I worked well into the night and the wee hours of Sunday morning, translating the short tome. While I didn’t see why the Academy had deemed it important to my search for answers on Bechora’s behalf, I found myself fascinated with the history it told. Thaliondil was a skilled storyteller, weaving the tale of the mad Elven king. He’d set about ripping power away from every being in the realm, only to find himself up against the Starcaller. Using the power of her bond through their connection, she was able to subdue the mad king. The Elven queen begged for his life, her love for him more powerful than her hatred of what he’d become in his quest. An agreement was struck: the Elves would leave the realm, never to return, and take with them the knowledge and power the king had used to steal gifts from his subjects. If the tome were to be taken as fact, Thaliondil remained behind, relinquishing his gifts to the realm so that he could write down the history should it ever repeat itself.
My eyes ached from the strain of an entire night translating, and my body was stiff. Closing the tome, I tucked it into the top drawer of my desk as I let my mind work through what I’d learned. I couldn’t help but note the similarities between the story of the mad Elven king and King Evarian. Vallynn hadn’t been able to determine what his father was doing with the power he drained from the people he slaughtered, but we knew beyond a doubt he was draining it. I couldn’t help but wonder, after what I’d read, if the king hadn’t happened upon another forgotten tome that might have provided him a way to absorb the stolen magic for himself. The thought caused me to shudder. It was terrifying enough to know he was murdering people and stripping their power. If he had managed to discover a way to take it for himself, he’d be unstoppable.
Rubbing my tired eyes before stretching in my seat, I forced the thought aside. I refused to accept the possibility that we wouldn’t be able to end the king’s quiet reign of terror. After what he’d done to my clan, I needed to believe he could be brought to justice. I shook my head to further push thoughts of failure away and caught sight of the files I’d left forgotten as I dove into the Elven tome. Their presence was an instant reminder of why I’d ended up with the tomein the first place. I was supposed to be finding a way to help my mate access her magic, not getting lost in what may or may not have been a fictional account of history.
Growling softly at myself, I reached into another drawer and retrieved a small vial meant to contain magic. It had been created to hold even a dragon’s flame without shattering under the heat, while being small enough to wear on a chain around the neck. I’d only managed to recover three of them from my clan lands after I’d found them slaughtered and our home decimated. They’d been tucked away in my desk drawer, serving as a reminder of what I’d lost, but now I had a new use for them.
Calling my dragon forth just enough to breathe our fire, I uncorked the small vial and pressed my lips to the opening. Smoke curled from my nostrils, and I let out a gentle puff of flame, filling it with violet flames. I quickly replaced the cork before attaching the glass vial to a delicate golden chain as it transformed itself into a discreet pendant.
Dragon fire was potent magic that couldn’t be put out by anyone other than a dragon. Contained within the vial, Bechora would be able to absorb the magical properties of it without fear of getting burned or using it up before her well was filled. Snagging a blank sheet of paper and a pen from my desk, I quickly scrawled a note instructing her to wear the necklace and keep it concealed. I placed the vial and note in an envelope before grabbing a bottle of the restoration potion I’d been sending her every morning, and then stood from my chair. Glancing toward the window of my office, it was still just dark enough that I could make it to her dorm and drop the envelope without being noticed. A pleased smirk tugged at my lips with the knowledge that I was caring for my mate, even if nobody else knew it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bechora
Monday morning came far too soon. I stretched with a groan and forced my tired body from the comfort of my bed. Gabriel still haunted my dreams, leaving me feeling both thoroughly fucked and aching with a bone-deep need I didn’t want. If Zypher was correct about the mark Gabriel had left on my neck, I could only imagine whatever magic tied mates together was responsible for the intensely erotic dreams plaguing me.
“You awake in there, B?” Shadrie called through my bedroom door. “There’s a package for you.”
“Yeah, be out in a sec,” I called back, forcing my feet toward my closet so I could dress for the day.
I heard her move away as I pulled a clean uniform from the closet and dressed. A quick glance in the mirror caused me to frown at the state of my hair. It was wild and unkempt, as if I really had spent the night in the throes of passion. With an irritated huff, I dragged a brush through the tangled mass and secured it in a ponytail before exiting my bedroom.
“Package is on the counter,” Shadrie called from her room.
Moving to the small island counter that separated the communal area from our dorm’s tiny kitchen, I snagged the small package waiting for me. Other than my name, the brown paper was blank, but I could feel magic radiating from within. I’d been at the academy a couple of weeks and never felt anything like it. Even the empty void deep in my gut seemed to take notice, and I frowned as I felt the physical sensation of magic slithering through my system into that hollow space.
I cautiously tore open the packaging and tipped the contents out on the counter. My eyes went straight to the strange glowing pendant on a gold chain before moving to the now-familiarrestoration potion. Those potions had been arriving for me every day since the start of classes, and I knew I’d need it at the end of the day. Combat was my only daily class, and Professor Rumlock was brutal in how he trained us.
Setting the potion aside, I picked up the glowing necklace. Power pulsed through my palm and wound through my body, slowly filling the empty void. The sensation was strong enough to nearly steal my breath, and I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them to look at the note attached to the delicate chain. “This will help build your magic stores; wear it at all times, but keep it concealed,” was written in an elegant scrawl.
“Ohh, that’s gorgeous,” Shadrie grinned, sliding up to the counter beside me as I set the note aside and secured the necklace around my neck before tucking the pendant beneath my shirt. “Zypher is really upping his game, but he should probably take credit for all his gifts before someone else does.”
“Right. Like anyone else on campus has a reason to send me gifts. His credit is safe, no matter how much he denies it,” I laughed. “He sent a note this time, unsigned, but still. Said to keep it concealed.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was some rare gem or something. Demons have a way of getting their hands on them, so it makes sense he would tell you to hide it. Wouldn’t want to risk causing you any trouble over it. Speaking of trouble…” the shift in her tone signaling she was about to bring up the whole Gabriel Dreadgrave mate thing. “Are you doing okay? After our veg sesh, you pretty much holed up in your room, and we haven’t had a chance to talk about the massive plot twist Zypher dropped in your lap.”
“I wasn’t holed up, I was studying and doing my homework. Not all of us grew up in this realm, in case you forgot,” I snarked.
“No way, B, you’re not getting out of this that easily. Zypher might have dropped it when you wouldn’t tell him Gabriel is the one who bit you, but I know, and now we both know he marked you as his fated mate. That’s a huge deal, B.”
“It’s not, really. I’ll deal with Gabriel, somehow, but I also don’t plan to keep the bond with him. There has to be something in the library—or even something Zypher can get a hold of—for me to tell me how to break it. As long as I don’t drink his blood, the bond won’t be completed if Zypher was right, so it’s a non-issue.”
“If you say so,” Shadrie snorted. “Whenever you get around to plotting your revenge, know I’m here for you, and I’m happy to ice his underwear.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I chuckled, rolling my eyes at her. “I’ve got to get to class. I’ll see you at lunch.”
Shadrie called out several more things she’d freeze on my behalf as I strolled from our dorm. Zypher was waiting outside of Magus House with coffee like he’d done every day since we met.
“You are a god among men,” I groaned, taking a sip of the caffeinated goodness he’d brought for me.
“I am pleased you think so, Dilectus,” he chuckled. “Perhaps such high praise will lead you to accept my proposal.”
I choked on my coffee. “Proposal?” I sputtered.
“I have been studying human mating rituals, and the electricity mage has been tutoring me in your human ways. I have learned that your kind’s matings require a special, smaller ritual called a date.”
I couldn’t help the soft smile that pulled at the corner of my lips at his serious tone. “Are you asking me on a date, big guy?”
