The Lutu Dorm party was far from what Hathor was expecting. There was no doubt Naka students helped them set it up. There were shadowy decorations covering walls and tables, all moving in clever patterns. All plates were filled to the brim with food, each one refilling itself as it emptied. The bottles all died the same. A group of Sirens stood on a platform on the far side of the room, other students dancing along to their music.

Maddie and Imogene grabbed Ella’s hands, dragging her into the throng. With a bit of effort, Sky and Isaiah convinced Troy to get food with them. He followed, clearly disapproving, which left Hathor alone with Dex. No doubt that had been the group’s plan before they even arrived.

Dex looped Hathor’s arm through his own. “Come on,” he said, beaming. “Dance with me.”

Hathor laugh. “Oh, alright.”

The Sirens’ music overtook them. Hathor couldn’t help but dance to it, to forget everything else going on. She felt free for the first time in forever.

At some point in their dancing, someone—Imgoene—pressed a cup into her hand. Too lost in the music to care what her friend was giving her, Hathor winked at Dex and down the contents quickly. He grinned, doing the same with his own, letting out a howl of delight. Others quickly took up the call.

Cups were refilled at a woman walking the floor with bottles. Then refilled again, and again. Hathor lost track of how many she’d had as Dex pushed a new cup into her hand.

She drunk, then pressed a hand to a head and laughed. “What the fuck was that?”

“Something from my homeland,” he said. “Very popular.”

“I see why.” She shook her head violently, then handed her cup to Dex. “Need some air. Back in a mo’.”

“You okay?”

“Yup. Just need a break.” She kissed his cheek as she passed and pointed a finger at him as she walked backward toward the door. “You better still be here when I get back.” Dex sent her a wonky thumbs up.

Hathor pushed herself through the blurry crowd, half-walking and half-stumbling toward the door. She could swear it had moved. Either that or she was fucking smashed.

Hathor stepped outside, managed all of five steps, and fell to her hands and knees. Before she knew what she was doing, she vomited. Gods, her head spun like crazy! The loud music spilling from the doors did little to help. What the fuck did he give me?

The edges of her vision went dark. The spinning became worse. Her entire body begun shaking. Poison, she realised. Someone had poisoned her. Hathor had enough time to let out a loud cry before collapsing.

----------------------------------------

The first thing that hit her was the brightness. Wherever she was now, it was very bright. That was as far as her mind went. Bright. And pain. Hathor rolled over, promptly finding the edge of the bed she lay on. She let out a shriek, about to go overboard—

Someone caught her, pulling her back onto the bed. A sheet was pulled up to her shoulders and a hand drifted to her hair. Sight finally adjusting to the light of the room, Hathor realised she was laying in Troy’s arms. She moved closer, sighing happily. He was so warm. She wanted to lay with him forever and not move from . . .

From . . .

Hathor shot upright. “What the fuck happened?”

“Go got drugged,” Troy answered. “Or poisoned. I dunno, it was kinda both.”

Hathor glanced over her shoulder at her friend. “So you are talking to me.”

“Can we not do this now?” he sighed.

The last person Hathor expected to see poked his head through the cream-coloured door. “Oh, good,” Jay said, “I was afraid I’d have to tell your mum. We’d both lose our heads if I did.”

Hathor smiled. “Never have to mention it. What happened to me?”

Jay sat on the edge of the bed. “First thing’s first, you’re in a hospital wing.”

Looking around, Hathor realised she was, in fact, in one of the many hospital wings in the Academy. She lay in a small but comfortable bed in a bright blue room. There were two other occupied beds in the room, the many others empty.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Second thing,” Jay continued. “You were poisoned.” His azure eyes darkened. “Be grateful for your immortality. You would be dead otherwise.”

“Someone . . . tried to kill me?”

The Fae looked down at his hands. “Technically speaking, someone did kill you.” He nodded at Troy. “He found you dead outside Lutu and called for help. I just happened to hear.”

Hathor’s shock quickly turned to anger. Someone wanted her dead. Someone at the Academy wanted her dead. On top of the schoolwork she’d be doing, which she’d expected to be the worst thing to happen this year, she now had to worry about someone killing her. Again!

Hathor let out a humourless laugh. “Why does this shit keep happening to me?”

Jay took her hands. “We will find who did this to you.” Troy nodded his agreement.

Hathor sighed. Unable to stop herself, she rolled over and pressed her head against Troy’s neck, hugging him.

He gripped her tighter and whispered, “Sorry, Hathy. I’ve been a dick to you.”

