Sauter (Ironside Academy, #3)(68)
Iris.
She outlined a bunch of irises, using them as the base of her arrangement and colouring them a deep, midnight blue. She added wildflowers of every colour, bright and dramatic, untamed and threatening to burst from the confines of the twine she drew around them. Dark thorns popped up in between vivid flashes of colour, completing the image.
“Who are these for?” Kilian whispered, reminding her that he was still curled around, her, still leaning with her, like he didn’t want her out of the cocoon of his embrace.
“What are you two whispering about?” Theodore grumbled.
Kilian’s body jolted, Theodore jostling him from the other side.
“Nothing,” she said, sending both images to her phone before turning off the tablet and sliding it across the table, back to Elijah. “For their birthdays,” she added lowly to Kilian, as she gently pulled herself back up, careful not to move the hot water bottle too much.
Kilian pulled up with her, and she realised the credits on the movie were rolling. Cian, Moses, and Niko jumped up, slipping back into a bickering match over all the “special privileges” Cian was managing to wrangle out of the officials. Oscar rolled off the couch, stretching out his whole body before leaning over Isobel and snatching the Twizzler she had been idly sucking on while she had sketched right out of her mouth.
“Night, rabbit.” He bopped her on the nose with it before sticking the still-damp end between his teeth and stalking out of the room.
She immediately swiped at her nose, wrinkling it like … like a … like a rabbit.
Theodore, who had been watching her, choked on a sudden laugh, and tried to cover it up by taking a massive swig from his water bottle. He stood, obviously thinking heavily about something as he looked down at her.
“How you feeling, pretty girl?”
Like ass. “Awesome.”
His brows grew heavier, his eyes narrowing.
“Kalen and Mikki are going to want to have a quick word with you before you go to bed,” Elijah warned, standing to help Gabriel, who had started collecting all the stray cushions with a frown on his face.
“Oh … okay.” She set the hot water bottle aside and opened the blanket, testing out how easy it was to stand.
Gabriel stopped what he was doing, the rest of them watching her as she shot out a hand, Kilian easily catching her as he stood behind her. Her head swam dizzily for a moment, but there was no debilitating clench of pain. It had dulled to a faint throb at some point, probably because of the medication Gabriel had given her.
“Are they … um …” She glanced toward the hallway. She had no idea where they even slept. “In one of the offices?”
“Try Kalen’s office,” Gabriel suggested, his russet eyes travelling over her slowly, an oddly calculating look pinching his features. “It’s the first door after you enter the dorm. Their residences are above their offices, but they’re probably still downstairs.”
She nodded, giving Kilian a grateful smile before she moved to the hallway.
“You can take the bed when you’re ready,” Kilian called after her. “I’ll sleep on the couch in my room.”
She scrunched up her nose again, wondering if he had practically shouted that on purpose. Theodore and Niko needed to give him acting lessons. And that was coming from her. She knocked on the door to Kalen’s office.
“Come in,” his deep voice commanded, travelling faintly through the thick wood.
She eased the door open, glancing quickly at Kalen and Mikel before she slipped through and closed it behind her. As comfortable as she had been a few minutes ago surrounded by all the other Alphas, she was now equally as uncomfortable standing before the professors. They were quiet, both of them in chairs by the window, a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Mikel also seemed to have his laptop pushed to the side, and Kalen had another small stack of books by his elbow as though he regularly changed his mind about what he felt like reading.
She raised her head again, her face flushing as she shifted from foot to foot.
“Isobel,” Kalen greeted. “Pull up a seat.”
She caught the flick of his hand gesturing to a stool not far from them, and she moved to nudge it the rest of the way to their table, before perching on the edge of it. Her heart was pounding, her breath stuck in her chest, and she wasn’t sure why.
Mikel held his glass out to her. “Been a day, hm?”
It took her a moment to realise he was offering it to her. She accepted it, staring down at the yellow liquid, garnished with a bright cherry and a twisted orange slice. He must have just made it because it seemed like he hadn’t even taken a sip yet, but he didn’t get up to make himself another. The glass was cold, little diamond patterns wrapping around the sides poking into her palm.
“Whiskey sour,” Mikel explained, watching her calmly.
She sipped it and then licked her lips to savour the taste. It was rich and mellow with a zesty tang, a hint of sweetness and an undercurrent of bitterness to balance it out. She liked the drink … but she had spent quite a lot of time training with Niko over the past month, growing familiar with the scent of whiskey in her nose and the taste of it filling her throat.
Mikel slipped a leather bookmark into his book, closed his laptop, and set the book on top of it, his gaze speculative as he watched her savour his drink.
“The Track Team approached you through a Beta,” Kalen cut straight to the point, shifting in his chair to give her his full attention. He added his book to the stack by his elbow without marking his page.