“You did demand it,” I mutter.
She looks at me, and her eye twitches in a way that lets me know she isn’t happy about that reply. I bite my cheek harder and my eyes drift over to Aster, who is tense and watching Luke, not me. “The wedding list of names. Did you find someone on it? I was here visiting Lock, and I thought I would find you. I found your bonded in your room and asked him to escort me to you.”
Aster’s eyes meet mine. Something is wrong. “Yes, Varik Hamdrone. I thought he was a good match. We’ve spoken a few times over lunch.” Both Aster and Luke go still. I continue on, ignoring the tension in the room. “He seems like a nice guy. Good bloodline. Everything you’re looking for.”
“Perfect, I will contact them immediately. Maybe we can make it a joint wedding with your brother. It would be good to have all my children’s futures sorted once and for all.” Dread floods my system. I don’t want this. She comes over and kissesboth my cheeks. “Proud of you, daughter. No arguing with me for once. I’m glad to see you are growing up after all.” She walks to the door. “Headmaster, do keep tutoring my daughter. She still needs all the help she can get.”
She walks out, shutting the door behind her, leaving me and Aster and Luke together in a tense room. Aster storms up to me. “You didn’t mention that spotty fucker from lunch was who you are planning to marry. He is boring and can’t string a sentence together,” Aster snarls.
“What else was I meant to do? I found the nicest one on the list. The rest of them are dickheads, and he’s not that bad,” I mutter. Aster is right; he is boring.
“Any witch is bad, especially for you,” Aster snaps.
Luke looks between us. “You don’t have to marry someone that your mother’s chosen from a list for you. You could just say no.”
“Then you know little about my family if you think there’s any chance that I could say no to her. People don’t say no to my mother,” I practically shout at him, my chest rising and falling fast.
“Well, you could be the start,” Luke points out.
“Are you calling me a coward?” I snap.
“No, just a people pleaser. I’m not sure which is worse.” He shrugs a shoulder.
“Fuck you, Headmaster,” I snap.
“Do you want to end up in detention with me?” he retorts.
My cheeks burn. “I’m leaving.”
Aster shakes his head, following me out. I don’t get far before he grabs my arm, plunges me into a classroom, and shuts the door. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“This.” He slams his lips onto mine, pulling me closer to him. I pause, just for a second, before I sink back into his touch, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself up tohim. He just feels right. So right. Why couldn’t he be a witch and mine?
“You know I care about you?—”
He breaks away too quickly. “You can’t have this if you marry him. Tell your mother no. We’ll deal with the consequences together. I don’t want to agree with the headmaster, but he’s right. People pleasing her is just going to ruin your life.”
My bonded walks out, and I shake my head, going over to the window, knowing damn well he’s right.
Chapter 18
My blood feels like it’s buzzing with excitement and fear. The day has gone exactly to plan so far. Lock woke me up on the sofa before he left for his celebrations, his bonded waiting at the door for him. The shifters who run the cafeteria sent food for us to eat that isn’t poisoned, unlike the rest of the food they served to witches today. My bonded made sure every shifter on their side knew not to eat anything from Bloodstone Academy today.
I walk through the castle in silence with Kane, his hand linked in mine. Vale, Black, and Maz have their own plans for tonight, and they will guard the exits and the forest. We can’t risk any witches getting off the island and swimming to shore. They could alert the Umbral Authority, and until we have the academy under control, the Umbral Authority are an enormous threat. They would appear with an army and take over. When the clock strikes midnight, we’re going to strike at the same time. Vale and Kane have mapped out the vaults over and over, making sure we aren’t missing anything. I still feel a hint of unease as we walk to the door and look down the corridor that leads to the vaults and the Mindless.
“There are no witches guarding,” Kane whispers. The unease I felt doubles as I realize he is right. I don’t bother making up an excuse; nothing would work, and we don’t have a choice. One way or another, our ruse of not remembering is going to come to an end. If not now, then definitely at the wedding I won’t be attending. The groom will be dead for one.
We walk in and the Mindless immediately lose it, screeching in their cages. The noise makes my ears ring, and I try to look at them. Kane tugs me closer to his side, no doubt sensing my fear of the Mindless. They really are awful creatures. My heart races as we continue on. As we go past, I whisper the spell. So does Kane for the other side of cages. With our spells fortifying the barrier over the top of the cages, a second lock is on all the doors for the Mindless. It won’t last long, half an hour max, but it’ll mean that they’ll slam into that instead of being free the minute we open the vault door. We just need some time, and Kane can burn them when we are done.
“Are you ready for this?” he asks.
“I won’t let them take you from me again,” I whisper, but my voice is firm. “They told me that the prophecy said I would fall for love or magic. Time doesn’t erase love; it only strengthens it. They gave us time, even stolen away, and we cannot be stopped.”
He leans over, kissing me deeply, just once, winding his fingers into my hair. “I really love you, Juniper. Let’s finish this. For the shifters. For you, Juniper. This is all for you.”
“I love you, too, Kane. I’m so grateful to have you in my life and by my side. Let’s do this, let’s make this world a better place, together.” It’s time. I kneel down, feeling for the magic around the vault door. It’s strong. Vale was right, but I’m never telling him that. The magic feels strange, like it is woven with ancient energy, but there are cracks in it. Sweat pours down my neck as I chant a breaking spell and lunge at the locks on the door. Itdoesn’t take me long to pull, poke and rip at the power before it snaps.
Loud alarms blast off, and I wince. The Mindless roar and rage, the sound getting louder, but Kane is watching them. He looks back at me and nods. “They’re not out. It worked. Let’s go.”
