Unearthly, The (16 page)

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” I said, “but why did my father choose you to hide me?”

She considered my words. “One, because I was random,” she said. “No one would guess the nanny could wield that kind of power. And two
—
and more importantly
—
because he trusted me completely. He knew what I was.”

“What are you?” I asked, looking out at the twilight sky.

She smiled. “I am a fate.”

Chapter 21

Why did I
never make the right choices when it came to men? Why did I have to let Andre in? These thoughts ran through my mind as I sat in the taxi heading to the airport.

My body felt weary and my heart hurt. The sadness tugged at the corners of my eyes and mouth, pulling them down.

Once I left Cecilia’s, I’d called a taxi and booked a flight back to the Isle of Man through my phone. I couldn’t go back to Andre. Not now after what I learned.

I’d tried so hard my entire life to keep people at arm’s length, and when I finally let someone in, he ended up being a prime suspect in my attacks.

Just my luck.

The sadness and betrayal welled up in me, and I let myself cry, not caring that the taxi driver could hear my sobs.

How had I not considered it before now? Every time I’d been attacked he’d just left my presence. In retrospect it now seemed obviously coordinated.

Pulling myself together, I leaned my head against the window, letting my breath fog up the glass. I had to face the possibility that I had fallen for and stayed with my father’s killer and the person behind my own attacks.

But why would he try to kill me? What threat could I possibly be? He’d already introduced me to the coven. More importantly, why
hadn’t
he already killed me if that was his plan? It didn’t add up.

My body shook as I watched the scenery fly by. Last night came back to me, and I began crying all over again. I couldn’t erase my feelings for him. I could’ve sworn the look in his eyes last night was genuine. I could’ve sworn his concern was genuine. But he’d had so many years to perfect the art of lying.

My phone rang for the fifth time. I didn’t need to look at the caller ID to know who was calling.

I turned off my phone and wiped my cheeks. How would I protect myself from him? Andre was everywhere and nearly all-powerful.

I watched my tears dampen the armrest. Maybe everything was a lie, and Andre was innocent. But for the time being, I had to take Cecilia’s warning seriously until the attacks stopped. I was going to have to stop seeing Andre.

***

Throughout the plane ride I analyzed my talk with Cecilia over and over again, trying to understand whether Andre really could be pretending to like me while trying to kill me.

My thoughts felt clinically detached. I’d folded my heart up and stowed it away since it’d only gotten me into trouble. I would approach this logically from here on out.

Grabbing my textbook from my bag, I flipped to the page on the fates.

Known in Greek mythology as Moirai and in Roman mythology as Parcae, the fates were three sisters who were the incarnation of destiny. Clotho spun the thread of life; Lachesis measured the length of the thread of life; and Atropos cut the thread of life, choosing the time and manner of each person’s death.

I read through the passage until I came to the final useful piece of information.

Few people have ever encountered the fates, so very little is known about them. What is known is that they will only reveal themselves to those deemed worthy.

Now I understood why my father trusted Cecilia and why I should too. If you had destiny working for you, your odds were pretty favorable.

I bid goodbye to my budding relationship and breathed in and out. I was strong; I’d get through this as I had all other calamities.

As I put the book away, one thought lingered: what was a fate doing as my nanny?

***

When I arrived on the Isle of Man early the following morning, it was drizzling; the heavens reflected my mood. I shivered as I walked outside the small airport in nothing but yesterday’s T-shirt and jeans. Because I hadn’t gone back to Andre’s villa after Cecilia’s warning, I had nothing with me except for my book bag. Luckily it contained my wallet and cellphone, but I’d left behind my suitcase.

I hailed down a taxi and came back to Peel defeated. I’d lost Andre and was still no closer to understanding who was after me, or why. The only good the trip had done was remind me that I could trust no one, not even the one man who I’d actually let in.

I opened the door to my dorm, and once I was inside, collapsed against it. Then I let it all out. The tears of frustration, betrayal, and dashed hopes. Couldn’t I just be a normal girl for once?

“Bitch please.”

