Chapter 108: We are Going to a Nest

Blair said nothing for the entire car ride.

In the passenger seat, Daemus was already passed out, his soft snores filling the quiet interior. Blair kept her cheek pressed against the cool glass of the window, watching the scenery blur past. Her mind, however, was spinning a mile a minute.

How many people at the hotel had seen her? Her real face was out there now. She was putting herself, and anyone who stood too close to her, in serious danger just by walking around undisguised. If the sisters back at the church found out, they would be furious!

Blair shrank down a little lower in her seat. She could easily imagine the unwanted stares and whispers she would draw once they returned to campus. She really didn’t want to deal with it. She felt a lot more comfortable hiding beneath her drab, brown-haired mask.

"That assignment I gave you," Jack’s voice suddenly sliced through the quiet of the car. "Did you complete it?"

Blair blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. Assignment? Then, the memories crashed back into her brain. The night of the accident. She and Daemus had been walking to the campus library to decipher it. Then Daemus got into a screaming match with a beastwoman...who Blair had assumed was Prince Killian’s girlfriend at the time. She remembered stepping in front of Daemus, and the pain of the snake fangs sinking into her back.

"Ms. Willows," Jack prompted, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"Uhhh," Blair mumbled, snapping out of her flashback. He meant the tattered piece of paper covered in random, nonsensical letters.

Her face flushed a brilliant shade of red. She lowered her gaze, staring down at her hands as her fingers twisted nervously in her lap.

"I lost the paper," she told him quietly.

She didn’t try to defend herself. She didn’t blame the fight, or the hospitalization. She already knew Jack pretty well. If she offered an excuse, he would just shoot it down and call her incompetent anyway.

To her surprise, Jack didn’t say a word.

The silence stretched on, thick and suffocating. For Blair, this was significantly worse than being yelled at. His quiet lack of response made a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach.

"I’m sorry for losing it," Blair added, her voice barely a squeak.

Still, he said nothing. Jack kept his red eyes focused on the road ahead, his features betraying zero emotion.

Blair turned her attention back to the window, watching the landscape change. She had the entire route to the academy perfectly memorized—a precaution she had taken just in case she ever got kidnapped and needed to find her way back. They were currently driving through the city that surrounded the academy. It was a colorful, quiet place lined with fancy apartments and upscale clothing stores.

But as they reached a familiar intersection, the car didn’t go straight. Jack turned the steering wheel, taking them down a completely different street.

In the front seat, Daemus let out a loud, groggy yawn. He stretched his arms high above his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

Blair leaned forward, tapping his shoulder. "Daemus," she whispered urgently. "Where are we going?"

Daemus scrubbed a hand over his face. "I told you. We can’t go back to the academy yet. We have a bunch of exams to make up and assignments to finish. I’m not ready to take those tests, and I need a sports scholarship, so my grades can’t be shit."

Blair nodded quickly. "I remember you telling me that part. But where are we going right now?"

Daemus glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow. "I told you that before, too. We’re staying with Jack for a bit."

Blair’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?" she whispered in horror.

Before she could process the reality of living with her scary history professor, the car pulled to a smooth stop. They were parked in front of a fancy, modern townhouse. Resting right in the driveway was another vehicle Blair recognized instantly. It was Clarice’s car.

As soon as they stepped out, Blair grabbed a fistful of Daemus’s sleeve. She trailed a few paces behind Jack as he walked up to the front door, pulling Daemus back with her.

"Isn’t there anywhere else we can stay?" she whispered frantically.

Daemus furrowed his brows, looking down at her in confusion. "You weren’t this against the idea when I told you the first time."

"I didn’t hear you properly!" Blair argued quietly, her eyes darting toward the professor’s back.

"I thought you’d be happy," Daemus teased, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Since you have a crush on him and all."

Blair’s face went scarlet. "Keep your voice down!" she hissed, shooting another panicked glance at Jack to make sure he hadn’t heard. "And I do not have a crush on him!"

Jack pushed the front door open, stepping inside.

Blair and Daemus went in quickly behind him. Blair half-expected the interior of his house to look like a gothic crypt: black walls, velvet curtains, maybe a few creepy gargoyle statues.

Instead, it looked like a normal house. In fact, it was surprisingly bland. The walls were a simple beige, the furniture was modern but sparse, and there were no pictures or decorations anywhere. It was spacious and cozy, but it looked as though he hadn’t unpacked a single personal item since the day he moved in.

"Follow me," Jack instructed dryly, not even bothering to take his suit jacket off.

They followed him up a sleek wooden staircase.

"My bedroom and my study are off-limits," Jack stated. He threw a brief, pointed glance directly at Blair, but she was too busy staring at a picture on a wall to notice.

The house tour was incredibly brief. Jack sounded annoyed to even be speaking as he pointed lazily down the hall. "Guest bathroom is there. Kitchen is downstairs."

He stopped in the hallway. "Daemus, your room is up here, right beside your mother’s. Ms. Willows, your room is downstairs."

Blair glanced at the closed door belonging to Clarice. She was certain the older beastwoman had heard them walking up the stairs and talking in the hall, but the door remained shut.

Daemus immediately frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are we in separate rooms? Put us together."

Jack turned to him, his red eyes narrowing slightly. "The correct thing to say is ’thank you’."

Daemus rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"Your mother asked me to get you both caught up with your schoolwork," Jack informed them, his voice carrying a distinct tone of impending doom. "You are going to learn the entire syllabus in five days."