“Maybe,” Sorik tells Ryker. “I don’t know if either of us have enough magic though. Vaughn was a Sentinel, so if hecanbe turned into a lamia, I imagine it would take a massive amount of magic to complete the transition. If we try and fail, I worry it could make Vaughn worse off than he is now. I’m hesitant to attempt anything until we know more.”
“Was Sabin right?” Knox asks, pulling my focus from the Vaughn talk.
He gestures to the parchment on the table. “Did they summon you today like he thought they would?”
“Yep, looks like there’s guards waiting outside to escort me down,” I confirm.
Bastien gets up from the couch he’s chilling on, and Knox follows.
“Did it finally come?” Ryker asks as I flash him a goodbye wave and head for the door.
“Sure did,” I chirp.
“Call if you need anything,” Siah shouts after me.
“Will do,” I tell him.
I open the door and pause when my escort is none other than the gray and tan winged Sentinel, Ory. His grin lights up when my face falls at the sight of him.
“Why, good afternoon, Sentinel,” he greets me with an exaggerated bow. I roll my eyes, not able to help it.
Knox and Bastien are silent sentries behind me, theirI will fuck you upgame strong. I step out of the room, and Ory and another nondescript Sentinel fall into step on each side of me. Bastien and Knox take their place at my back. We make our way down the corridor, my surroundings becoming more and more familiar with each passing day.
Ory’s wing brushes against my shoulder as we walk. I ignore it. I’m pretty sure he’s doing it on purpose. It’s fucking killing me to not ask how he has them. Are they a rune? Something else? The questions itch in my throat, but I keep quiet. I’m pretty sure he knows I’m dying to know, which is why he keeps practically shoving the appendages in my face, but the last thing I’m going to give this guy is any amount of satisfaction.
“Nervous?” Ory asks me when we make our way four floors down the wide twisting steps.
I don’t respond.
“It’s okay to feel worried. You should be,” he offers unhelpfully.
I can’t figure out this dude’s angle. He’s antagonistic, but I’m not sure if that’s just who he is or if there’s a purpose for it. Maybe I should have Nash try to spend some time with him, I could never figure that kid out either.
In no time, we’re in front of the doors that Sabin described earlier as leading into the room the tribunal was holding court in. They open of their own accord, and I enter. Bastien and Knox move to follow me, but Ory stops them.
“Were you summoned also?” Ory asks them smugly. “Didn’t think so. Which means you can scurry off back to the room, as you’re not wanted here.”
I growl at Ory, irritated, at the same time Bastien takes a menacing step toward him. I catch a glint of excitement in Ory’s eyes that sends worry fluttering through me.
“We’ll be right here until you’re done,” Bastien tells me, never taking his eyes off the winged Sentinel.
They stare at each other for a couple more seconds before Bastien moves in front of me and kisses me. I can feel the claim in it, and it makes me smile. Bastien steps back, his own grin reflected in his eyes, and then Knox’s lips are on mine. Knox nips and teases both of my lips in a thorough kiss. Then he and Bastien step back and position themselves to guard the door.
I activate Knox and Bastien’s runes behind my ear as I walk through the doors and they shut behind me.“Love you guys,”I tell them, a wide grin spread across my face, and both of their chuckles bounce around my head in response.
“That little winged fucker is into you, I can feel it,”Bastien tells me, and I give him an incredulous snort.
“I think he just likes fucking with all of us, and he knows that’s the quickest way to rile you up,”I respond, and Knox and Bastien’s own incredulous snorts fill my mind.
“Whatever it is, the prick better watch himself before I pluck him,”Knox informs me, and I can’t help the smile that breaks open on my face. I’m led to a large round table where Sabin, Torrez, Sauriel and the four other tribunal members are already seated.
“Gotta go,”I announce and then recall the magic in the runes behind my ear.
Sabin smiles at me and nods to a chair. I pull one out and sit in it, not sure exactly how this is going to go down. Sabin said everyone simply asks questions, but this all feels stuffier and more formal than the conversational way he and Torrez described it. I notice that Ory and the other guard stand in opposite corners of the room, and I’m irritated that they’re in here, but Knox and Bastien aren’t.
“Offer your name, please,” the female Sentinel with the gray pixie cut and the gray eyes asks me, her request sounding neither friendly nor abrasive.
“Vinna Aylin,” I tell her, and she gives me a nod.
