Chapter 33
1503 Words
Chapter 33
“Ms. Evans. Have a seat.”
Mr. Zee’s office looks like it belongs to another world. The walls are painted with murals of the sky and clouds. The furniture is stone with red pillows. Even his desk is weird, looking more like a sacrificial stone table than something that belongs in an office environment. He wears a toga and clutches a golden goblet.
I move forward and sit on the stone chair, glad for the comfy cushion.
Mr. Zee eyes me with interest. His gaze seems to see every inch of my skin and I feel suddenly n***d. I shiver.
“So, you’re the impossible girl? The dragon who saved the Academy.”
“I did what I could,” I mumbled. “I couldn’t save everyone.”
I can’t help but think of Cassie, who is a total and complete wreck. After this meeting I’m going straight to her room so she doesn’t have to be alone.
“No. The students’ deaths are not your fault. Monsters are merciless. You see now why the gods started this Academy.”
I nod. “Pity—Ocypete—I thought she was my friend.”
Mr. Zee shakes his head. “She fooled us all. I thought that although she was a monster, she had chosen the side of right. I will never make that mistake again.” He takes a sip from his goblet. “Ocypete killed all those students. She set them on fire to make it look like you had done it. She wanted to make you an outcast so she could recruit you.”
I am so stupid. Why didn’t I report Pity when she told me she was a double agent? We could have avoided all this bloodshed. Darcy would still be alive.
Mr. Zee produces a file out of nowhere and looks through it. “It seems your father was a student here.”
I fidget uncomfortably. What is in that file? Will Mr. Zee blame me for the circumstances of my birth?
“Hmmm, I don’t remember your father. Or your mother. It seems they left to have children. How lucky for us that they did.”
I blink. What does my file say? Not the truth, that’s for sure. Did Themis change it to stay out of trouble?
“I’m sorry the monsters killed your father. Once an Academy student, always an Academy student. If they found him they would have wanted revenge.”
He snaps the folder shut and it disappears. “A dragon! A creature of myth. How amazing. The Academy is so pleased to have you on our side. You will be our strongest weapon in this war.”
I don’t know what to say. I’ve gone from being the useless shifter who can’t shift, to the hope of the gods.
“And I have some good news for you. We’ve found your mother. She’s still in Greece.”
I stand. Then sit. Then stand again. “You’ve found my mom?”
He nods. “It seems the monsters didn’t kill her. They are probably using her for leverage. We can get a team together to extract her.”
I collapse back into the chair, shakily. My mom is alive. It’s more than I had hoped for. “And Mavis?” I ask, my voice wavering.
“Mavis?” Mr. Zee raises and eyebrow.
“My sister…”
He frowns. “There’s no record of your sister. I’ll have to dig a little deeper.”
At least there’s news of my mom. “When can I leave?” I ask.
“We’ll have to put together a team. A tracker, a spy, a healer, and you. That’s how these things work.”
“I know who I want on my team,” I tell him.
“You’ll coordinate with Themis. She takes care of the details. I’m more of an ideas man.” He waves his hand, indicating that he’s dismissing me.
I leave his office and go directly to Themis’. She’s not in, but I leave her a note that I have to talk with her immediately. I don’t want to leave Cassie alone for too long, though, so I head back to the dorms.
In the courtyard students stare at me as I pass. I hear their whispers. That I’m a dragon. That I’m the most powerful shifter that ever was. That I saved the school.
It’s bittersweet. I’m no longer seen as a loser, but at what cost? I catch a glimpse of Greg standing with his friends and detour. It must be hard for him too. He sees me coming and meets me half way.
I enfold him in a hug and when I look at his face there are tears in his eyes. “Greg, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t…”
He shrugs. “It’s not your fault.” He gives me a playful punch on the shoulder. “So…you’re a freaking dragon, huh? Badass.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I guess you don’t want to mate with me anymore, huh?”
