Awakened (Unbound, Book 3)

Chapter Ten

"Calin Malloy, to the office, please. Calin Malloy, to the office."

Maible and I lifted our heads to stare at Calin across the table, and silence descended throughout the cafeteria as every other student followed suit. I swallowed the food I was chewing and dropped my fork to my plate, leaning back to cross my arms. Calin caught my gaze and held it, while Maible darted her eyes between us.

"I'm coming with you," I said.

"No." Calin shook his head. He looked around and then leaned forward, whispering so only we could hear him say, "This is just a ploy, Nora. Do you think they'll get away with pinning me? My dad's a lawyer and my mom's a total beast. By the time she's done, whoever is summoning me will be asking to complete my punishment, or whatever they planned. She'll talk them down in under five minutes, I promise."

"But—"

"No." He pushed his chair back and started to stand. "If you come, you are opening yourself up to blame. Devland knows you won't let anyone be blamed but the actual prankster, and Mr. Corbin... Well, he'll never blame her unless he's forced to."

"Why not?"

Calin ignored me and turned to Maible. "Don't let her follow me."

He grabbed his bag and left with his head raised high even though everyone glared. I followed with my eyes, not understanding how everyone could think he was pulling pranks. Kyle getting hurt was bad and they were all angry, but Calin was his friend. Hell, he was everyone's friend—even the boy he hit for calling me down.

Once he disappeared, just over half the room went back to their food and conversation from before the announcement. The other half turned their accusatory glares onto me, and I felt every gaze as though being slapped across my face until my cheek was numb. It was impossible to eat when I felt like I couldn't breathe. Looking around, I felt myself shrink as everyone grew bigger. My mind blinked from reality and everyone grew to giants, all shouting and pointing their fingers in my face.

I hung my head and closed my eyes, breathing deep. Stop. Stop. Stop.

When I opened my eyes again, only a handful of students were still watching. Through the masses, I could see Duvessa. She caught my gaze and winked, never losing her smile. She looked around and raised her arms, spreading them to shoulder width with her palms facing up. Tilting her head to the right, she slowly brought her hands together and started to clap, the sound too soft for the girl sitting next to her to notice.

I tore my attention away and looked at Maible, taking a deep breath to calm my near-bursting emotions. "We're friends, right?"

Maible lifted her head, still chewing. "Huh?"

"We are friends?"

She swallowed, furrowing her brow. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because. I'm going to the office to make sure Calin is okay, and you aren't going to stop me because we are friends." Hopefully, she didn't remember Calin was her friend first. "And if you do try to stop me, I want to make sure you remember that we are friends when I do whatever it takes to get past." I smiled. "Okay?"

She looked across the room to where Duvessa was still watching and smiling. Maible grimaced and turned back, concentrating on her food. "I was so busy eating, I didn't notice you leave until it was too late to catch up. I mean, you are a runner."

"Great!" I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the cafeteria, ignoring everyone as they lifted their heads to watch.

A second after the door slammed behind me, it opened and closed once more, the sound echoing down the empty hallway. I kept my eyes forward and didn't stop, even when the scuff of shoes followed. But as I rounded the corner, feeling the familiar tingle of magic coming from behind a tower door, whoever was following picked up their pace.

When a hand landed on my shoulder, I was already dropping my bag and turning. Shrugging the hand away, I crossed my arms and demanded, "Why the hell are you following me, Duvessa?"

She grinned, looking at her hand and letting it drop to her side. "You going to Calin's rescue?"

"You mean after you pulled another prank?"

Duvessa narrowed her eyes but then smiled, stepping back and blinking. Laughing, she said, "You talk like you actually know something about what you are saying." She started to walk around me, scrutinizing as she circled me over and over. "But if you have amnesia, that's not possible."

"Maybe it is."

"Oh, no. Trust me. It's not possible."

I shifted my weight and followed her with my eyes until she stopped in front of me. "Are you a doctor now? Cause I'm pretty sure people recover from amnesia all the time. I am Devland's daughter, after all."

"You may be Devland's daughter, Nora, but you aren't strong."

"Get out of my face."

"Or what?" Duvessa took a step closer so that we were nearly nose-to-nose. "When you lost your memory after I cast that spell to make you forget, I proved which one of us is stronger. You lost. Now I can go back to hating you for what your mother did."

The hatred she felt filled her, and me by extension. Hard and black, it was unrelenting. It knocked on my control like a sledgehammer against a brick wall, chipping chunks to fall as rubble to the floor. How the hell could she remain so calm if this was how she truly felt?

Once her words set in, I felt like hurling. "What. Spell?"

"Oh, after your accident..." She shook her head and laughed, taking a step back. "It doesn't matter. After taking you to the library, I know it worked. Now? You have no clue what to do, which is the perfect revenge."

"Revenge for what?" I held my breath, unsure that I wanted the answer.

"What your mother did, of course." She grinned. "Plus, there Calin. He held your hand and worked the café..." Her eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I was totally there this morning—you two are so sweet!" Clasping her hands like she was about to pray, her shoulders lifted as she smiled, squinting and then all expression was gone as her arms dropped.

No wonder I felt so dark as we left.

"You should just give up on that now. He's going to see what you're really worth—nothing—and come back to me. I've made sure of that."

"What did you do?"

She circled behind me, grinning. When I turned, she was walking back the way she'd come. I felt like running to her and wringing her neck until she was forced to tell me what she meant. What was she planning?

"Duvessa!"

She waved behind her and started to hum.

"What did you do?"

Duvessa disappeared around the corner leading back to the cafeteria. I almost ran after her, but I felt torn as I shifted and looked in the opposite direction. Instead, I grabbed my bag from the floor and fled to make sure Calin was okay. At the office door, I paused to catch my breath, resting my hand on the door handle. Closing my eyes, I counted to ten and pulled.

Calin stood to greet me, confused but not surprised. I forced a smile and started to walk to him. Halfway there, I froze, lifting my head as a woman's voice overshadowed everything else. Calin came to me and took my hand, smiling.

"My mom is a little mad."

"Islene?" My mouth opened and my eyes went wide, waiting for him to nod. Then, I turned back to the window.

My mom's best friend.