Birthright (Residue Series #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the Vire’s motives as opposed to hearing the class lecture.
    “Jameson…what you did was incredibly brave,” I said, placing my hand on his forearm , becoming temporarily distracted by the feel of his muscles beneath my fingers.
    “It was incredibly stupid,” he replied flatly. The words echoed in my head as he channeled them through me, and I heard the deep self-disgust hiding in his tone.
    Being slightly upset by his disappointment, I argued back , silently, “No one, outside the Weatherford family, has ever stood up for me the way you did this morning. Not a single person.”
    He sighed in defeat and tried to explain why he was so frustrated. “Jocelyn, I didn’t protect you. I made our situation worse. I gave them confirmation that-”
    I had every intention of letting him finish , and then refute his claim , but Ms. Wizner entered the classroom … and she wasn’t alone. Acting on instinct, my hand slipped from Jameson’s and fell awkwardly to the side of my desk, simultaneously breaking our channel.
    He realized this and glanced at me, perplexed. I was staring at the front of the room but saw him out of the corner of my eye. After following my line of sight, Jameson’s body sprang back, poised and readied.
    A Vire just entered.
    This Vire was tall and slender wearing a knee-length pinstriped dress with a delicate floral moldavite brooch clasping the neckline. S he looked very proper … an unassuming camouflage for such an ominous executioner. After a few seconds of small talk with Ms. Wizner, she took a seat just to the left of the whiteboard, facing the class.
    The woman didn’t do a sweeping evaluation of the students as I expected. She didn’t need to. She already knew Jameson and I were in the room or she wouldn’t have been there, either.
    “This is Mrs. Gaul,” announced Ms. Wizner , as the last student settled into his seat. “She is shadowing various teachers here at the Academy of the Immaculate Heart while she earns her degree in education. Now…please turn to your next chapter and we will begin.”
    As the textbook covers flew open, my only contemplation wasn’t what we’d be learning today , but rather, what other classes Mrs. Gaul planned to show up in.
    Ordinarily, Jameson and I attempted to steal a few private seconds together , when one of us would place our hands on the other , channel ing thoughts without the rest of the class knowing. Today , we kept our hands to ourselves. Mrs. Gaul did a good job of appearing to take equal interest in Ms. Wizner and the students , but an astute eye would have detected that her glimpses favored the right-hand side of the class – the side Jameson and I sat on .
    I was positive Jameson noticed too.
    His body shifted in the chair and he released annoyed sighs, clearly signaling his growing irritation. At some point, Mrs. Gaul caught on , which caused a taunting smile to play at the edges of her lips in respon se. This infuriated me. Thoughts of standing up , racing down the aisle, and lunging at her filled my time until she finally looked my way . Immediately, the vehemence of my scowl caused her s elf-important sneer to sharply fade away. Victorious, I didn’t show her any attention until the end of class. Then, a s I left the room intense glares passed both ways between us.
    In the hallway, Jameson boldly gripped my forearm , channeling a thought to me. It was clear and insistent.
    “Stop… p lease stop !”
    So he’d caught on…I wasn’t sure if this made me feel rebellious or ridiculous but f or the next few hours, I did my best to comply with his request , failing at each attempt . Eventually, I gave in , scowling at every Vire who came within a few feet of me. There were plenty of them , and I wanted to let each one know they had been seen .
    During this time, I found that Jameson had been correct. The Vires did keep their distance the rest of the day. But they always seemed to know where I was, turning a corner , coming through a