As if summoned by my thoughts, the mate bond tugged my attention toward a cobblestone path. Bechora moved along it, between ancient buildings, toward the forest, completely unaware of my presence. My heart squeezed at how I’d been treating her. Not cruelly, per se—more like she was invisible, even though she was the planet around which my soul orbited. She didn’t know the danger she was in because of the bond that stretched between us—a bond she didn’t even seem to be aware of. Nor did she seem to acknowledge the dangers that lurked in the academy for someone like her. The rumors Daena had brought up in astrology flashed through my mind at lightning speed. My body moved without conscious thought, feet carrying me after her as my shadows slipped free to hide me. I couldn’t claim her; it was vital that nobody suspected she was mine—but that didn’t mean I couldn’t keep her safe without her knowing.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bechora
Professor Thrackborne didn’t have any explanation for why I felt a surge of power when our hands touched. He’d made some comment about needing to look into it and promptly left me to find my way back to my dorm alone. I hadn’t seen him since. The scowly dragon hadn’t even bothered to show up for our sessions the past few days.
“You’re sure it wasn’t his dragon fire that gave you the boost?” Shadrie asked, for the hundredth time.
“Positive,” I replied.
“Dragon shifters are said to be pure magic; it could be that you needed direct contact with the magic for it to work,” Miles interjected, pushing his glasses up his nose.
The three of us were in the living area of my and Shadrie’s dorm room. I’d filled Shadrie in on everything as soon as I’d returned from my trip to the woods with Thrackborne, and we’d been trying to figure out what happened since. Miles had a stack of books from the library in front of him on the coffee table and was flipping through one while Shadrie paced and asked the same question a dozen different ways.
What I hadn’t shared yet was that the boost seemed to have dissipated, and in its place was a strange, growing draw to five males on campus. I found my eyes searching for Zypher, Gabriel, Dante, Vallynn, and even the crabby Professor any time I left the dorm. Zypher made sense. The growing attraction to him could be the mate bond he claimed existed between us. Especially if what Thrackborne had said was true about the lack of magic in the human realm interfering with the ability to sense bonds. The draw to the others left me feeling somewhat guilty, as if I were betraying Zypher with the unwanted attraction.
“B… You still with us?” Shadrie asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Where did you go? You zoned out on us, and Miles was talking.”
“Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was saying I remembered a wolf shifter who came to my coven for help. She’d been in our realm for a decade, but for whatever reason, she hadn’t been able to stay near a coven to keep her magic stores up. Her well was so empty that our coven had to physically touch her while casting to help replenish her well. It’s rare, but it happens.”
“What about the pendant?” I asked, my hand moving on instinct to grab it where it was hidden beneath my shirt. “I’ve been able to summon fire since I put it on.”
“Easy,” Miles shrugged. “It’s obviously enchanted, and it is touching you. Same principle, though it has to be a decently strong enchantment if it’s still replenishing your well.”
“This would be so much simpler if Thrackborne hadn’t vanished, so I could demand some answers.” I groaned.
“Answers or…” Shadrie laughed, waggling her brows suggestively.
Miles shut the book he was skimming with a decisive snap. “I think that’s my queue to leave. Why don’t we table this for the night and pick back up in the library tomorrow? There’s a few more books I’d like to check out that could tell us something useful. It might be helpful to narrow things down if you make a list of anything strange you’ve experienced since arriving here.”
“You mean like being snatched through a portal, having strange dust blown in my face, and told I’m a fire mage?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Well, no,” Miles frowned.
“She’s being sarcastic,” Shadrie interjected. “You know he means after that, you know, like icing your bedroom, trapping yourself in there with a shield, that sort of stuff.”
Shadrie gave me a pointed look as Miles nodded.
“Fine. I’ll make a list,” I groaned.
“Perfect. Meet in the Library, let’s say, after lunch?” Miles asked as he gathered his books and moved toward the door.
“Sure, I’ll make sure B has your list at breakfast,” Shadrie smiled, seeing him out. Once the door shut behind him, she turned to face me. “I know you’re being bitchy because we don’t have answers, butyou really gotta give Miles a break. Your seer friend said you have to figure out what you are, right? Well, Miles is the biggest bookworm I’ve ever seen. If anyone can help us figure it out, it’s him.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I know, you’re right. I’ll apologize to him in the morning. He’s been nothing but kind since I got here, and I was being a grade-A bitch just now. He didn’t deserve that.”
“Good.” Shadrie grinned. “Now that we’ve settled that, I’ve got a hot date tonight, and you need to get some rest. Those dark circles under your eyes are so not in style.”
I rolled my eyes and flipped her off. Shadrie laughed as she strolled into her bedroom. It wasn’t my fault that my sleep was being disturbed nightly by dreams about Gabriel. Still, she was right about me needing rest, a fact I decided to act on as I made my way to my own bedroom for the night.
Gabriel prowled toward where I was sprawled out on a bed of black satin. My eyes raked over him, drinking in the lean muscle of his naked chest. Clapping broke through the otherwise quiet space, and I frowned.
“Wow, I knew he was a looker, but damned, B,” Geordie’s voice called out from somewhere to my right.
The scene before me slipped away like smoke, and I found myself sitting at the counter in the apartment I shared with Geordie. He stood on the other side of the counter, a grin splitting his face as he slid a cup of coffee toward me.
