CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Iwake from my nap feeling better. I’m still a wreck, but a considerably more functional wreck. My skin tingles as if I’ve been wrapped in static electricity, and there’s a weird shimmer around the edges of my vision.
Still, I’ll take it over the nosebleed and passing out.
Cautiously, I push myself up to sit. The room stays steady. No spinning, no lurching. I count that as a win.
My stomach growls loudly, reminding me I haven’t eaten since before my magical torture session. I stand, pleased when my legs don’t wobble, and listen at the door before peeking out into the common room.
Empty. Perfect.
I hurry across the space toward the bathroom, relieved not to face any of my fellow roommates.
The bathroom is quiet and, mercifully, empty. I turn on the faucet and splash cool water on my face, trying to wash away the remaining remnants of dried blood. The cold water feels amazing against my overheated skin.
Behind me, a shower stall door opens with a squeak, and I use the reflection of the mirror to see who’s coming out.
I let out a relieved breath when it’s Orion. “Hey, how was your morning? Did you kick ass and take names?”
Orion has a towel in hand, rubbing it over his wet black hair. He’s wearing only loose gray lounge pants, his muscular chest bare and— “Holy six-pack, dude.”
Orion chuckles and waggles his brow. “One of the perks of my Carmichael genes. Shifters be beautiful, yo.”
I laugh, and as if his abs weren’t distracting enough, he also has faint silvery lines tracing across his shoulders and down his arms like some kind of tribal tattoo.
But no, they aren’t inked on him. They shift and move with his breathing and almost look like tiger stripes?
He catches me staring.
“Sorry,” I blurt out. “I’m just… wow. I’m still processing that vampires, werewolves, and stuff are real. I’m not sure of the etiquette in any situation, but holy hell, your stripes are freaking amazing.”
He grins and tosses one end of his towel over his shoulder to lie against his back while the other end falls down his bare chest. “It’s fine. It’s nothing you haven’t seen a hundred times before during summer water fights and us swimming in the creek.”
I wish I could remember that, but even without the memories, I know we had a blast growing up.
“Not all species of shifters carry traits over to their human forms. I think I mentioned before that our family is rare in the shifter gene pool. Tigers break a lot of the rules.”
“Forgive me if this is totally inappropriate, but I promised Asher if I ran into any hot shifter guys, I’d make sure he got a solid intro. So, if you aren’t currently seeing anyone, I whole-heartedly think he’s the best person on the planet.”
Orion’s brow arches higher. “He’s gay?”
“Why do you sound so surprised? I thought I caught the two of you checking each other out when you came to pick me up last night.”
He shrugs. “Honestly, I figured he was bi and the two of you were an item. There is so much love and affection wafting between the two of you, I would’ve sworn you were a committed couple.”
I shake my head. “Committed family bound by the cruelties of life. He’s my soul but not my boyfriend.”
“Well, that is good to know.”
The way he says that makes me feel like he might be happy to hear that Asher and I aren’t attached.
Excellent. With my bestie duty complete, I get back to our Arcana reality. “How was your morning session?”
He leads the way out of the bathroom and through the common area toward our rooms. “Good. In truth, Eliza sent me here more for you than for me. Yeah, my animal side gets away from me at times when there’s blood in the air and my adrenaline is high, but that’s not uncommon at my age. Mostly, Eliza and Declan agreed it would be a good idea for me to be here for you.”
My cheeks heat. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
He scoffs as he steps into his room and swaps the towel flung over his shoulder with a black muscle shirt he grabs off the end of his bed. “Don’t be. I’d rather be here with you and Wylder instead of being persona non grata to the Emberwood Coven any day of the week.”
