Chapter 9
I look at Kole and bite my bottom lip, unsure of how to handle the situation. I turn my attention to Keagan, who seems to be examining the body and looking for any sort of clue. He may be rough around the edges, but he seems genuinely curious as to who killed the magician. Domino is far too innocent to have done such a thing. I turn my attention to Laithe, who is watching us with an unsympathetic expression. It has to be him. It takes me a moment to process the impending danger, but once I do, I come to an awful realization.
Domino is with the Headmaster—the assassin.
“I need a minute,” I say, acting as if the body sickens me. I spring up and run past Laithe and into the hallway. I don’t give anybody a chance to follow me as I run through the corridors. “Domino,” I shout down the hall, but she doesn’t answer. A few people open their doors to see what’s happening, but I don’t acknowledge them.
“Snow, what’s going on?” Coral asks, running down the hallway. “Why are you screaming?”
“No time to explain. I need to find Domino,” I say. “Domino,” I shout.
“Domino,” Coral shouts, still noticeably confused. I hear a ruckus from a room on the right and barge in. Domino is standing beside the Headmaster.
“Come here, Domino,” I say urgently. “He is the assassin,” I elaborate. She looks up at him and then back to me with a terrified look. “Run.”
Just like I requested, she runs in my direction and the Headmaster looks at us with a wicked grin. He takes a step in our direction and I slam the door between us and take off in the opposite direction. Fighting an assassin is hopeless. They are invincible and only able to control themselves if their commanders are killed or magically separated from them. “Why are we running from the Headmaster, Snow?” Coral asks urgently. I dodge students spread throughout the hallway and take as many sporadic turns as I am able. Domino switches forms and lands on my shoulder. “And why are we helping a fairy?”
“Long story,” I say, winded. “Headmaster is an assassin and the commander wants us dead.”
“Snow,” Domino screams in my ear. I halt in my tracks when I notice Laithe running in my direction with fury evident in his eyes. Could today get any worse? I instinctively throw my leg out and manage to push him into the wall and continue running past. Coral is no longer behind me, but she has nothing to do with the situation, so it’s for the best.
I am running hard and fast. After seconds of sprinting, I am pulled into a small nook and pressed tightly into the wall. I meet a pair of hazel eyes and hold unfathomably still. I open my mouth to say something, but Kole’s finger covers my lips and he blocks my body with his, fully encompassing me. I watch as Laithe runs by as quickly as I had been before, not paying us any attention.
I don’t notice I am holding my breath until he finally passes and I release the air. “Thanks,” I say breathlessly. He looks into my eyes and I become exceedingly aware of our close proximity. His breath fans over my nose and I smell his natural scent, which proves to be appealing to my senses. Frankly, everything about him entices me.
He leans into me and my attraction multiplies. When our lips are mere centimeters apart and our breathing is laced together, Domino clears her throat from my shoulder and I’m shaken from whatever trance I was put into. “Now really isn’t the time, guys,” she scolds.
“You’re right,” I whisper. Kole takes a small step back and allows me to ease past him, brushing his toned stomach along the way. “Okay,” I say, trying to break myself of the trance I was in only seconds ago. “We need to get away from this or we’ll all be killed. It looks like leaving the school is the only option,” I say.
“Let’s go,” Kole says. I feel moisture soaking through my sleeve and I assume Domino is crying.
We scurry down the hallway in the direction opposite of Laithe. Kole leads and I follow behind, Domino hiding behind my hair. “Hey, Kole,” I say. He looks back at me and I wring my fingers. “What happened to Keagan?” I ask, afraid to know the answer.
He looks at the floor. “I don’t really know. I hope he got out,” he says.
“Isn’t it funny how we just risked our lives to get these ingredients and we’re not even using them?” I rant. I can’t convince myself to be quiet in such a stressful situation.
It’s my fault that I distracted him, because when the Headmaster comes around the corner, Kole is entirely unprepared for the attack. When the Headmaster grabs Kole and drags him backward, my fight or flight instinct kicks into overdrive. Today the fight instinct wins.