If Sin had been embarrassed before, now she was imploding on the spot. Her stricken stare darted to Aaron’s shocked expression, then she choked out something unintelligible and sped out of the room.
Aw, shit.
I shot a death-beam glare at Lily, who shrank with guilt, realizing she’d gone too far. Aaron awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, a crease between his eyebrows. Turning, I headed for the doorway to follow Sin.
Valerie swept in, her dark hair perfect and peach blazer pristine. Tobias followed her, his arena gear replaced by black slacks and a cobalt dress shirt that made his blue eyes pop even more. At the sight of the headmaster, Lily minced behind a sofa.
“Boys!” Valerie said brightly. “How was your afternoon?”
She gave us all hugs, then Tobias did a new round of manly handshakes with Kai and Ezra, as though they hadn’t seen each other an hour ago. Before I could escape to follow Sin, I was getting my hand firmly shaken by the headmaster too.
“Tori,” he said, “I didn’t have a chance to thank you earlier. I owe you a drink.”
“You—you do?”
“For saving my son’s life back in May.” He glanced around expectantly, and as though summoned from the ether, the butler who’d greeted us on our arrival appeared in the doorway. “Dominic, my man, bring the decanter of Lucchese.”
“Ooh,” Aaron remarked. “You’re spoiling us.”
“I never said you were getting any.”
Kai, Ezra, and Valerie laughed. A moment later, Dominic returned with a tray balanced on his arm, holding a crystal decanter and seven tall cordial glasses. The man set the tray on the sideboard bar thing and poured two finger-widths of liquor into each glass. Tobias waited silently, his hands folded behind his back.
Dominic passed around the glasses. I accepted mine and sniffed curiously. A sweet, nutty aroma with a hint of vanilla tickled my nose.
“Amaretto?” I guessed.
“A girl who knows her liquor,” Tobias said approvingly.
“She’s a bartender, remember?” Aaron rolled his eyes. “Of course she knows her liquor.”
“This amaretto is handmade by my dear friend Giovanni Lucchese,” Tobias told me, “using a recipe his family perfected over five generations. They use bitter almonds grown in their orchard in Tuscany and the liqueur is aged in vintage wine barrels.”
I licked my lips eagerly, waiting for Tobias’s signal to try it, but he was looking around the room.
“Who’s missing? We have an extra glass.”
“Sin had to step out,” Kai said smoothly.
“I’ll have hers,” Lily piped up.
Tobias laughed like it was a good joke, and the girl’s face fell.
“We’re spoiling you already, darling,” Valerie said lightly. “You’re out past curfew.”
“Curfew?” Aaron glanced at the window, but it was so dark outside that the glass reflected the bright room back like a mirror. “It’s way too early for curfew.”
“We had to move it up temporarily.” Tobias raised his glass. “To family and friends!”
We raised our drinks, cordial glasses glittering under the chandelier, then I brought my glass to my lips. Delightfully spicy sweetness, underlaid with nutty almond and tingling vanilla, rushed across my tongue.
“Divine,” Valerie sighed.
“What were you saying about moving the curfew?” Kai asked, his glass poised by his mouth.
Tobias took a slow, savoring sip of his amaretto. “Temporary, like I said. We’ve had a few incidents recently.”
Aaron glanced over, then began chatting with his mother about her plans for Christmas dinner.
“Incidents?” Kai pressed.
Tobias’s relaxed manner slid away. “The surrounding woodland has never been an issue in the past, but five students have been stalked or attacked by wildlife in the last few weeks.”
“Wildlife attacks? Here?”
“It’s a surprise to us as well. So far, we’ve only found tracks. Large coyotes or perhaps a stray dog. A species of gray wolf inhabits the northern half of the island, but they’re almost never seen this far south.” Tobias rubbed his smooth jaw. “We’ve hired a specialist to deal with it, but until the beast is caught, we’ve moved the curfew. All students must be indoors by dark.”
“Are the attacks taking place at night?”
“After dark, yes, and always at the edge of the woods.” Tobias took another slow sip. “The injuries have been minor—only two bites. One student got dragged into the trees before her friends—”
“Tobias,” Valerie interrupted sternly. “Enough about that. We hired the best trackers—even a psychic. They’ll handle it.”
I wrinkled my nose. Was it just me, or had her “even a psychic” come out on the condescending side? I mean, yeah, not all psychics were powerhouses, but they could do some pretty freakin’ crazy stuff.
“Anyway,” Valerie said brightly, “boys, will you be attending the Seattle Elementaria Convention in March? The academy has a double booth, and we’re hosting two panels. Tobias is a keynote speaker as well—though Aaron, I’m sure you could join him and share your experiences with field combat …”
As she slid neatly into cajoling Aaron with another great opportunity to advance his career, I looked away from his deepening scowl. My gaze found Ezra, who stood at the window, silent and alone. His untouched drink hung from his hand as he stared out into the grounds. The glass reflected his shadowed face, and for an instant, our eyes seemed to meet in his reflection.
But no. He was looking beyond the glass. He didn’t see me—didn’t see any of us as he stared into the darkness.
Chapter Six
The bed was too soft.
I flopped onto my stomach and the cloudlike mattress sucked me into its embrace. Punching my goose-down pillow, I tried to relax. It’d been a long day and I needed sleep, especially since Aaron had scheduled me for a 7:00 a.m. run. He hadn’t been kidding about keeping up with workouts while on holiday.
A digital alarm clock on the antique nightstand glowed reproachfully. 1:28 a.m. Tomorrow would suck.
Flipping the blankets off, I sat up and hung my legs off the bed. My feet didn’t touch the floor. The room smelled of lilacs and potpourri, with a faint hint of the hot cocoa the maid had brought me before I’d turned my lights out. Talk about getting pampered.
Sighing, I rubbed my tired eyes. Maybe I needed a brisk walk to reset my mind and body before trying to sleep again.
I slid off the bed, wiggled my bare toes into the plush carpet, then grabbed the sweater I’d draped across the footboard and pulled it on over my tank top. My legs, bared by my skimpy PJ shorts, could stand the cold for a few minutes.
When I cracked my bedroom door open, a cool draft from the wide hall rushed inside. Shivering, I glanced up and down the endless hall, lit by soft lights. My room, Ezra’s, and Kai’s made up the west wing, while Sin was in the first of five guest rooms on the building’s east side.
The hall carpet wasn’t as thick and soft as the one in the bedroom, and a chill seeped into my bare feet. I tucked my hands into my sleeves as I walked, reminiscing about dinner. Sin had recovered from her bout of embarrassment enough to join us, and we’d all feigned memory loss over Lily’s comments. Evening salvaged.