100% That Witch - Celia Kyle Page 0,3

mean, Nero?” Onyx asked, ignoring Ryan.

“It, um…” Nero shifted in his seat, looking a bit uneasy at the daggers being thrown his way by the sulking fairy at the far end of the table. “Basically, I use meditation to prolong the periods between feedings. Then I only take enough to survive, preferably not kill, and if possible, only from free-range predators and pests.”

“Well, aren’t you thoughtful,” Ryan sneered, raising his voice to full volume for the first time.

Tiffany had been about to tune everyone out again, but Ryan’s impending drama was—surprisingly—more irresistible than gazing up at Rhys.

“I’m sorry,” Nero said kindly, clearly off-center. “Have I done something to—”

“Actually, I’m surprised Tiffany’s little friend there can stand to be so close to you.” After so many sotto voce barbs, Ryan teetered near hysteria as soon as he had the attention of the room. “If you only drink animal blood, then all these adorable friends we’ve got should be running away in terror. Huh?”

“Well, as I said, I only really pursue predators—”

“Oh, there are plenty of predators around here,” Ryan said, scraping his chair back from the table. “But only one you really need to watch out for.” With a hard glare at Nathan, he threw his napkin on the table and stormed out of the house.

At his departure, Hollow House dimmed the lights slightly. They all sat in silence for a moment, nobody quite sure what to do or say next.

“I think we could all use another drink. Don’t you?” Tiffany declared.

She stood up quickly and dared to place a hand on Rhys’s shoulder for “support.” It might have been an innocuous move—perhaps subtle enough to go unnoticed—if it weren’t for the profusion of singing birds that fluttered above her head the second she touched him.

Two

However much she enjoyed the opportunity to bask in the presence of her crush, the next day brought Tiffany right back down to earth. In fact, as she wandered out of her potions class, she felt like she was buried a hundred feet down.

Even with her stunned, hazy eyes, the big red F stared back up from the exam in her numb hands. Admittedly, she knew things weren’t all peaches in that particular class, but this was a sobering reminder of just how much was at stake.

“Ms. Ufora?” Dr. Judd beckoned her over from the doorway. “May I have a moment of your time?”

Shit.

His mouth was smiling, but it stopped short of his eyes. He wore the sad smile of someone with bad news to impart. As if the paper in her sweaty palms wasn’t news enough already. Swallowing hard, she stepped back into the classroom, like a salmon struggling upstream through the current of her classmates.

Dr. Judd pulled a chair up from one of the nearby tables and placed it to face his desk before he took up his roost on the corner. Folding his hands below the hem of his argyle sweater vest, he looked every inch the kindly grandfather, an image that belied what Tiffany knew was coming.

“I trust you’ve had a chance to look over your exam,” he said, gesturing lightly toward the test burning in her fingers as she sat in front of him.

“Hard to miss.”

He nodded and turned to look out the window for a moment. Nothing was unkind in his face, and Tiffany thought about how much she actually liked him, in spite of the way his class spun her in circles.

“We both know why I asked you to hang back for a moment, Ms. Ufora.” That was enough to drop a cold stone clear into the base of her stomach. “Unfortunately, the grade you see there is indicative of how your class work seems to be progressing.”

“That bad?” As if she hadn’t known.

“I’m afraid so,” he said, looking as rueful as she felt. “That said, I believe it’s not too late for you to turn things around. You’re bright and clever. All you need to do is apply yourself.” It wasn’t an unkind thing to say, but it hit Tiffany like an arrow in the chest.

“But I have been,” she protested. “I don’t know what it is, but potions just don’t seem to stick.”

“That is unfortunate,” he said. Then he rose and smoothed back his powdery white hair. “Don’t give up, and please don’t hesitate to set up an appointment with me if you’d like to go over anything you learn in class. The last thing I want is to see any of my students fail. Good afternoon.”

Even