Awakened (Unbound, Book 3)

Chapter Six

Maybe Luna was wrong. My mom could do things no one was supposed to be able to do, a gift I supposedly inherited. It made sense that the binds she placed on me could hinder an empathic ability, like it blocked not only what was in me from getting out, but also what surrounded me from getting in. Like a shield. I mean, if I could only sense my mom's authority while unbound... It made sense.

Once the after-school crowd started knocking on the front door, Luna opened the café, but not before trying to get me to accept her offer for a ride home. My cramps had miraculously disappeared, though, and I wanted to run, stretch them out. I left, running as fast as I could, and I didn't slow until I had to pause at the gates to punch the security code into the keypad. The run provided me time to think and delayed going back to the Manor. Walking the whole length of the driveway delayed my entry long enough for my mind to change gears. I switched from scheming to out the prankster to survival mode in less than a minute.

More defensive, less introspective, all while remaining blissfully—or so it would seem—unaware.

The door slammed behind me and I jumped mid-stride. But I kept moving towards the stairs on the right side of the foyer. On one hand, I didn't care who heard me, but on the other, I just wanted to be left alone. No matter what, it was a recipe for feeling disappointed.

"Nora."

I paused with my foot on the first stair and my hand on the knob on the bottom of the bannister as I looked to the left. Sighing, I brought my foot to the landing and crossed my arms. Miss Rose, with her grey bun pulling the skin on her face taught into a scowl, glared back at me from the doorway of the dining room with disapproval.

"Supper has been served," she said.

"And?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You're late. We cleared your setting away. Where were you?"

"Out?"

Miss Rose shifted her weight and rested her hand on her hip, pursing her lips. "You need to call when you know you're going to be late."

I narrowed my gaze. "You're not my mother, Miss Rose."

"Noreena." Devland came out of the dining room and stopped two feet from where I stood. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "I'd like a moment with my daughter, Miss Rose."

She looked at Devland and back to me, opening her mouth. As though thinking better of it, she snapped it shut. Her eyes narrowed to pricks, and I raised my chin in her direction. Finally, she shook her head and nodded to Devland, and disappeared down the hall instead of the dining room.

For a moment, I felt relief, but then I remembered that I still wasn't alone. My body tensed once again, preparing to go on the defensive. My victorious smile dropped as Devland focused all his attention back to me.

"Where have you been?" he asked, his tone clipped. "It's supper."

"I'm not hungry."

"That's not my point." He looked up the stairs and hesitated as though wanting to say something. Obviously changing his mind, he darted his focus back to me and crossed his arms. "The school called to inform me of your absence."

"My excused absence? Why?"

"You didn't have a problem making it through the day yesterday, and your excused absences expired as of last Friday."

"But I—"

"Mr. Corbin called me, Nora."

Oh crap. I raised my head once again, jutting my chin, and tried to appear ignorant. "So?"