The Coven (Coven of Bones, #1)(33)

But patient for what?

“Miss Madizza,” a stern voice said.

I spun, slamming the book shut and draping my forearm over the cover so he couldn’t see the title. The last thing I needed was for the arrogant fuck to know I was spending my free time researching him.

“I’d like a word.”

I picked up the book, shoving it into the pack that hung over the back of my chair. The strap went across my chest as I hoisted it up onto my shoulder, creating that line through my cleavage that I detested more than anything.

Seat belt boobs were hardly attractive.

Gray’s eyes dropped to it for the briefest moment, his stare remaining entirely impassive before it returned to mine. There wasn’t a single flicker of even remote interest, and I squashed the irritation that made me feel. The way it made me feel less somehow, when what men thought of me rarely mattered.

I didn’t need them, not when I could achieve anything I wanted on my own. They were nothing but a distraction from my purpose, except he was that purpose. He was the only one I couldn’t allow to distance himself from me.

Fuck.

“So speak,” I said, pursing my lips as I shrugged.

I hadn’t meant for the irritation to slip through, wanting to retreat back to the more reserved version of myself I’d been taught to be. But the other witches were all cooperative. They did as they were told and paid attention in class, hanging on his every word as if it was a lifeline.

Maybe the key to standing out against that backdrop was to be the mouthy thing who pissed him off. He was standing in the library seeking me out, after all. Not them.

Even if he seemed entirely uninterested, I could work with having his attention on me for whatever reason. I couldn’t work with being ignored.

The librarian tutted from her corner, her glare settling on me as she didn’t dare to give it to the headmaster. He smiled slightly, turning and holding out an arm to gesture me forward.

“Let’s go to my office,” he said.

I rolled my eyes as I stepped around him and left the books behind me.

He was silent as we stepped into the hall and made our way up the next flight of stairs. I trailed behind him, trying not to think about the last time we’d been on the stairways together. Of the way he’d carried me when it was entirely unnecessary, when he could have just left me to Iban and allowed me to stumble into my bed.

I’d thought he wanted to fuck me, but the interest in that had seemed to wane.

He turned the knob on a door that stood alone on the landing just below the dormitories, pushing it open to reveal a massive, bright space. His office was easily the size of the entire bottom floor of the house I’d shared with my mother and Ash, with three floor-to-ceiling arched windows that came to a point at the top to fill a single one of the walls. They overlooked the cliffs, the faint, misty image of the ocean outside sparkling in the distance.

There was a seating area in front of them, a camel-colored sofa and an oversized chair framing a coffee table. Books remained stacked on the table, despite the shelves that lined the wall behind his desk, which was off to the other side. His chair was a bright red, the back arched and severe as he approached it. The door to his bedroom remained open, as if he cared very little for the fact that anyone could see into his private space.

“You live here?” I asked, following him toward his desk and prying my gaze off the dark gray paneled walls in there and the fourposter bed that was elaborately crafted from iron and entwined with gold filigree detailing.

“I have a house in the village, but I remain here when the school is in session,” he answered smoothly, leaning against his desk and gesturing to the single chair that waited in front of it.

I stood beside it, refusing to sit and feel as if I were a chastised student. Whatever had made him summon me here, I highly doubted it had anything to do with my coursework.

“What did you need to speak to me about?” I asked, folding my hands in front of me. The bag hanging over my shoulder was weighed down with books. I wanted nothing more than to set it down.

But until I could figure out exactly what Gray’s story was, I suspected it may be better to bide my time until I had more answers about what may drive him.

“Are you really going to stand? You cannot even do what you’re told when it is as simple as sitting in a rather comfortable chair?” he asked, raising a brow at me incredulously.

I returned the look, not bothering to voice my answer. He didn’t need the words as his eyes drifted closed in frustration, his hand raising to pinch his brow as if I gave him the worst kind of migraine.

“Impossible,” he muttered.

“I take that as a compliment,” I mumbled, looking away from him and taking in the rest of his office. I ignored the luxury that seemed so unfair, focusing on the smaller items in the room and allowing that twinge of magic within me to sweep out… looking for the bones.

“You shouldn’t,” he barked, distracting me from my endeavor.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

His head jerked back, eyes widening as a stunned smile curved up the edges of his lips.“Alaric Thorne. You truly do not remember my name?” he asked, scoffing as if it was totally believable I would forget such a thing. That was quite stupid of him, as I remembered everything.

“Not that one,” I said, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. “Your true name.”