It had only been half an hour since Alarik had announced the elections, which would take place in early spring...
Of course, that arrogant little witch had already let herself be nominated. I didn’t even want to know what her intentions were.
I would wait until November... I probably needed the time to find someone who was willing to vote for me.
“By the way, I’m glad you want to join the campaign.” I thought I could see the hint of a smile on Alarik’s lips. “Here you can show the potential that’s drowning at home.”
I stared at him. It was all I was capable of.
“Alarik.”
I wheeled around and spotted my father in the doorway. He looked at me, but only for a split second before he looked back at Alarik. And he didn’t look happy at all.
I wonder if he had heard what Alarik had just said, or if it was still the news that was driving him up the wall.
“A word,” he demanded, looking at me again. “Emely, if you’ll excuse us.”
The formality in his voice left a tug in my chest. But before it could become more than that, I nodded.
“Of course...”
I left the office and closed the door behind me.
This time, just go down the hall and let Father and Alarik talk.
I really wanted to, but my father’s angry voice made invisible chains grow around my feet like tendrils, forcing me to look around and then put my ear to the cold wood of the solid office door.
“Do you realize who you’ve let into our university? These young men are murderers!”
I was aware of who Father was talking about. There was only one family in town he would call murderers.
“I doubt that any of these three young men are responsible for the murder in Fogs Forest,” Alarik replied in a calm voice.
The only reason Father hadn’t yet taken the Director title from his younger brother was because Alarik was the only Senseque in the pack worthy of leading a university. And he was a Beta.
“Think, brother!” Father pressed out impatiently. “The timing of their clan leader sending them here right now...”
“Bastien sent them,” my uncle replied immediately. “From what I understand, the clan leader himself was less than enthusiastic about it.”
Silence. I knew Father was struggling with himself.
“I don’t like the fact that you know these criminals by name.”
Alarik sighed. “I assure you I have nothing to do with them, yet we cannot simply exclude students. This institution is public. And having them here might help you keep the peace.”
I almost snorted in annoyance.
Alarik really was living in fairyland if he believed that.
“Don’t be a fool, Alarik!” Father snapped at him. “Even if I wanted peace, Nicolaj DeLoughrey doesn’t.”
Nicolaj. The clan head about whom dark stories circulated in the pack.
“He wants me dead; he wants my sons dead, and he intends to see the pack bleed... He can’t wait to wipe us out!” I heard Father pacing nervously. “And he proved that by almost completely wiping out our line before the witches’ treaties.”
I wondered where we would be without those treaties. If one species would have wiped out the other by now?
“Now, we have the treaties, which, mind you, have kept peace between the species for two centuries.”
The urge to tear open the door and defend Father against Alarik’s optimistic arguments grew stronger and stronger.
“You really are a fool if you don’t also sense the instability of these treaties!” Father stopped walking. “Nicolaj never wanted peace. He was forced to sign the treaties. And these attacks on humans are just the beginning!”
Alarik said nothing in response to Father’s words.
Something distracted me. I felt a strange cold sensation on the back of my neck as if someone was watching me.
I looked around. The corridor was empty. I smelled... nothing. But the feeling remained.
“This university is yours.” My father’s words rang through the door. They were closer now. “But sometimes, I wonder if I haven’t made a mistake leaving it to you.”
Footsteps approached the door. And as always, I stole away unnoticed before anyone could spot me.
We had just arrived at our family’s country estate when Finn hurried through the doorway across the stone terrace, one of the countless Jeep car keys in his hand.
“Finn...” I called out, and he looked up, pausing briefly. “Are you all right?”
Finn looked in a hurry, as if something had happened. He must have just come back from school.
