It tore me to shreds knowing I’d never have that kind of relationship with her. Or any relationship. But she had the bear shifter, and also the incubus. Those two would make far better mates than me.
“I need a fucking drink,” Hulder grumbled, tugging at his shirt collar. The suit he’d rented strained across his shoulders, and he’d ripped one pair of pants already bending over to tie his shoelaces.
Trolls couldn’t wear off-the-peg suits. They needed bespoke tailors. Unfortunately, all the tailors around these parts refused to serve lesser magicals, so he’d had zero luck finding a tux.
“No drinking until we leave,” I reminded him. We both needed to remain alert with so many mages and shifters around. Gettinghammered on elderwine or mage cocktails would make us vulnerable to a mage or shifter attack.
The bear shifter stood by the ice bar, glaring at anyone who so much as glanced at his mate. A dumb wolf shifter made the mistake of touching her, which prompted the incubus to break the fucker’s wrist. I chuckled while Hulder gawped at me.
“Not like you to condone mindless violence.”
That made me think. Goddess, had coming to this school changed me? Or was it the witch?
“He shouldn’t have touched her without her consent.” I ignored Hulder’s raised eyebrow and watched as Zane led Raven over to the bar, where the bear stood talking to a professor I’d seen around campus. A witch.
The witch professor leaned in and whispered something in Raven’s ear. A concerned look crossed her face. All her happiness melted away. What had upset her?
I wanted to storm over and find out, but an announcement said the speeches were due to begin, so Hulder and I followed the stream of students heading outside into the rain and wind.
Hulder hunched his shoulders against the weather as we walked toward the enchanted marquee. Once undercover, warm air dried our damp clothes and hair.
I had to hand it to the witches and mages: they’d done a good job of creating a wintry theme without the bone-chilling temperatures. It was a pity, however, that another storm had hit the campus.
Storms seemed a regular occurrence in this part of the world. We saw two, maybe three, severe storms a year in the islands. Here, however, it felt like one a week rolled over. Something told me the storm mage was to blame. I’d seen him scowling at the witch earlier. Like me, the sad bastard seemed obsessed but unable to act on it.
A horrible shriek echoed through the marquee. I poked my head outside and swallowed a laugh at seeing an elegant witch drenched in water and mud. From the scorched spot next to her, a lightning bolt had struck. There was no sign of the mage when I scanned the area, but he was likely still around.
The witch saw me grinning at her misfortune and cast a spell in my direction. Fortunately, I moved just in time, and the spell bounced off the enchanted marquee, leaving nothing but an oily residue.
Hulder rolled his eyes when I walked back into the marquee, not bothering to remind me how stupid it was to make an enemy of a powerful, connected witch. He was right, but I recognized her as the Blake witch’s daughter. A nasty, entitled female who regularly posted mage-supremacist content online.
We took two seats at the back of the marquee while students, staff, and family members congregated.
When everyone had finally assembled, Montgomery stood.
“Welcome, students, staff, and esteemed members of the magical community. We come together to celebrate the winter solstice and mark the end of the first semester.” I tuned out, having no interest in listening to the headmaster’s pompous bullshit.
I searched for my witch but couldn’t see her. The bear had taken a seat on the dais with the other faculty members, but the incubus remained missing too. As soon as Montgomery finished pontificating about the splendid caliber of this year’s first-years, Tiberius Vane stepped up.
Everyone sat up a little taller and lowered their gaze. Most people regarded Vane as a formidable mage. Not only did he have more power than almost every other mage alive, but he possessed a high level of cunning. Mother had warned me to stay off his radar. She said it was better if he forgot about my presence on campus.
Vane’s voice boomed across the marquee while his son stood at his shoulder, looking bored. The mage droned on, his cold eyes sweeping the room and lingering on a few students before resting on me. A subtle tingle washed over me. The bastard was trying to break my mental shield.
My lip quirked up in a smirk before I schooled my expression and focused on the chair in front of me. Vane might be powerful, but he stood no chance of breaking my shields. Not unless he used brute force, and he wouldn’t get away with that here.
The tingling sensation ceased, and when I dared to peek through my lashes, Vane stood staring at me. Alaric had lost his bored expression, curious about what had caught his father’s attention. When he realized his father was busy eyeballing me, he cleared his throat loudly and tapped Vane’s shoulder.
The two mages exchanged words while everyone waited. Then Vane summoned his customary supercilious smile and continued with his speech.
60
Raven
Willow looked different, her hair no longer a warm pink color. Since the mage stole me from the market, she’d gone back to her natural dark brown, and instead of the floaty floral dresses she favored, she wore a drab knee-length dress that hung from her slender frame. Stars above, had she stopped at a funeral on the way here?
Adam pulled me into his arms and held me so tightly I swore I heard my ribs crack.
“You look well, child,” he said when he finally let me go. “We’ve missed you.”