“And?”

“And for being an overbearing, jealous alphahole.”

“And?”

Troy sighed, running a hand through her hair. “And you have every right to make your own decisions that I should respect unless they’re truly idiotic because then I will have to tie you to a tree for your own good, and you are fully capable of looking after yourself.”

Smiling, Hathor kissed his cheek. “Apology accepted.” She glared playfully. “But you’re on thin ice.”

“Noted.”

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All things considered, Hathor thought she’d get the phone call sooner.

She was being escorted back to the Dorm by Troy ad Jay, the three finally able to convince the doctors Hathor was fine, when her phone rang. She recognsied the tone immediately and sent an accusing glare at Jay. The Fae’s hands shot up, his expression as surprised as her own. So, someone else told her.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” Hathor said hopefully. The phone was raised to her ear. “Hello?”

“What the fuck happened?”

Hathor cringed, holding her phone away from her ear. Her mother’s voice was loud enough for the two men to hear. “Oh, high mum!” she said with fake surprise. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Amneris was having none of it. “Don’t pull that bullshit on me, young lady. What the fuck happened?”

Hathor placed her hand over the speaker. “This could be a problem.”

“Want me to handle it?” Jay asked.

“Nah, I got this.” Hathor put her phone back beside her ear and said, “I got poisoned while at a party. No idea by who or why, and,” she added before her mother could get a word in, “I’m totally fine now so you have nothing to worry about.”

Silence. “Put Jay on the line. I know he’s with you.”

Hathor held her phone out to the male in question. He visibly flinched but took the phone. “Yes, Queenie?”

Troy took a step closer to Hathor as they moved away from Jay. “So,” the Wolf Shifter said, “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say she’s pissed.”

“That obvious, huh?” Hathor tugged the end of her braid. “I wouldn’t put it past her to come here in person and kick arse.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like something the almighty Queen would do.”

Hathor whacked the back of his head playfully. “Be nice, pup. Said almighty Queen happens to be my mum.”

Jay jogged to catch up and handed Hathor’s phone back to her. “Looks like I’m sticking around for a while.” He huffed. “Though I was told that in some rather impolite terms.”

“Sorry.” Hathor placed a comforting hand on his arm. “You know she means well.”

He snorted. “True that.”

Troy walked ahead, hands laced behind his head. “Must be nice to have a caring family. Mine’d go apeshit if they knew I was friends with non-wolves.” He frowned. “Actually, they did.”

Hathor quickened her pace to keep up with him. “I keep offering to let you stay with us and you keep turning it down.”

He shrugged. “Might take it up this year, who knows.”

Hathor smiled slyly. “Would this be an ‘I have a shitty family’ thing or an ‘I have to protect her’ thing?”

Troy merely smiled in response. He leaned down to quickly kiss her cheek before shifting into his wolf form and taking off at a spirit. Hathor stood there dumbfounded. What the fuck just happened?

“You should ask him out.”

Hathor yelped, turning to punch the person who snuck up on her. She stopped short of Jay’s chest. “Don’t sneak up like that! I could’ve hurt you!”

Jay ruffled her hair. “You’re adorable, Hathy. So, what would you say about food now? Recon you can eat without it coming back up?”

Hathor narrowed her eyes, glaring at Jay.

He pretended not to notice. “Welp, might as well find out. Let’s go.”

----------------------------------------

At the same time, back on the mainland, Amneris was hitting her head on the table of the Palace’s dining room. Colt had been watching her do it for the last ten minutes, having come during her phone call with Jay and was now beginning to wonder if he should step in before she really did something stupid.

Colt sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “If you’re trying to kill yourself, there are far more effective methods.”

Amneris let out a frustrated laugh, keeping her head on the table. “If you must know, I’m releasing my frustration.”

“Okay. What are you really doing?”

“Releasing my frus—” Amneris cut herself off, shooting unright. “Did you know someone killed my daughter?”

“Our and yes.”

Amneris raised an eyebrow. “You still haven’t told her about that.”

“Because you have?”

Amneris groaned again.

“Hathor can look after herself,” Colt said. “She has good friends and teachers who will help her when she needs it, and Jay is there, too. You know he’d do anything to keep her safe, just like the rest of us.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I’d like to keep a closer eye on things at the Academy. With everything going on, this just feels bad.”

“Or it was a one time thing.”

Amneris waved a hand. “Call me paranoid or worried. I just want to make sure. If anything happened to those kids . . .”

Colt kissed her hair. “I know.”