COVER

Fluff

RavensDagger

To my dear mom,

without whose love and attention,

I would have finished this book in half the time

PROLOGUE

Anxiety

Emily endured her mother’s hug, then squeezed her eyes shut as her cheeks were pecked. When, finally, she was released, she took a step back and crossed her arms to ward off the September chill.

“So, ah, this is it?” she asked.

Emily looked over at her parents. Her mom, short and kind of frumpy, was wearing the sort of dress that had gone out of fashion sometime in the late sixties. Her dad, tall and wide-shouldered, could have been one of the hockey players on campus if it weren’t for the premature balding of his dirty-blond hair.

“You know our number,” her mom said.

Emily nodded. “It’s never changed.”

Her mom sighed, then pulled her into another hug. “It never will. You call, okay? Day or night. Even if it’s just to talk. Mom will be there for you if you have any problems with your schoolwork or—” She tittered. “Or problems picking the cutest boy.”

Emily could hear her father’s knuckles popping and held back the tiniest smile. Teasing her dad had been something of a hobby when she was young. She knew that he dreamed of giving some boy the shovel talk, but high school came and went without it ever happening.

“I . . .” She swallowed. “I love you.”

Her dad smiled just a little, his stoic face cracking for a moment.

And then Emily had to endure more hugging.

She closed her eyes and prayed to whoever would listen that no one had seen her. Having her dad trade dorky jokes with some of the boys while helping her carry her things had been mortifying enough to keep her hiding in her blankets for a week.

When the hugging was over—and her dad had patted her head as his own little way of showing that he cared—the family pickup revved up and drove off. Emily found herself standing alone.

Alone for the first time since . . . since forever.

She looked around her, taking in the ancient stone buildings of the old campus, some of them next to modern steel and glass buildings. All of them were surrounded by winding cobbled paths that made room for tough old trees. She eyed the shadows, the few people walking around, and the open blue sky; then she shivered.

Emily had heard stories about girls on campuses like this one getting harassed and hurt. She had tried not to hear, had tried not to feed her anxiety, but the little snippets she overheard were preying on her now.

She tugged her long, pleated skirt down a little so that it dipped lower and closer to her ankles, then pulled down the hem of her sweater.