King of Corium (Corium University Trilogy 1)

All families are staying at the top part of the university, in the castle part that has been rebuilt to house any guests the school might have as well as host large gatherings and parties. It’s only a short walk from the helicopter pad to the castle. We use one of the partly underground tunnels that weaves through the mountain. The top is mostly glass, giving us a riveting view of our surroundings, though I can’t enjoy any of it at the moment.

Silently, we walk through the entryway of the castle and up the staircase leading into a large hallway. I walk them to the end of the hall, where a set of double doors lead into the suite they will be staying in.

I unlock it with the key card I was given earlier and push open the heavy doors. “This is where you will be—”

I don’t get the words out before a small body slams into my side, and thin arms wrap around my middle.

“I missed you,” Scarlet murmurs into my jacket.

She’s much smaller than me, the top of her head barely reaching my chest, but her grip on me is surprisingly strong, like a tiny monkey who can’t be shaken off.

“I missed you too.” I kiss the crown of her head and wrap my arms around her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mom walking up to us, tears already forming, clinging to her long black lashes. I hold open one of my arms, and she falls into us.

We stay in our three-way hug for a few minutes. No one wants to let go. My father walks past us, scanning the suite like he’s looking for anything that could harm us. Of course, that was already done, but nothing is good enough for him, especially when it comes to his family.

When we do finally break the hug, Scarlet jumps into a frenzy of questions immediately.

“Where do you sleep? Where are your classes? Are the dorms far from here, and can I look at them? Is there only the one cafeteria? What kind of food do they serve? Do they have the kind of tea I like? Did you make any friends?”

“Slow down. I’ll give you a tour later. Yes, there is only one cafeteria, but they have pretty much everything you could want, including tea.”

“Yeah, but is it the one I like?” She wrinkles her nose at me.

“Yes, they have all the food you like,” I assure her.

“You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?” My mom pipes in, concern etched into her voice. Lifting her head, she runs her fingers across my forehead and into my hair like she did when I was little. Only now, she has to reach up instead of down since I’ve been taller than her for a few years now.

“Yes, I sleep,” I give her a washed-down answer.

The truth is the only time I slept well and through the night was when I was in Aspen’s bed with my body wrapped around hers. I keep telling myself it’s because I was drunk, but I’ve been drunk before and still didn’t sleep.

She frowns at me, knowing that I’m not being truthful with her, but luckily, she lets it go… for now, at least. I’m sure this is not the last I’ll hear of it.

“I’m also curious to see where you and Ren are staying. Will you show us the dorms now?”

The thought of me walking them through the dorms and possibly running into Aspen has my anxiety peaking. I need to stay as far away from her as I can with my father being here.

“Don’t you want to rest first before I show you around?”

“Rest?” Scarlet asks as if I just proposed the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Do you have any idea how excited I have been and how long I’ve been waiting for today? Resting is the last thing on my mind. I want to see everything.” Her excitement is almost infectious.

“Fine, I’ll show you around. You won’t need your jackets; everything is underground and heated.”

Everyone, including me, gets rid of their outerwear, and we head back out. I show them the rest of the castle before leading them to the classrooms and the cafeteria.

The entire time I’m on edge, walking a very thin tight rope. Scarlet and Mom are too excited to notice, but of course, nothing slips past my father. The tension between us is even thicker than normal, and it only grows as the day goes on.

When we get to the dorms, Scarlet is beaming with excitement while I’m sweating bullets, having a small heart attack every time I see a blond girl come around the corner. I’m not sure what my dad is gonna do when he sees her, but I know it’s not going to be good, and I won’t be able to protect her from him.