Blinking back surprise, my mouth drops open. “Oh my gosh, you’re right.”
Wade tips his head to the doorway and holds out his elbow. “So, would you do me the honors of sitting next to me?”
“As if you’d be able to have it any other way.” I loop my arm through his and together we walk inside.
Throughout the day, Wade and I end up having three of our six classes together, despite being taught at completely different levels. From class to class, I can’t help but be awestruck as I look around the room, wondering what each student is actually hearing and how it’s different from what lessons are being taught to me. It’s brought a whole new level of fascination to the school and the way it operates.
On the strange side, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Cat and Colton, but it could just mean we have completely different schedules this year. Or perhaps, Cat needed to take an additional day or two to rest. It wouldn’t be unheard of after all the exertion she must have expelled as tour guide.
When we reach the end of the day, Wade and I meet up in the commons to compare first-day notes. Unfortunately, his outgoing and easy attitude has vanished, replaced with his more withdrawn persona.
“Did school not go well?” I finally ask after ten minutes of silence, sitting together in the commons.
Wade glances up. “I—yeah, sorry. Was thinking.”
“I noticed,” I say, tapping the armrest on my chair. “Anything you want to talk about?”
His eyebrows tug in and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Have you been hearing things? About me, I mean?”
Surprise flashes through me and I shake my head. “No. Why?”
He rubs his hand across his mouth. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m being overly self-conscious, but I swear, I feel everyone’s eyes on me. Like they’re judging me for something, and I have no idea what.”
“That’s ridiculous. No one here knows you,” I say.
He nods. “Right? That’s what I keep telling myself, but I swear, there’s a vibe…”
“I’m sure it’s just first-day jitters. I felt the same way last year.”
Two guys enter the commons, view the two of us, and stop. A tall, lanky brunette leans over to his blond friend and says, “That’s the one.”
Wade frowns, his jaw clenching.
“Hey,” I say, standing up. “You got something to say?”
The shorter blond steps forward, tipping his chin toward Wade. “Yeah, why would you do that to your grandpa’s grave? Cold, man.”
“Yeah, like, I can’t say I like my grandparents either but that’s brutal,” the other one says.
Wade’s gaze narrows and before he can retort, the two guys twist around and head back the way they came.
“What in the hell?” I say, returning to my seat.
Wade’s expression darkens. “Ah, they think I’m the one robbing graves. Excellent.”
“No, I’m sure that’s not…” I begin.
“You heard them, Autumn. At the very least, they think I damaged my own grandpa’s columbarium. What in the actual hell? I thought when you went to a college people were meant to be smarter or more mature. It’s like being in high school all over again,” he says, leaning back in his chair. He blows out a long breath and looks up at the ceiling.
“Why on earth would anyone even tie those two things together? Your grandpa was cremated and the graves here were full-on graves with coffins. It makes no sense. The MO doesn’t even match,” I say, walking over to my chair and sitting back down.
Wade shrugs. “Probably because the two police teams feel like there are similarities.”
“What?” I say, twisting to face him better. “There are?”
“Yeah, that’s what they told me this weekend when I was in Mistwood. Magical signatures were found at both places, but that’s as much as they know. Something about needing to bring in a special team to determine what kind of magic so they can clamp it down and figure out who it’s tied to.”
“Do they think you were involved?” I say.
Wade snickers. “I hope not. I don’t have any magical abilities. At least, none that have surfaced yet. They’re checking with the academy to verify, though. So much for being on Ms. Cain’s good side.”
My gaze falls to the ground. “Damn.”
“Regardless, that obviously doesn’t stop the gossip from spinning out of control. God, I wish I had a way to throw this all back in their faces. It’s ridiculous.” Wade runs his hands over his face. “One of the cops did say they thought it was similar to something that happened thirty some odd years ago. So, with a little luck, they’ll be able to trace it back. Unless of course they think this is a copycat situation.”
“Well, if it happened before, maybe we should take a trip to the academy library. Last semester, when I was trying to get clear on what was happening to me, going to the library was the only thing that kept me sane. Even though it didn’t really feel like it at the time. I know it’s a different library, but what I was searching for wasn’t magical—at least, it didn’t start out that way.”
Wade quirks an eyebrow skeptically. “Why the library? There is this huge information superhighway called the internet. It also has the added bonus of not needing to be around people.”
“Yes, but the supernatural underground isn’t always broadcasting all of its news on the World Wide Web, he who wishes to hide,” I say, smiling. “Besides, I could call Cat and have her meet us. She might know—”
Wade shakes his head, raising a hand. “No, I’d rather not involve Cat if we can avoid it.”
I clamp my lips shut and nod.
“I didn’t mean to be so abrupt. I like Cat, I really do,” he says, backpedaling.
I wave a hand in front of me. “Don’t worry about it. I get it.”
“All right, if you think we could dig up something…” Wade’s face scrunches. “That was not a Freudian slip. I swear it.”
I
