Page 56 of Winter Unleashed
Before Mr. Fleming could respond, Liam touched my arm. “May I?”
“Um, sure,” I muttered. I didn’t know what he was going to say, but I trusted him.
“How doesSteele Librarysound? OrE.S. Library?” he suggested. “This way you still have the honor without it being so in your face.”
I thought it over as I nibbled my lip. I didn’t fully understand why Mr. Fleming wanted to make sure I got the recognition, but from the look on his face it seemed important to him. “Fine.The Steele Librarysounds nice.”
“Splendid,” Mr. Fraser said. “I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. And I’m very sorry for what happened. Thank you for being so kind about it.”
I smiled at him. “You and your wife were two of the very few who never treated me like shit. Instead of glaring at me, you guys always smiled and waved when I passed by. You had no problem with the Council assigning me to do community service here. I’ve always appreciated your kindness, so why shouldn’t I return it?”
“I’d gone to the Council more than once to tell them I’d seen someone attack you for no reason. They always said they’d make a note of it, but then you’d come in for your hours anyway.”
“I never knew you did that,” I said. “Thank you for trying. I never minded those assignments. I love it here.”
“Another reason to have your name on the library. It won’t be only for the students. We are opening it to the public and will carry your books in a special section for the older students and adults.” He blushed and looked down at his desk. “My wife loves them. She reads some parts out loud to me.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Well, tell her I said thanks for her support.”
He looked up at me again, but his face was bright red at this point. “It’s us who should thank you.”
“Oh? All right then.” A sense of pride filled me. I’d helped a couple bring more excitement to their love life. Was there a better review than that? I couldn’t think of one. “We really need to go. If we want to stop the impending doom, we have some calls to make.”
“Yes, yes,” he said, nodding a little too much. I think I interrupted a daydream about his wife. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Just keep the kids safe and happy,” I said as my group and I headed out of the office.
“That’s my goal,” he replied.
Back at the housewe called Astrid to let her know what had happened at the Academy and Belial’s excuse for coming to see us. Then she let us know she was close to confirming her theory that the tribreeds would be safe if Cybil died. And she told us to be on the look out for pixie attacks on top of the vampire attacks. Apparently, Celeste had sent pixies to other fairies after the ones she’d sicced on Astrid. So, she was sure they’d be coming after us as well.
Celeste didn’t care if humans found out about supes living among them, so making an epic scene with creatures from make-believe wouldn’t matter to her. It wouldn’t surprise me if the pixies showed up any second.
“And I’m not sure I believe Belial’s reason for being there, so be especially careful.”
“We’ll be extra vigilant, thank you,” I said then nibbled my lip.
“What is it?” she asked. “You want to say or ask something, so do it. I don’t have all day.”
I’d annoyed her, something I seemed to be good at doing. It didn’t bode well for my request, but I had to ask her. I had no other choice. Well, I did, but that involved the incarceration and execution of a child. A horrible, asshole of a child, but still. “This is probably crossing some kind of line, and I haven’t discussed it with Liam, but… Whatever you did to Rick Wallace to make him more friendly to females, would you do it to his son, Damian?”
I told her about Damian’s behavior as quickly as I could. When she hadn’t cut off our connection, I took it as a good sign. Then I saw her face and backed away from the scrying mirror.
Chapter Fifteen
Astrid’s expression made it clear she was beyond angry that I’d asked her to interfere with shifter business. I’d known it was a risky ask when I did it, but other than locking the kid in a cell the rest of his life or letting the Council execute him, I hadn’t known what else to do.
“Asti,” Liam said before she could respond… or kill me, “if we can’t stop him from terrorizing the girls, he’ll have to go in front of the Council. They’ll execute him.”
She grunted. “And that would be a bad thing, why? He’s broken. It’s best to put broken shifters down.”
While I knew Damian was a bad seed, I took offense to her statement. “Until recently, everyone thoughtIwas broken,” I said as calmly as possible.
She grunted again. “Fine. I will do it, but this is the last time you ask for anything like this from me. Helping you with the likes of Cybil and Celeste is one thing, but you are the Vinur and Vinura, handling this Damian issue is your job, not mine.”
“Understood,” I said. “I don’t mean to burden you more than you already are. I just don’t think the execution of a fifteen-year-old would go over well within the packs. We’re trying to keep them calm while we take care of Celeste.”
“You think like a Vinura,” Astrid replied with a tight smile. “That bodes well for your future. What will you do if my work doesn’t stick to this child?”