Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(93)

He didn't look at me as he jammed his key in the lock of his office, pushing it open and stepping inside without a word.

I ground my teeth as the door swung closed in my face, taking a measured breath.

I am Darcy Vega. Heir to the throne of Solaria apparently. And I'm not going to be phased by a moody teacher.

Who might also happen to be a psychotic murder.

Holy crap.

I steeled myself and shoved the door open. A gust of wind left my palm in the same moment and the door slammed back into the wall.

Woops.

Orion didn't even seem to notice as he dropped into his ottoman chair and proceeded to siphon the mud off of himself with a wave of his hand.

I cleared my throat, wanting some damn acknowledgment before I started throwing around accusations.

He lifted a hand, whipping it sideways and the door slammed shut just as hard as I'd flung it open. My pulse went from nought to a million.

Should not have come here alone. Terrible plan. Abort abort.

“Stand on the desk,” Orion suddenly commanded, his voice dripping with Coercion.

The power of it slammed into me and I threw up a mental shield at the last second, just as I'd been learning to do all of last week. The command tried to burrow through my walls and I shut my eyes as I focused on keeping it out. My leg muscles twitched but I didn't budge, fighting the order with all my strength until eventually it fell away.

I released a breath that had been trapped in my lungs, opening my eyes and gazing triumphantly at Orion.

He clucked his tongue. “Good. Let's get on with tonight's session.” He glanced at his watch. “All thirty five minutes of it.”

I fought an eye roll, dropping into my seat opposite him, trying to muster the nerve to accuse him of murder.

Maybe I should build up to that.

“Geraldine's doing better,” I said, eyeing him closely for a reaction.

“Yes, thank the stars,” he said hollowly. “She can go back to annoying us all by preaching about the 'True Heirs’.” He actually air-quoted it and I pursed my lips.

“Any idea who attacked her?” I asked airily.

“Whatever I know or do not know about that incident is none of your business.” He stared me down and I refused to budge.

I'm not done with this conversation, douchebag. No matter how intimidating you are.

I scrunched my fingers up in the black skirt I was wearing, trying to decide on my next line of questioning.

“So, how is Order Enhancement coming along?” He leaned back in his chair, threading his fingers together and stacking his hands on his stomach. His t-shirt rode up to reveal a line of dark hair leading below his waistband and some unholy part of me squirmed with desire.

I forced my eyes up to meet his and didn't miss the flicker of amusement in his gaze.

“Well I know I'm not a Werewolf,” I said with a shrug.

“Yes, a great way to figure out if you're a Werewolf is dancing with one of them like you were paid for it.” He gave me a long, hard stare that pulled at my insides and unravelled them like twine. He'd seen me with Seth. Of course he'd seen me with Seth, he'd been at the bar. And I suddenly felt too hot and this seat felt too hard. I shifted nervously, his ridiculing tunnelling through my body.

I didn't have an answer to that, unsure exactly what he wanted me to say. Deny it? Couldn't. Confirm it? Wasn't necessary.

He picked up a pen and rolled it between his fingers, swivelling side to side in his chair. His eyes never left mine like he was trying to drill his way into my mind and pick out all of the information he wanted. “And screwing him didn't bring out the wolf in you either?” he asked calmly, rationally, like he had the right to ask that. Like he wasn't my damn teacher and it wasn't so inappropriate I wanted to scream.

My lips were pressed so tightly together I didn't know if they'd even allow me to answer. “I didn't,” I hissed. “And it would be none of your business if I did.”

He scooted forward in his chair and his bare knee brushed mine. I dug my heels in, inching backwards as my heart jolted from the contact.

He leaned forward and I held his gaze. “It's my business as your Liaison to look out for you. The Heirs will chew you up and spit you out, Miss Vega. Just a friendly warning.”

Nothing about his face said friendly. In fact, if I looked up the exact opposite of friendly in the dictionary, there'd be a picture of him.

I rested my palms on the desk, leaning in rather than leaning away like I wanted to. My heart was frantic and begging me to run for the hills. But I wouldn't run away. This guy needed to know I was onto him. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it inside his own office. He couldn't incriminate himself like that. At least, that was what I was banking on.

“Funnily enough, sir, I've taken an interest in your business too lately.” I let the energy of that impending thunderstorm crackle over him.

He cocked his head, his mouth twisting up at the corner. “Well don't keep me in suspense, Miss Vega. I'm dying to hear the speech you've written for this occasion.” He smirked darkly and in that moment, I knew that he knew what I was going to say. Because I'd already reacted like a kicked puppy when he came hounding into the bathroom after me on Friday night. He knew I was afraid of him. He knew I suspected him of coming after Tory and I. So he'd already put two and two together and realised I suspected him of attacking Geraldine too. But he didn't know how I knew.