Concealed (Unbound, Book 4)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Mrs. Renaldi was surprised when we all walked in the front door of the Manor, but she was happy to accommodate my guests for dinner. Devland came in and sat down at the opposite end of the table in the dining room, filling the room with tension as soon as he opened his mouth to speak.

"It's good to see that you aren't starving, Nora," he said, barely glancing up.

"I wouldn't do that." I pinched my lips together and was thankful for Calin's presence at my side.

"You continue to leave town, though."

I nodded and looked up, taking a bite of my dinner without speaking. I watched Devland as I chewed, not wanting to discuss this in front of guests. He knew I knew he'd tagged me somehow. There was no point in rehashing the old argument now.

Devland looked away from me to settle his gaze on Maible. "How is the fundraising going? You orchestrated it for the dance, right? Any new projects?"

"Uh, yeah." Maible nodded, swallowing the food she'd bit into. "Graduation is coming up really quickly. We are trying to figure something out for that."

"Have either of you thought of college yet? Sent out applications?" Devland asked, looking between Calin and Maible while purposely excluding me.

Calin set his fork down and placed his hand on my knee to stop me from bouncing my leg beneath the table. Even through the shield, I could feel his calm. Above that, I felt the anxiety coming off Maible and the simmering rage from Devland. Only Calin didn't seem ill-at-ease, and I couldn't tell if that was an act for my benefit, but it helped me keep my own emotions under control. Before bed, I would have to strengthen my shield just as I planned to do for Maible.

"This was really good, Mrs. Renaldi," I said, casting my gaze to the kitchen door as she came out to set out dessert. "Unfortunately, I am full, so I'm going to excuse myself without dessert tonight. Thank you."

"Nora. Don't be rude. Your guests might like to eat," Devland said.

I shrugged as I stood. "They can stay. You're obviously having a wonderful conversation with them without me, anyway."

I set my napkin on my plate and patted Calin's shoulder as I began to walk away.

"Actually, I am on a diet," Maible said and stood to follow me, nearly racing to my side in her attempt to escape.

Calin slowly got up and set his napkin on his dinner plate, looked at Mrs. Renaldi and said thank you, then glared at Devland without speaking another word before turning to meet us in the doorway. He put his hand on the small of my back and smiled at me. Maible waved goodbye to Devland and ran up the stairs as Calin and I followed more slowly. I didn't care if Devland saw that Calin was guiding me.

"Hey, Onyx!" Maible called as she entered my suite ahead of us, and I heard Onyx's claws tap against the floor as she came to greet her.

Sure enough, when we entered, Maible was kneeling down and petting Onyx, who'd rolled onto her back to expose her belly. When she saw me, Onyx jumped up and came to my side, sitting as her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth.

"Hey, girlie," I said and idly rubbed between her ears.

"She's so pretty," Maible said, standing as she brushed off her knees. "Sure sheds a lot, though, huh?"

I shrugged. "Part of her charm."

Calin coughed, bringing his hand to his mouth to hide a smirk, and I elbowed him in his side. He laughed and pulled me close to him, his arm settling to sit around my waist. Maible looked at us and snorted, rolling her eyes as she turned away.