My head snapped up. Oliver was lounging on my bed, eating more chocolates and flipping through a magazine.

“Don’t even go there,” he said without looking.

I felt my cheeks heat. I gave him a look that could curdle milk, but he didn’t even have the decency to glance up. “What would you know about my life that I don’t?”

He guffawed. “You’re crying because you’re having man troubles
—
obviously. And you need a reality check.”

“For your information, I already received one. Considering that my
man troubles
might also be responsible for the attacks on my life.”

Oliver closed the magazine and walked over to me. “Do you know this for certain?”

“No.”

“So you’re
worried
that Andre’s behind your attacks. Pardon me for saying so, but those aren’t angry, pissed off tears running down your cheeks,” Oliver said, pointing to my cheeks. I put a hand to my face. “Those are the tears of an angst-y teenage girl depressed over a broken relationship.

“Someone’s trying to kill you
—
Andre or not
—
and this is what you’re worried about? Please, you have worse problems.”

Oliver rendered me speechless. He had said the rudest, most hurtful, and most brutally honest thing I’d ever heard.

“Leanne’s freaking out,” he said. “Despite her reliable abilities as a seer, which
foresaw
otherwise, she thinks you’re dead. But I knew you weren’t
—
you’re a survivor. So while she’s running off her stress, I decided to wait for you to show.”

“Has anyone told you that you are a mean little fairy?”

“Oh, no one’s told me
that
. The boys have always told me I’m a big, rowdy
—
”

“Oliver!” I threw my purse at him, which he gracefully dodged.

The door to my dorm jiggled a second before opening. A wet and panting Leanne came in. Her jaw slackened when she saw me.

“Told you,” Oliver said.

She pointed a finger at me and between gulps of air said, “Stop doing this to me. You’re going to kill me with all the stress.”

Immediately I felt guilty. “You’re right. I’m sorry
—
I should’ve called.”

“So what
did
happen if you didn’t die?”

I spent the next fifteen minutes filling Leanne and Oliver in on my trip, including my make-out session with Andre, and the possibility that world’s oldest vampire might be trying to kill me.

For a moment, the room was silent, and then Leanne cleared her throat. “You met a fate? I didn’t even think they were real. What was a fate doing as your nanny?”

I glanced at our rain-splattered windows. “That’s what I want to know.”

***

The next day in History, I began jotting down notes on what I knew about my past and the attacks. Andre was the prime suspect, but I wouldn’t let my feelings cloud my sleuthing skills. After all, someone else could be responsible. I didn’t have many hard facts.

As usual, Caleb was absent. In the background, Professor Mead droned on. “The
Glashtyn
is a water horse who appears as a dark and astoundingly handsome man only distinguishable by his pointed horse ears. In all folktales he captures or attempts to capture women
—
”

A voice boomed through the room. “Gabrielle Fiori, Principal Hazard requests your presence.”

You have got to be kidding me.
Thirty different heads swiveled in my direction.

I made my way out of the classroom. From memory I traced my way back to Principal Hazard’s office. Beyond his open office door he leaned over a scattered pile of papers. I knocked, standing in the doorway.

He glanced up. “Oh, Miss Fiori. Come in, come in.” He beckoned me over.  Unceremoniously I dropped my bag and coat on the floor and took a seat across from Hazard.

I folded my arms together and lounged back in the chair, annoyed and letting it show. “I haven’t done anything to Doris, so what is this about?”

“Well, Miss Fiori,” he said, flustered by my gruff manner, “you certainly have not done anything wrong.” He loosely folded his hands on the desk. I could literally smell the waves of distaste coming off of him. He might have said I’d done nothing wrong, but he thought otherwise.

“However,” he continued, “the school is worried that with the multiple attempts on your life, your presence poses a threat to other students. Especially after the second attack occurred within campus grounds.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What are you saying?”

Principal Hazard looked uneasy. And guilty. “Miss Fiori, we cannot endanger the entire student body because of your situation.”

“Let me try to understand this better. You’ve determined that, because there have been multiple attempts on my life,
I
, the victim, am a threat to other students?”