His face reddens. “Oh no, I’m still into it. I mean, imagine a dragon-bat hybrid. Our kids would be awesome.”
“My answer is still no,” I say as kindly as possible.
“Well, can’t blame a guy for trying.” His eyes flick over my shoulder. “Great,” he says rolling his eyes.
I turn to find Val. “Hey Greg, can I have a moment?”
“Yeah, sure, Edie.” He reluctantly goes back to his friends.
“You look all healed up,” I say to Val, feeling awkward after I’d cried all over him.
“Yeah,” Val smiles crookedly and holds out his arms, displaying his perfect self, today wearing a t-shirt that reads FLORIDA: THE BATH SALT STATE. “Even better, after getting burned three times, the healers are sick of patching me up so they put a fireproof spell on me.”
“Wow, so I guess that’s one defense I won’t be able to use against you.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. I’ve got a feeling there are more tricks up your sleeve.”
“Yeah,” I agree, lamely.
And then we stand there, just sorta staring at each other.
“I should get back to Cassie,” I say at last. “Was there something you wanted?”
I’m not sure what I’m hoping for. There’s something between us, but—
“Val! Come on already!”
It’s Tina. In her usual sneaky vampire way, she appeared out of nowhere.
“Tina.” He shrugs her off where she has attached herself to his arm. “I was just saying good-bye to Edie.”
“Good-bye?” I ask, suddenly feeling bereft. I look at Val, but it’s Tina who answers.
“Spare me the drama. It’s only a few weeks. Apparently, the gods sent notes to the clans last week. They’re worried about the unusual uptick in interspecies dating and wanted our guardians to be aware of it.”
“Are you in trouble?” Again, I ask Val. And again, Tina seems to think I’m talking to her.
“In trouble? Vampires don’t get grounded.” Tina rolls her eyes and somehow makes it look glamorous. “We’re actually going home to celebrate. Val is being sworn to another vampire. It’s like marriage, but way cooler, because—”
Knowing I’m a dragon makes me brave enough to cut Tina off. “Because you’re vampires. Yeah, I get it.” But my bravado doesn’t last long, as Tina’s words hit me and I realize what they mean. Somehow, as my throat grows tight with tears, I manage to squeak out, “Well congrats, Val. I’m…I really gotta get back to Cassie.”
I spin and walk away as fast as I can without losing my last shreds of dignity. Anyway, after everything that happened the other night it seems dumb to care about something as small as a broken crush.
A hand grabs mine and whirls me around. I’m sure it’s Val, finally ready to explain.
But instead it’s Tina.
Again.
“He was never for you,” she tells me in a low vicious voice.
I gulp and nod. “I know.”
She nods too. And then suddenly relaxes her grip on my hand. “By the way, I meant to say—you saved Val. I heard. I didn’t see it. But whatever, it seems to be true, so… You’re no longer the worst person on campus.”
And with that—compliment?—she spins around to leave.
At least I’ll get a break from her for a few weeks.
“Vee doesn’t travel well, so you’ll have to feed her for me,” Tina calls back over her shoulder.
Before I can tell her ‘no way, no how’, she’s already gone.
I take a detour through the dining hall on the way to Cassie’s and am surprised by how easy it is to convince them to give me a giant tub of ice cream. There are apparently perks to being the hero of the day. If nothing else, Cassie and I can eat away our sorrows.
When I get to Cassie’s room I’m surprised to find her mom, Merilee, there instead. Of course her mom would comfort her. Why would I think she’d be left alone? But where is Cassie? And why does Merilee look so stricken?
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Merilee turns to me, a piece of paper clutched in her hands. “Edie, you have to help Cassie.”
“Of course I will!” I say as she pushes the paper at me.
On it is a note, hastily scribbled but clearly in Cassie’s handwriting.
The monsters want me. They’re going to take me. Send help.
THE END
Continue the series with the next book - Pillage & Plague, Mythverse book 2!
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