“No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
“Good, that’s good. We just keep her away from you, then,” he said, nodding his head to himself. “What did she look like? It’ll make it easier to run interference.”
I closed my eyes and pulled the image of her standing across the clearing to mind before describing her in great detail to Dante. When I opened my eyes, my friend went so still I almost thought he was still in stone form.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing. It’s just…I had a run-in with her a few days ago. She’s Shadrie Nightshade’s roommate.”
Tilting my head, I frowned at him. I knew Dante well enough to know he wasn’t telling me everything. “Shadrie would castrate us both and eat our still-beating hearts if she could.”
“She would,” Dante grinned. “It’ll make it easier to stay away from her. That’s good. This is good.”
“And if she starts to feel the pull of the bond? We were both taught about these things as children,” I cautioned. “She may not feel it now, but my soul will continue to call to her until she answers.”
“We take a page from Daena’s book.” Dante winced. “Make her hate you so much she stays as far away as she can.”
I collapsed onto the sofa and threw my head back with a heavy sigh. My magic was restless under my skin, almost angry at the idea of doing anything to harm my mate in any way. But I knew my father, and he’d become increasingly unhinged over the last decade. Since the night he stole my mother’s magic and murdered her, he’d been on a paranoid downward spiral. He was even starting to suspect that I was working against him—his paranoia getting something right for once. If there was even a whisper of me having more than superficial feelings for a female who wasn’t his chosen bride for me, her life would be in immense danger.
“If this isn’t what you want, say the word, Vallynn,” Dante said, interrupting my thoughts. “We’ll talk to Thrackborne andfigure out how to keep her safe from your father another way, even if it means hiding her somewhere.” He sounded almost hopeful, something I wasn’t ready to look deeper into.
“The safest place in both realms is the Academy. Besides, it would be cruel to have her cut off from her magic, not to mention dangerous. The Academy’s magic wouldn’t allow her to leave unbound, not until she’s learned control.”
“Then we have no other choice.” Dante sounded pained, and his face was rife with remorse. “Avoid her as long as possible, and turn to cruelty when that no longer works.”
“Selir forgive me, because I’m not sure, at the end of this, my mate ever will.”
Chapter Nine
Bechora
The morning after the party, I woke up trapped in my room. We were meant to be in the common room by ten for the new head of house announcement. Instead, I found myself held hostage by an invisible barrier preventing me from leaving. Shadrie attempted every spell she knew to break a shield to get me out before leaving with the promise of finding help. Much to my dismay, help arrived in the form of the grumpy Professor Thrackborne. He glowered at me while he worked, snapping the barrier with ease before demanding I meet with him in his office after my last class the following day.
After the handful of strange occurrences that seemed to happen while I slept, the normalcy of the first day of term was almost a relief. I was showered and dressed in my uniform before Shadrie even rolled out of bed.
“Damn, B, you look hot.” Shadrie whistled as she stumbled out of her room. “Zypher won’t know what hit him.”
“It’s not my fault. Whoever is in charge of uniforms has a schoolgirl fetish.” I rolled my eyes.
“What’s your first class today?”
“Um, Spellcasting 101,” I replied, pulling my course schedule out of my bag.
“You’ll like that one. It’s a required course for all the students from the human realm, but from what my sister told me, it’s really good for getting them up to the same level of spellcasting as those of us who’ve been doing the basic spells our whole lives,” she said, strolling over and snagging the paper from my hand. “Ooh, Intro to Supes, that’s a good onetoo. All the reading you’ve been doing should make that one an easy pass for you. I’m sad we don’t have any classes together today, but at least we can meet for dinner after your combat training class.”
“I wish. I have to report to Thrackborne’s office immediately after my last class, remember.”
Shadrie scrunched her nose. “I forgot about that. I don’t know what you did to get on the dragon’s bad side, but girl, I would not want to be in your shoes. The man is smoking—no pun intended—but scary as hell.”
“I totally needed you to make me even more nervous than I already was about having to meet with him,” I drawled. “Can we please not talk about my meeting with the scary-ass dragon and get something to eat before classes start? I’d like to pretend I’m actually going to survive my first day.”
“Yeah, yeah. Give me like thirty and I’ll be ready.” Shadrie waved a hand over her head as she headed for the door, carrying her shower caddy.
While I waited, I unpacked and repacked the messenger bag I’d found included in my school supplies, making sure I had everything I needed for the day. As resistant as I’d been when I arrived a week ago, I had to admit, I was excited to learn actual magic. I’d just repacked my bag for the tenth time when Shadrie returned, ready to head to the dining hall.
The early morning light bathed the campus in a soft glow as we exited Magus House. I was so captivated by the sight that I didn’t notice Zypher Morningstar standing a few yards away from the entrance until Shadrie elbowed me in the side. As if sensing my presence, Zypher’s eyes landed on me, and his face split into a brilliant smile.
“Dilectus,” he purred, his long legs closing the distance in only a few strides. “I’ve come to escort you to breakfast.”
