Betrayal Foretold: Descended of Dragons, Book 3 (2 page)

“
S
how me
, Pia,” I said. Tension gripped me and my stomach tried to relocate through my esophagus.

I read the formal message on Pia’s screen.

I
squeezed
my eyes shut in regret, in humiliation, in fury.
Stupid, stupid
, I thought.
Stupid to write that down. Stupid not to know more about my student journal and Radix-issued P.I.A. and realize they were accessible by the administration. Stupid damned Livia-damned-Miles.

I found a seat next to Ewan at the fire pit, where less than a month before I had grown to love my newfound relatives Bay and Eiven. For a girl who grew up only ever knowing a mother as family, finding a grandmother and an uncle was an answer to my prayers. Discovering them seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Well, that’s some creative editing,” I said, because focusing on anything else in Dean Miles’s indulgent diatribe would lead to my complete meltdown.

Ewan widened his eyes in exasperation. “This is serious, Stella.”

“I know it’s freaking serious,” I snapped. “I read the letter. What do you want me to say?”

His expression fell from concerned to wounded, and I regretted my snap immediately. “I’m sorry. It’s not you I’m angry with, you were just within reach.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said and ran a palm across my shoulder blades. He rubbed big, comforting circles on my back, but there was no way I could relax. “How did she get your journal, anyway?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I considered the question. “Probably found it on the Radix master file or something. Once I learned my entries weren’t private, I went back and deleted this specific one. I guess I was too late.”

As I spoke, Pia was still firmly encased in my hand, and when she alerted me to another message, my grip nearly cracked her screen.

“Stella, you have received a message from Radix Office of Administration,” she announced. Though not equipped with actual vocal chords, she delivered the announcement with gravity.

“Read it aloud,” I ordered.

“
Ms. Stonewall,

We must inform you that due to recent findings by a committee appointed to investigate the events of an off-campus gathering on 7/11, you are hereby expelled from Radix Citadel for Supernatural Learning. This expulsion is effective immediately. You may retrieve your belongings from your residence at Sabre Hall under the supervision of campus authorities within the next four hours. Please be advised the committee has filed a report with the proper authorities, who will be contacting you as part of their ongoing investigation. We consider
—”

“Stop, Pia. I got it.” I closed my eyes on an angry breath. “Yeah right. I’m gonna hop right over to The Root so they can take me away in handcuffs.”

Ewan twisted his mouth. “Actually, I’ve never seen a pair of handcuffs. Criminals here in Thayer are usually disarmed by an incapacitation spell.”

“Seriously, Ewan? Now I’m a criminal?”

“I didn’t mean… You know what I meant.” He couldn’t stop his lips from bending into a smile, despite the seriousness of the situation.

I grunted, unamused. “I assume they’re going to come looking for me now, if they haven’t started already.”

“You’re probably right.” He pulled me closer, which didn’t improve my jagged outlook, but did make it blurry around the edges. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s a good thing this place’s wards are off the charts. I’m safe here, at least.”

“Mmm,” Ewan agreed and ran big hands across my back again.

My head lolled against his chest, but my mind raced.
Am I really safe here? What now? How long can I stay here alone without losing it completely?

A twig snapped at the forest’s edge.

Ewan and I were wound so tightly with anxiety; we whipped around in defensive fighting postures. Mine most certainly resembled a herniated ninja, but Ewan’s strong back arched elegantly in preparation of changing forms. He was impressive as hell as his breathing came fast and hard, and the muscles of his shoulders strained to stay inside his olive skin. Serene, contemplative Ewan had transformed into savage protector in a matter of seconds. I stepped away from him subconsciously.

“It’s just us,” Boone announced. He and Timbra stepped free of the woods’ shadows. “Don’t broil us.”

“Not funny, Boone.” I shot him an irritated look, but my friend’s every move, every goofy expression, betrayed his fun-loving nature, and it was impossible to stay angry with him. Sandy blond hair topped Boone’s classic good looks. He was tall—too tall—too big, and too much. Also, just right.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Timbra said in a rush.

Timbra’s forbearers were deer, and she had some fairly distinct indicators of the cervid decent. The long, black lashes of her doe eyes blinked frequently, calling attention to them…until you caught sight of her ears. Pert, fawn-colored ears protruded from honeyed hair so fine it blew like wisps of silk in the wind.

