"How?"
"I read auras."
"He does," Baelfire confirms. "Bragged about it constantly when we were kids. It was fucking annoying." Then he tips his head. "I've always wondered, what's my aura like?"
“Just as obnoxious as you are but a hundred times as bright."
They glare at each other, but Silas ignores them completely as he studies me. "Crypt can go looking for her aura, but if there is another way you believe I can help you, I will. On one condition. Come to my private dorm with me."
"You're not fucking me," I say immediately. “I still hate all of you.”
He huffs. "Believe me, I'm painfully aware of that. This isn't about getting you in my bed. I need to speak with you alone, and in return, I'll help you however I can."
I consider that before nodding. It's convenient that Silas can't tell bald-faced lies. It means I can trust his words even when I don't know where I stand with him.
Crypt blows me a kiss before slipping into Limbo to look for Kenzie. I'm tempted to pray to the gods that he'll find her, but I learned my lesson about praying to them a long time ago. So,instead, I hope the universe is looking out for her. If anyone deserves cosmic good luck, it's Kenzie.
Baelfire, Silas, and I leave the infirmary and trek through the castle halls, following Silas's lead toward his private dorm. Baelfire's eyes sweep the dim hallways, and he steps a little closer to me with every turn as if he expects someone to pop out of the shadows and grab me. Silas is equally bad, gritting his teeth at every tiny echo in the hall.
"Is the chill pill a real thing?" I ask.
Bael blinks down at me. "What?"
"Kenzie once told me that I'm far too intense and need a prescription for a chill pill. If that exists, you two also need a prescription."
The dragon shifter throws his head back on a laugh. "See, it's adorably out-of-the-loop stuff like this that should've tipped us off."
I don't know what he's talking about, but Silas gives him a warning glare. "You're not coming into my private dorm."
"Nope. I'm just escorting my mate. I trust your ability to protect her about as far as Everett could throw you. Which can't be far at all, by the way. Have you seen that professor? Scrawny as hell."
"Indeed."
Everett is far from scrawny, but I find myself fighting an unexpected smile at the shit talk. I still don't fully understand the dynamic of their shared past or why my matches dislike each other so much. But there's a familiar ease with which they hate one another that's almost...brotherly.
But saying that out loud would probably start another bout of the Great Wars, so I keep my mouth shut.
Finally, we walk up a staircase that ends with a single door. My hair stands on end as I sense the ripple of magic guarding this space.
Damn. How many wards does Silas have on that thing?
"I'll see you later at our quintet apartment," Baelfire says, tugging gently on the corner of my blanket to get my attention.
"No, you won't. I'm sleeping in my own dorm."
He frowns. "But you agreed to be our keeper.
"Temporarily."
"Temporarily, my ass. Did you not hear that horned freak, Del Mar? Quintet rankings are beginning, and we all know you'll be at the top of the godsdamned kill list along with the rest of us. You're a walking target. Even with the patch job Silas did on your door, your dorm isn't nearly safe enough for my dragon to rest easy."
I open my mouth, but Silas speaks first. "Sleep in my dorm. It's the most secure place in the entire castle. I doubt even the Immortal Quintet could get in here if they tried."
“Here’s a thought. I’ll sleep wherever the fuck I choose to sleep," I tell them both firmly.
Baelfire relents but gives me one more warm look. "I'll see you in class in the morning. Get enough rest, and if you have any nightmares?—"
He cuts off, ducking his head when my eyes narrow. Did Crypt tell them about my nightmares? I feel strangely betrayed.
