I'm perspiring beneath my shirt by the time I leave the stuffy room along with Tobias, hands shaking at reliving events. We stand together, professor and student, as the door close behind us.
"Elon isn't looking to trick you. Andrei’s grandfather wants inside information on the Blackwoods and who they associate with. I helped you and Andrei to safety and that is enough for him."
"They believed your half-story?" I ask, darting a look around the hall. “What did you tell them?”
"That I killed Nikolai as he tried to stop us leaving. Then we came across the others who’d recently used the blood magic to arrive at the estate. I ensured they ‘forgot’ about the blood magic part, as we don’t want people knowing they used a Blackwood spell.”
"And how do you explain where we were all day?"
"In hiding, at a hotel."
"And they bought that?" I ask incredulously.
"I don't think Oskar Petrescu did, he's too powerful for me to influence his mind as I did Elon and the others, but I fulfilled my task of keeping Andrei out of his mother's clutches. Nobody but his family knows Andrei met his mother, which means Oskar doesn't want others involved who could discover this."
I chew my lip. "Don't the Confederacy leaders speak to each other?"
"As with all organisations, people can be selective in who they speak to and what they say. Keeping the secret that the Blackwoods are back will avoid unease and disruption."
"And distrust," I murmur.
"Precisely." Tobias shakes his shirtsleeve up and checks his wristwatch. "When lessons are over, meet me with the others at the cottage."
The door clicks open and Elon steps from the room, jacket slung over his arm and notepad in hand. He looks at us quizzically for a moment before saying goodbye and walking away.
"Tobias, can we talk about what happened?" I whisper. "I can't stop thinking about you... us."
His eyes widen. "Maeve. Not now."
"I understand you want to avoid the same thing happening again, but I need a fuller explanation. I deserve that from you."
His expressionless silence irritates me. Where's the man who looked after me? Who treated me like an equal? A lover.
"Now isn't the right time. I'm not teaching today, so return to class and I'll see you in a couple of hours with the others." I open my mouth to respond, but he strides away.
I'm aware how Tobias helped me avoid questions from Elon, and that he put his neck on the line over Nikolai’s death, but his indifference cuts me to the quick. Our stay at the Blackwoods took us out of time as readily as any spell Anastasia could create. Now time began again, and we’re back to our strange normal.
But each day I spend with him and the others, the further I’m pulled from the staff and students as my interlinked fate with the four guys yanks us towards an unknown future.
One involving the Blackwoods, the Dominion, and secrets that spread further than any vision could see.
Chapter Forty
MAEVE
“We should turn this into a command centre.” Andrei drops onto the sofa in the cottage and places his feet on the low table, boot by boot. “Y’know, we could create one of those boards to track things, find a secret laptop for Jamie. Weapons.”
I grab the coffee mug he almost kicks over and sit on the sofa arm beside him. “Are you serious?”
“Tobias could be the tough boss who tells his operatives what to do, and you can be the beautiful girl who...” He pauses and bites his lip.
I arch an eyebrow. “Yes? Go on.”
“Maeve can be the one who kicks your arse,” Ash says and slaps him across the back of the head. “Dumb idea.”
Andrei scowls and smooths his hair down. “I was joking!”
Jamie smirks and drops into an armchair. “I like the idea, apart from Tobias in charge.”
Ash snorts. “He is in charge.”
“Nobody is,” retorts Jamie. “We work together."
The door softly closes. "Did you just elect me leader?" Tobias steps into the room and fights a smile. "I haven't any weapons, though."
"Apart from Maeve," says Andrei.
I tense. "I'm not a weapon, but I’d rather you said that than eye candy."
He gasps and clutches his chest. "I wouldn't dare call you that."
"Are you high again, Andrei?" asks Tobias and rests against the wall.
"Whoa. Sorry for trying to lighten the mood after all the shit we've been through—and still face." His scowl grows.
I'm learning enough about Andrei that his joking comes when he's stressed and on the defensive. I lean over and kiss the side of his head. "We all went through something tough. I understand."
Ash blows air into his cheeks and takes a mug before peering at the contents. "I wish we'd brought beer."
"Come on, it's two a.m. Let's talk things through before we're too tired." Jamie sits in the chair opposite.
I've already told the guys about my interview with Elon and Tobias, but now's the time to tell our story. Andrei doesn’t know as much about events as the others, and I’m worried how he’ll react. I glance at Andrei occasionally as I speak, but he's looking at his hands.
His jovial mood drops away the moment I mention Gabriella, but he stays silent.
Until I mention Nikolai's death.
“Do you understand how serious this is?” All Andrei’s light-heartedness leaves him as he stands. “If we’re dealing with the Blackwoods as well as the Dominion, we’re fucked!”
Tobias maintains a steady gaze. “I agree, we need to be more careful, but—”
“Careful?” he half shouts. “The Blackwoods and my mother are cohorts. We may as well give up now. Why the hell didn’t my grandfather mention someone died?”
“Andrei.” I tug his hand. “We beat them once.”
He blinks at me. “Killed one and escaped? That’s not beating them.”
I can’t help feeling hurt by his tone, and look away.
“Andrei,” says Tobias. “That’s enough.”
“I know the Blackwoods.”
“So do I now,” I retort. “I’m perfectly aware what they’re capable of, but this at least gives us some idea what we’re dealing with.”
“Oh, yeah, especially as Gabriella gave them their grimoire back!” Silence drops. This is one result of the other night with unknown consequences. “Fuck!”
I stare in unblinking horror as Andrei storms from the room. Tobias watches him go too; his brow deeply creased.
“That was a bit extreme,” mumbles Jamie.
“He’s scared for Maeve,” replies Tobias.
“We all are, but we don’t behave like that,” says Jamie. “Every time there’s a crisis, Andrei loses his shit. The night you two disappeared, he attacked me.”
“What?” asks Tobias sharply.
“Not a vampire attack. Physical.”
With a sigh, Tobias takes the seat Andrei left and I stare at his face, wishing he’d kept his distance, because his scent intensifies my memories. “The death adds an extra complication,” he says.