While everyone in Thayer turned furry now and then, Timbra was the only one of my close friends who consistently displayed a trait of her alternate form. Boone was descended from great dogs, Ewan from wolves, Layla from birds. They could all pass in my old world as human, but Timbra never would. Before Rowan Gresham crashed into my car in my sleepy college town and showed me another world existed, one I was born into but kept ignorant of by my own mother, I went about life like any normal college girl. I put off studying until the last possible minute. I partied too much and stayed out too late. What little money I had went to fast food and bar tabs.

But things in Thayer were far different. People here had descended from a variety of species, not just apes. It was these hereditary differences that caused Boone and Timbra, two of the best people I knew, such difficulty and pain. They were in love. The real kind of love, I suspected, but their match was forbidden. People of such varied ancestries couldn’t conceive a child, and so society deemed their relationships unnatural. Families prided themselves on “pure” lines, looking down on those who strayed outside their species. Boone and Timbra knew all of this. They had tried to stay away from each other, but fate had a different plan. The two had fallen deeply, irrevocably in love. Their future was uncertain, but their present was a wonderful thing to behold.

“I’m glad you came,” I said to the pair. “But you may want to reconsider the company you’re keeping. I was just expelled from The Root. Nice they informed the entire Radix campus before actually telling
me
.”

Timbra’s lips stretched into a tight grimace. “I’m so sorry, Stell. What can we do? What are you going to do now?”

“Hell if I know. I’ll hide out here for a bit, I suppose. I’ve nowhere else to go. I mean, I could go back to my old life—my old home on Earth, but they’d eventually find me there. Gresham found me the first time.”

Gresham’s knowledge of my location was of concern because, as I had learned after having an affair with him, he was Director of Thayerian Defense. If he found us, I had no doubt he’d take me in.
A low growl rumbled through Ewan’s lips and I shot him an exasperated look. He was no fan of Rowan Gresham, to put it mildly.

“Taking shelter here is all you can do for now,” he said. I winked at him in support of the small victory over his animal form. When it came to Gresham, or any threat to me, really, Ewan's wolf form tried to fight its way out. It demanded to be heard, to be feared. This only seemed a mild irritation to Ewan rather than a source of embarrassment or frustration. Everyone had alternate forms, after all. It was how we managed them that counted.

“At least you’re safe here,” Timbra said, her slender ears twitching nervously. The movement caught Boone’s eye, and he reached instinctively to touch them. She jerked from his reach, and her whole body shivered. “Boone!” she admonished. “You can’t touch my ears in public, you perv. You know what that does to me.” Boone appeared to be adequately shamed, though he did glance longingly at them several times.

“Right,” Boone chimed in at last. “And we’ll keep visiting. You may have to stay here, but you’re not alone.”

“I’m going to stay with her.” Ewan’s plan was news to me, and my spine shot straight at the presumption. He hadn’t asked. But I soon relaxed with pleasure at the images the thought evoked. Secluded with Ewan in a cabin, rasping my bare legs against the hair of his calves as we lay tangled on the couch together—the only two people for miles and miles.
Yessss.
My eyes fell closed as my imagination took off like a lit fuse.

While my body was on board with his plan, my brain shouted warnings. I crossed my arms, hugging myself through the very real scenario of staying the night with Ewan. Our physical contact had been fairly innocent to date. Hot, yes, but harmless.

Kissing Ewan Bristol was volatile. We’d had such chemistry since the moment we met; I always feared we’d spontaneously combust. Was I ready for more with Ewan? For everything? The answer to that question was less clear than I’d like.

Did I want to make love to him? Damn straight I did.

But was it too soon since Gresham? Was physical intimacy just one more entree on my too-f plate? I was suddenly too overwhelmed to think clearly. I closed my eyes to hide both from my own thoughts, and to shield my feelings from the group.

The increase in my stress level must have been obvious, because Ewan looked down with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

I squeezed my lips together and I shook my head.

“Something’s bothering you. What is it? Are you afraid Gresham will find you here? The others? Don’t worry. I’ll do everything I can to prevent that. And if it happens, I’ll protect you.”

