Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,51

time.

“So what? It’s not like there’s an age gap,” I laughed.

Adrian cleared his throat again. “I will go now. We can talk about this… later. In private.”

“No.” I stomped my foot. “I will go. All three of you want me to choose, and I won’t have it. One, I don’t belong to either of you, as I know you’d like to think. And two, if you want me, you will have to learn how to share and not make a huge drama out of it. If that doesn’t work for you, then whatever. I have more important things to do, anyway.”

They were silent for a moment, and that was my cue. I teleported out of there. Poof. Back into the ballroom, where Corri had already dug into the first course.

“Are you okay, Mistress? You look rattled.”

“No,” I whispered. “I’m not okay.”

She knew we were going to talk about it later. For now, I needed to eat and drink a few glasses of wine.

Why had I done that? Did I want to turn them against each other? Did I want to turn them against me? Because I felt like I was succeeding beautifully. It would be easier that way… If they gave up on me… It would be easier to do what I was supposed to do without worrying that I might never return. If they fell in love with me like I was falling in love with them, they’d lose me. And that would break their hearts. So, it was better if they thought I was a heartless bitch who fucked around and didn’t care about anyone. Because I knew… I could feel it deep inside my core… I was going to banish the Great Old Ones, but there would be a price to pay.

There always was.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The day after the Yule Ball the dorms and halls of Grim Reaper Academy were usually empty. Students left for the winter vacation right after the party. It was short anyway, so they wanted to take advantage as much as they could. So, when I went down to breakfast in the dining hall, I expected it to be empty. Corri was buzzing around me, complaining that she was hungry. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Seth and Davien sitting at the MDC table, waiting for me. At the professors’ table, Headmaster Colin, Adrian, and Professor Lovecraft were having coffee in silence.

“Oh, we’re not alone,” Corri said, surprised. She blew out her tiny, cute cheeks. “I was really looking forward to some no-drama, quality time with you, Mistress. We could’ve gone hiking, or swimming, or relaxed at the sauna like girlfriends.”

I smiled. “But you don’t exactly hike, do you?”

“Eh.”

“Since we’re all here it seems, no point in trying to avoid the inevitable,” I concluded.

I walked over to the MDC table, and Seth and Davien looked up at me. I could tell they were still mad because of what had happened the night before. Just as I was sitting down, Headmaster Colin called out from the front of the dining hall.

“Yolanda, boys… why don’t you join us? No reason to make the staff set and clean two tables.”

I cocked an eyebrow. Well, this was unusual. No student had ever sat at the professors’ table. Except for Mila, maybe, when her father had showed up out of the blue and announced that she was his cherished daughter. I shrugged, took the cup of coffee a servant girl had just brought for me, and went to sit at the long, oak table set on top of the dais. I took the seat opposite Adrian, and I saw him tense up slightly.

“Come on, Mr. Krause, Mr. Khepri,” the headmaster insisted.

With a deep sigh, the incubus and the sphinx came to sit beside me, Davien to my left, and Seth to my right. And that was how I ended up surrounded by my three lovers who hated each other. Although, I could feel that Davien and Seth had somehow banded together against their common enemy – Professor Adrian Wyvern. It was as if they felt threatened by him. It was true that when it came to supernaturals, one couldn’t exactly talk about age difference, but that didn’t mean that Adrian wasn’t more experienced than the two VDC students. He’d probably lived longer than them, too.

Corri was acutely aware of the tension in the air. She exchanged a glance with me to make sure that I was okay, then proceeded to materialize tiny plates and cutlery for herself.