“Miss Fiori, you must think of the other parties involved here. Innocent students. Your presence puts them in jeopardy.”

“So, are you kicking me out of Peel?” I fixed my gaze on a bust of Pallas Athena that sat on a shelf behind him.

“No, no. We are putting you on independent study. You can come and go into the school and use all the facilities outside regular hours. You will, however, need to find an alternative place to stay. … Perhaps your leader will be
accommodating
.” My nostrils flared as I took in his disgust.

I stood up, shaking from head to foot. “Please,” I implored, “make an exception. Andre might be the one who’s trying to kill me.”

Principal Hazard shook his head, his withered skin flapping. “I’m sorry. I cannot.”

All the willpower that had kept me going left, and my body sagged in on itself. “How long do I have until this comes into effect?”

“Independent study will begin tomorrow, and you have until Sunday to find a place to stay. I’d suggest discussing this week’s assignments with your teachers so you can stay on schedule.”

“And what will happen when my attacker is captured?”

Hazard stared intensely at me for a few long moments. “Everything will go back to the way it was.”

I forced myself to smile. “Great. I look forward to it.” He frowned, his creases deepening.

Without another word I grabbed my bag off the ground and headed for the door. It was as I walked out of his office that I smelled it.

Hatred.

***

I left the study halls of Peel Castle around 8:00 p.m. I’d spent a good portion of the afternoon thinking of how I was going to find my attacker, bring him
—
or her
—
to justice, and manage to stay alive, all in under one week. Three hours later and no closer to solutions, I decided to pack up and head home.

Outside, rain was coming down in torrents. Dang. I’d forgotten to bring my umbrella this morning. The walk across campus to my dorms was a good hundred yards, so there was no way I’d make it back dry. I just hoped the notes inside my bag didn’t get wet.

As I got closer to my dorms, a figure came into focus, somewhat obscured by the downpour. Andre.

He stood out in the rain, drenched from head to toe. He hadn’t even bothered to try to keep himself dry. Too bad the look suited him so well, the moisture giving his face a healthy sheen and the water dripping from his hair making him all the more wildly sexy. I was sure I looked like a drowned rat.

I was tempted to turn around and walk back to Peel Castle. But just as soon as the thought crossed my mind, his gaze captured mine. My heart thumped a little faster, and I tried to convince myself that it was because I was scared and not because of how much I still achingly loved him.

He wasn’t going to attack me here
—
that much was certain. Too many potential witnesses.

I walked up to him. “So you found me.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his tell. He was anxious or
—
more likely
—
annoyed. “I’m not even going to go into all the ways you could’ve been hurt leaving like you did.”

I gave him a look. Overbearing much?

“So I’ll just ask you why
—
why did you leave? What did I do to push you away?” The hurt in his eyes constricted my heart. I was expecting a whole lot of anger, but not this. Perhaps I had it all wrong.

But how could I know? A guy wasn’t worth risking my life over … even one that I had fallen for
—
hard.

“This is all happening so fast,” I lied, using our budding romance as the excuse. “I think I need some distance.”

His mouth thinned, and he looked grim. “That’s what you want? Even with your attacker still at large?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me for a long time before speaking. “Fine,” he said eventually. “I’ll give you your distance, and I’ll leave you alone. But I will have around-the-clock security watching over you
—
”

“Andre
—
”

He put a hand up. “No.” His voice was hard, and for the first time I felt his coldness, his distance.
He
was pushing
me
away. “I think we can both agree I’ve been exceptionally lenient,”
—
true, at least for Andre’s standards
—
“so this is non-negotiable.

“Lastly,” he looked across the campus, “there’s a gala at the mansion on Saturday
—
for my birthday of all things
—
I hope you’ll come. It starts at eight.”

For a moment I forgot my problems. “You’re having a
birthday party
?”

He looked chagrined.

I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. It just seems so … normal.”

He shrugged and glanced at his watch. “I have to get going. Just promise me you’ll stay safe.” His eyes were intense.