He searched my face, his gaze confident and sympathetic. Sometimes, when I looked into Ewan’s eyes, I thought they should somehow brim over with emotion, because the force of his passion was nearly a tangible thing, like tears were to sorrow.

But his eyes soon took on another look, one of impressed amusement. “Not that you need me to protect you,” he teased. “The last time I tried, you tossed me aside like an irritating gnat.”

I grinned at the memory. “I’m still mad at you for biting my ass.”

“You’ve got another bite coming.”

Rawr
. My body shivered deliciously and erupted into a thousand tiny goosebumps.

“Yeah. Still standing here.” Boone’s raised eyebrows and faux-disapproving expression didn’t fool anyone. He was enjoying mine and Ewan’s developing relationship as much as we were.
Okay, almost.
“What I don’t understand is how they found that journal entry,” Boone continued.

“Stella thinks they accessed some kind of Radix master file. She’d previously deleted that post, but it was still out there. Obviously.”

“Why don’t you ask her?” Timbra suggested.

“Who?” Ewan and I asked at the same time.

“Your P.I.A. She’ll know who’s been digging around in her files.”

I blew my lips in exasperation.
Of course.

“Pia,” I asked, “Do you know how Dean Miles retrieved the deleted journal entry she referenced in that first message?”

“Certainly.”

“Annnnd?”

“I gave it to her.”

“You
WHAT
?” The four of us howled in unison.

“I forwarded the journal entry to Dean Miles,” Pia repeated.

“Why the hell would you do that?” My voice rose with emotion.

“To save you. Dragons are one of two primary threats to Thayer, Stella, and Brandubh is the second. It is widely known Brandubh was the mastermind behind the Steward Massacre. When you revealed your origin, your relatives, and your encounters with the sorcerer, I was obligated to share that information with Radix Administration to protect not just the people of Thayer, but to protect you. Vice Chancellor Edgecliffe, Dean Miles, and the Radix Board of Directors can utilize the information I collected to enforce Radix rules and uphold Thayerian law. My role in the safety of our students is of vital importance.”

“God, you sound just…like…them.” Comprehension dawned. I shook my head in disgust. Though she had a mind of her own,
someone
had programmed Pia. Of course, her loyalty would lie with the school, and not with me. I’d been incredibly dumb, incredibly naive. I was also incredibly heartbroken. Despite the rational source of Pia’s disloyalty, I still felt the sharp sting of betrayal.

At the thought of the word ‘betrayal,’ Layla’s mother, Val Avenatio, and her portentous words came back to me as if on the wings of a bird.
“You aren’t free of danger yet. You’ll be betrayed again before all of this is through.”

I deflated. Breath left my gaping mouth in a rush, my limp arms weighted my shoulders to the ground, and my knees buckled before I caught myself. I couldn’t lift my eyes to look at anyone, especially Pia, whose magically mechanized face was modeled after my own. I’d come to trust her like a techy friend, and her betrayal felt like catching a roommate and my boyfriend in bed.

Oh my God
.
What if she can tell them where I am now? What if she turns me in?
I ground my teeth at my own ignorance and reached to disable Pia without warning her first. Her expressive eyebrows drew down in confusion as I depressed the small button to power her down. Her mouth opened to protest just before she faded completely.

I cleared my throat to get their attention, and raised my eyebrows in silent question to my friends. “
Don’t speak—don’t answer out loud
,” I sent telepathically to the group. “
Did you bring your P.I.A.’s? If so, turn them off. Now
.”

Timbra nodded slowly and reached in the pocket of her gray cardigan to power off her P.I.A., Fawn, as did Ewan. Boone had come tech naked.

“Don’t bring those back,” I said when they gave me the all-clear. “Obviously, they’re not trustworthy. But…what should I do with this thing?” I angled my head toward Pia. “I’m afraid there’s probably still a tracking function.”

“Good point,” Ewan said. “Let me have her. I’ll dispose of her.”

He traced away without another word, returning in a matter of minutes.

I wouldn’t ask. I didn’t care. I didn’t. “What did you do with her?” I whispered.

“I threw the betraying bitch to the bottom of a lake.”

Hard as I tried to remain angry and stoic, a pang of regret gripped me when I imagined Pia gurgling, calling out to me as she sank to the water’s depths.