While Brandi sashayed down the hall, Cara considered what she’d said. Aelyx would end up with one of his own kind—if not Syrine, then some other pretty L’eihr who could gaze into his eyes to talk. It only made sense. That shouldn’t bother Cara, but she couldn’t deny it did. A frozen bowling ball settled in her stomach when she imagined spending a semester on L’eihr as Aelyx’s third wheel—tagging alongside whichever female his leaders picked for him.
She slumped against her locker, toilet seat in hand, hair in knots, and let herself brood a few more seconds before returning to class.
After World Studies, she and Aelyx stood in front of her locker again, popping open its metal door as Officer Blake looked on.
“What’s this?” Aelyx moved to cup her face but seemed to change his mind and instead pointed to the tender scrape Brandi had left on her cheek.
“Nothing. Just scratched myself.”
He pursed his lips dubiously, but then his gaze darted to the floor, where a sheet of paper had fallen facedown at their feet.
“Don’t touch it.” Blake wedged between them, producing a gallon-size Ziploc baggie and a pair of tweezers. Once he’d bagged the evidence, he held it between them all to study its message. With a heavy hand that had pressed the ink nearly through to the other side, it warned: ACCIDENTS HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY ON THE STAIRS. STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR TRAITOR BACK. —HUMANIST
“That wasn’t here thirty minutes ago.” Something about the way the writer had strained his pen with such force against the paper creeped her out. “I checked my locker when I went to the bathroom.”
Her gut clenched knowing someone had just been there. What if the person had watched the whole exchange with Brandi, waiting for the perfect time to deliver the note? If she’d lingered any longer in the hall after Brandi left, would he have used the opportunity to take his threat to the next level?
“Isn’t your next class upstairs?” Blake must’ve sensed her anxiety, because with a smile and a gentle nudge of his elbow, he teased, “Then let’s make sure we don’t slip on any banana peels on the way.”
The breath she’d been holding whooshed out in a laugh, and for the first time, she felt grateful for her armed escort. Knowing he’d be right behind her in the dark, narrow stairwell was the only thing keeping her heart from pounding out of her chest. She grabbed her books, and together, the three of them inched through the crowded hall, which thickened into a full-on traffic jam as they approached the door to the stairs.
A buzz charged the crowd, and the students in front of her stood on their toes, peering over the heads of those blocking the way as if a fight had broken out. Which wouldn’t surprise her.
“Just great.” Blake pushed his way through, disappearing into the sea of bodies. A couple of minutes later, he shouted, “Out of the way! Make a hole!”
There was a frantic edge to his voice she’d never heard before. The students who hadn’t already detoured to the other set of stairs inched backward, and Cara peered around shoulders, catching a glimpse of Blake as he kicked open the heavy door. He carried a girl in his arms and rushed her toward the office.
Just before he turned the corner, Cara recognized the girl’s orange skin and a glint of metal from the button affixed to her sweater. Though she wasn’t close enough to read the lettering, Cara knew the button said L’EIHR LOVER.
Cara rested her chin in her palm and stared blankly across the cafeteria. Blake had promised to call when he knew something about Ashley’s condition, but for the past two hours, her cell phone had remained silent.
Shouts of Spanish profanity drew Cara’s attention to Eric’s table, where Tori shook her finger in front of his face, going off on him for something or other. But Cara was too worried for Ashley to take pleasure in Tori’s and Eric’s misery.
“Eat something.” Aelyx reached across the table and pushed her turkey sandwich until the crust brushed her shirt. “She’ll be okay.”
“How do you know?” Cara stuffed a bite into her mouth but tasted nothing.
“I noticed she was conscious. In a lot of pain, but alert. That’s a good sign.”
Cara tried to say whatever, but it came out muffled by sandwich. When her cell phone vibrated, she fumbled to swipe the screen before it went to voice mail.
“Heh-wo,” she said around a bite of turkey.
“Just heard from Ashley’s mom. Broken arm, sprained shoulder, and two cracked ribs. She won’t be back at school for a while, but she’s okay.”
Cara swallowed and took a quick chug of water. “Did she say what happened?”
“Someone pushed her from the top of the stairs, but she didn’t see who.” Then Blake hardened his voice. “We checked the security cameras, both in the stairwell and near your locker.”
“And?”
“Nothing. Someone managed to turn off the system at just the right time. No more unaccompanied trips to the bathroom for you. Like it or not, I’m your new shadow.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” She ended the call and released a sigh. Ashley would be okay. And no Patriot—no matter how brassy his balls—would come after her or Aelyx with a cop by their side.
Chapter twenty
“You look flushed,” Mom said, resting her palm against Cara’s forehead. “Feel sick?”
“No, I’m fine.” Cara’s flush had nothing to do with a virus. Her cheeks burned as she relived scenes from her most recent dream, a particularly steamy one involving Aelyx. She could almost feel his hands on her body and his hot breath on her throat. As if thinking about him all day wasn’t bad enough, he had to invade her sleep, too?
“Where’s Aelyx this morning?” Mom set a steaming plate of golden waffles on the table, filling the air with the scents of butter and sweet cake. At least the food was good in her virtual hell.
“In his room, I guess.” Where he spends all his time now.
Aelyx had promised things were fine between them, but Mister “I Would Never Lie to You” was about as honest as a felon. He’d been avoiding her for weeks, acting like her body was surrounded by a deadly force field and holing up inside his room, shouting at his friends on the “phone.” Too bad she couldn’t speak L’eihr, because whatever they were arguing about sounded juicy.
“Think I’ll head out early.” Cara held the waffle between her teeth while slipping on her coat.
“You’re not going to wait for Aelyx?”
And endure another painfully awkward walk to school? No thanks. Grabbing her bag, she made for the back door before he could join her. “I’ve got some stuff to do. He can meet me in class.”
She rushed outside, where she was greeted by a friendly neighborhood assault rifle.
Gasping, she pressed a hand over her heart. She kept forgetting about the military dudes who’d materialized last night, right on the heels of ten thousand loopy protesters. After releasing a loud breath, she offered a smile to the young blond blocking her way, then waved to a dozen of his comrades. “Mornin’.”
The icy blue eyes staring back were not amused. “Where’s the L’eihr?”
“We’re flying solo today.” She pointed past G.I. Jerk, sending an unspoken request for him to move, but instead, he advanced, backing her up two concrete steps.
“We’ll drive you both.” He puffed his chest like a primate trying to assert dominance. Someone must’ve sprinkled too much testosterone on this kid’s cornflakes. “Together.”
She glared right back at him for a moment before hopping over the iron railing that ran along the steps, landing on her feet with a hard thud that stung her shins. As she walked toward the trail, she called, “Unless the president’s declared martial law since the last time I checked, I’m walking to school.”