We both turn as Kane walks in, looking between us but keeping his expression carefully blank. “Your friend is waiting for you, Juniper.”
“Winifred?” I ask as Vale backs off, rubbing his face with his hand. Kane watches Vale as I walk past him to see, as Kane doesn’t answer me. I glance between them, wondering if I should stay, before deciding to leave them to it. They are old friends and they have to talk. Wini is waiting with a big smile, her hair shining in the light as she walks to my side.
“Hi. I know we haven’t spoken that much, but I just wanted to see, well, I thought maybe I could walk to class with you? We’ve got training class together,” Wini asks, stumbling over her words, and I know I need to be careful around her, just in case she is in this madness with her parents, but I nod. I need a friend, and Parker is nowhere to be seen. Plus, he isn’t a girl.
“I’d love that.” I smile back. “How has it gone so far with your bonded?”
“Me? I have only one wolf to contend with. You have four dragons! Tell me how it is. They’re all known for being, well, not exactly cooperative with witches.” She grimaces. “In fact, they openly told people they’d rather die than bond to a witch, on more than one occasion.”
“They are trying to be accepting of this bond.” I glance over my shoulder as Kane and Vale follow us out, storming through the corridors where people just part for them. Out of fear, out of respect, I don’t know, but they move on instinct. “It’s tense, but I feel like we could be friends maybe, so it’ll be fine, perhaps.”
“You’re still far braver than I am.” She shrugs a shoulder. “Hey, I was wondering if we might have, like, a girly night at some point? I could get some popcorn and snacks, and we could watch a movie in my room. I have some old human movies fromhome, and they’re pretty cool. They were gifted to me by my parents years ago when my mother realized they would keep me silent for hours and out of her way. And say what you will about humans, but they’ve got some good stories.”
“Yes, I’d really love that.” I link my arm through hers, and her returning smile is as bright as the sun. I really missed her. “Well, not tonight because there’s the family meal, but maybe tomorrow or the next day.”
“Yay.” She claps her hands. “I’m so glad that you’re going to be at the meal. I’m a bit worried about it, to be honest. I think it might be awkward when my dad meets my bonded. His bonded was a wolf, but he died in the war. He can be a little reserved because of the death of the bond.”
I change the subject before she talks about the war anymore. “I’m sorry he lost his bonded. Oh, have you seen my other friend Parker? I thought he might be in my class, but he’s not.”
“No. But he should be in training, right?” She shrugs. “They split us up depending on skill. You’re in top class, I’m in middle, but I guess that means Parker is in the bottom class.”
My stomach drops at that information. I need to get him moved up. I never looked at the bottom of the leaderboard last year, or the years before, because I was at the top. Now I need to make sure Parker isn’t at the bottom and about to die before I make my move. Winifred tells me all about her bonding and how her wolf snores, and she continues on until we get to the training room. Maz and Black are already there, talking quietly together.
My eyes search around the room until I find him. Parker is with his two bonded, the twins that I saw yesterday, and I blow out a breath of relief that he isn’t hurt. I rush over, and before I get to hug him first, he pulls me into a tight hug and kisses the top of my head. “There you are, bestie. Four dragons? Whoa. Everyone is talking about you! You’ve got your hands full there.”
“Says you,” I mutter, looking to his bonded. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Juniper Daygan.”
“A pleasure to formally meet you. We have heard of you, Miss Daygan. I’m not sure there is a shifter who hasn’t heard about the dark-haired witch who bonded to four dragons. You’re legendary already,” one of them answers, but they are so alike it’s hard to tell them apart. Both of them have stark white hair, cut short and puffy at the top. They are slightly taller than Parker, maybe five foot nine. The one who spoke keeps his vivid blue eyes trained on mine as he continues, “My name is Henry, and this is my identical twin, Damien. Damien has no vocal cords, so he won’t speak unless you know sign language.” He moves his hands, telling Damien my name, I imagine. I cannot do sign language, but I want to learn now.
“They are both nice and respectful.” Parker signs what he says out loud.
My eyes widen. “I didn’t know you knew sign language.”
He laughs and hugs me once again. “There’s a lot you don’t know, missy. Now, are you okay, or do we need to make a spell for dragon soup?”
“She’s fine.” Black carefully slides between us and pulls me against his chest. Both Henry and Damien step back, and Parker wisely follows the lead of his bonded as Black snarls. “Who the fuck are you, and why are you touching my bonded?”
“How are you touching her without death?” Henry whispers in horror, taking more steps back.
I sigh and turn to look at Black. “This is my childhood friend Parker. And you don’t have to be like that. He’s?—”
“Ex-boyfriend? I don’t like that he holds you and kisses your head.” There’s a growl throughout his words, and it sends shivers down my spine. “I want him dead.”
Parker coughs on thin air. “No death needed, big guy. Juniper and I have never been like that. I don’t even likewomen. I like men, but I don’t talk about that around here because everyone seems a little uptight and weird with the whole ‘breeding for more baby witches’ shit. Not for me.”
There’s a tense silence, but eventually Black accepts his answer, and he loosens his grip on me, taking my hand instead. “You’re with us for training.”
“See you around, Parker,” I mutter, letting Black lead me away.
“Yeah, you too, bestie.” He watches me with concern, but he is smart enough not to try to stop Black. I wouldn’t want him to anyway.
“Who the fuck’s Parker?” Maz immediately questions.
“He was my bestie before I came here. I think they brought him here to, I don’t know, use him against me perhaps? It’s a theory I have. I don’t like that he’s here either. He’s not top of his class, and he shouldn’t have been brought to the academy.” I make sure the spell’s tight around us so nobody can hear. “It’s weird. Maybe I should just stay away from him. He could be?—”
The tutor walks in, Tutor Den, and he claps his hands once. “Welcome, everyone. I’m here to train you so you don’t die on day one of the war and embarrass all witch and shifter kind. I will train you to be ruthless and controlled and to have a chance of ending this war. For the first lesson, we will shift and go out into the forest. It is pouring down rain from the storm, so any flying types will be grounded today only, due to the lightning. I’ve had students die in the air because of random lightning strikes, and it never looks good on me.” He claps his hands as I wince, imagining that kind of death. “Anybody who does not fly, I expect you to shift. Witches, you will be riding or running next to your bonded. Three hours, and then you return. If you whine or cry, I will send you back out for another three hours. Am I understood?”
Everyone quickly agrees, except for my dragons, who are silent and watching the crowd with an expression I can’t read. Den goes to Winifred and Aster, telling them to shift first. Wini smiles widely, running a hand over his thick fur before climbing onto his back. I watch as they run out into the forest, bonding so naturally because they have done this for a lot longer than they know.
