he wants to keep his job, he won’t.”
As I let out an exasperated sigh, he just shrugs.
“I’m not stopping you. We’re walking with you to the Sterling building.”
“You think your threats weren’t enough?” I ask, glancing at Royal and Gemini.
“Not if someone only has a double-digit IQ,” Gemini mutters.
“We told everyone you’re ours…” Royal shifts his weight to his other foot, folding his arms. “Our equal . As well as telling everyone we’d destroy anyone who tries to hurt you. Don’t you think it would look suspicious if we didn’t accompany you everywhere?”
I arch an eyebrow. “Are you going to accompany me to the bathroom too?”
“Depends on if a golden shower is involved.” Gemini’s eyes go wide.
“Gem, do we need to have another conversation about discussing kinks in public?” Syn asks in a low tone.
Gemini gestures around us. The campus isn’t exactly buzzing with activity, but the closest people aren’t in earshot. “Is this public?”
“When I’m near you, it’s always public,” Syn growls at him.
“I can walk to Dr. Wright’s office by myself,” I say before Gemini derails the conversation completely.
“You can.” Royal agrees.
“But you’re not going to,” Syn finishes. “Regardless of how much you think this is an inconvenience to you, it’s more of an inconvenience to me. So, suck it up, Princess.”
While I’m initially irritated, as we walk away from the main path to between the academic buildings where the only light comes from the streetlights that line the path, and the only sound is the four of us breathing as the salt crunches beneath out shoes, I’m secretly grateful that I didn’t have to walk this empty route by myself.
At the door to the Sterling building, Syn stops. “You won’t be returning here again. I don’t care what important tasks that professor has for you; we will be waiting outside to collect you after we’ve eaten. You have an hour. Do not make me wait.”
Without acknowledging Syn, I head inside. He can bark all the orders at me that he wants, but even if he’s right, and I won’t be back here as a student once I leave, I’m not allowing him to dictate how much time I’m allowed to spend anywhere.
I’m not going to feel the slightest bit guilty if he has to stand in the cold for an extra ten minutes.
The door to Payne’s office is closed when I arrive. I knock gently, and when there’s no response, I try the handle. Locked. Payne gave me a key for emergencies, and while I don’t think having to wait in a cold corridor for the professor to arrive constitutes an emergency, I’m alone, and I don’t trust Lissa not to follow me. despite Syn’s earlier warning.
So, I let myself in and turn the light on, then close the door behind me. Payne’s office is large, with tall windows behind his desk. Outside, in the little light that shines out of his office window, I can just about see one of the trees in the center of the quad. Inside, the office is immaculate, but there’s little about the dark wood features that make me think Payne’s made much effort to personalize the place.
One small section of bookcase which covers an entire wall has books related to the Mass Comm course he teaches, but the rest of the shelves are sparse, and the few ornaments on them look like they came with the room.
Curious, I move behind the desk and sit down in the enormous leather chair. Aside from his monitor and docking station, everything else feels old-fashioned, from an actual phone with a cable that plugs into the wall, to the desktop clock with gold numbers and hands.
For someone who demands attendance and punctuality in his classes, he’s already five minutes late.
With the desktop giving no clues about the professor’s location, I turn to the desk drawers, pulling them open, one by one. In the bottom drawer is a bottle of bourbon, a third of the amber liquid already missing.
The normal response would be to close the drawer and stop snooping, but I would have happily had some before I took into consideration Payne’s earlier expression. I’m here now so that he can yell at me and tell me I’m doing a terrible job of finding out what happened to Lucy, and while he might be right about that, it doesn’t mean I won’t find this a little less painful with a little bit of liquor to take off the edge.
I unscrew the lid and drink a few mouthfuls straight from the bottle. I’m not really a bourbon drinker, but the way the liquid burns my throat as I swallow is both welcoming and warming. Gulping instead of sipping has me drinking more than I intend, and I’m rewarded with a pleasant dizzy feeling as I set the bottle down on the desk in front of me.
Settling back into the chair, I feel myself smile as I close my eyes.
My blissful moment of peace is cut short as the door opens, and Payne stops in the doorway, eyes locking on the bottle before they move to me.
“Oops,” I say with zero remorse.
Payne steps into the room and closes the door behind him, a click echoing around the room as he locks it. His lips twitch, but he doesn’t say anything as he walks over to the desk.
“Oops? You disappeared, and I’ve been worried sick, and all you can say is oops?”