“Yeah. I know.” I pursed my lips.
But the fact that they’d been getting rid of other supernaturals under my nose bothered me. I appreciated that they cared enough to want to protect me, but I needed to know what dangers were lurking around me.
Maybe if I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone to the marketplace.
“A lot of us care for you, Wren. If something happened to you, we’d be lost.” He scooted forward until our foreheads rested on each other.
A therapeutic buzzing flowed from him into me, and my muscles started to unknot themselves. “Why do I feel so good around you?”
He gave me a sleepy grin. “Whatever the reason, I feel good around you too.”
“Do you think maybe…” I yawned, but before I could finish my sentence, Kian had fallen asleep.
His chest rose and fell in a calm rhythm. I smiled before untangling myself from Kian and sliding off the bed.
I turned to find Damien in the corner where he usually watched me sleep. His face was grim, and surprisingly, I didn’t smell any blood on him. Instead, I caught a whiff of peppermint and embers.
The embers scent mixed well with Damien’s usual peppermint, and my inner fox purred.
“Do you want to talk?” His voice cracked as he stepped out of the shadows enough to offer me his hand.
“I’d like nothing more.” Walking over, I took his hand and watched the icy shadows slide up my arm to my cheek in a loving caress.
His shadows nudged me into his hard chest, and he whisked us through the shadows before my back sank into a soft mattress.
We were in his room with the door shut. He propped himself above me by his forearms, and his knees rested on either side of me.
“Is this okay?” he asked as his breath fanned over my lips.
Heat spread through my limbs as I nodded.
“I’m so fucking sorry, little bird.” Hot tears splashed my face from above, and my heart stuttered.
“Damien…”
“I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you and Trixie.”
Reaching up, I cupped his face and wiped his tears away with the pads of my thumbs. “No, you shouldn’t have.”
“On top of that, I failed you in killing them, because by the time I got back, they were already dead.”
Shock riddled through me. “They’re dead already?”
“Smashed to fucking pieces.”
I gasped. “Is it the same as the ones on campus?”
He shook his head, his tongue moving around one of his lip rings. “Rowan doesn’t seem to think so. He thinks it has to do with dragons.”
“Dragons?” My heart pounded hard enough to echo in my ears. “And you spoke with the headmaster about it?”
“Yes.” He clenched his jaw as he readjusted his weight on top of me and let his knees rest on each side. “He seemed particularly interested in you.”
“Me? Why?”
He grabbed one of my wrists and pulled my palm to his mouth before pressing a gentle kiss to it. “Not sure.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Why did you hide the fact that you’ve been hurting and killing people to protect me?”
