There were some who took his side, some who took Mirella’s, and very few who took mine. I knew the other students didn’t like me much, but there had to be a bigger reason for them to be so hateful about it.
“I never met the guy,” Callie started in a timid voice as she tore her hair tie out of her hair. Blonde waves tumbled down her back. “But after everything you have told me, he sounds like an absolute danger to everyone around him.”
“He is.” Trixie snorted as she held her hands out next to a spot in the barrier that was thinner than the rest, and her magical energy lit up the side until it thickened like the rest. “I’m almost positive my spell had some side effects on him. Grayson had never been so open with how sadistic he was, had he?”
I lowered myself down to lie back in the snow. The cold seeped through my clothes, and I sighed. “Not so publicly, no.”
“Well, whatever your mates did seemed to have worked,” Callie said as she sat down beside me and shivered. “Gosh, it’s cold.”
“Alice is probably just overwhelmed. A lot has happened. Give her some time,” Trixie said before letting out a sudden scream.
I shot up out of the cold comfort, and Callie and I scrambled to our feet in time to see a human like the one who had shot me dart out from behind a large tree and stand beside Trixie.
The human had a blue tint to his skin and was bald. He was older than the one who had shot me, and he tilted his head as his dark eyes narrowed on Trixie. Then his arm shot out, and he grabbed her wrist. “Witch, nature,” he spoke in an emotionless tone. “Last encounter yesterday. Strengths: magical manipulation. Weakness: lack of physical strength.”
Fear struck down my spine like lightning, and it knocked my breath out of my lungs as I froze.
“I am not weak! Die, you scary mother fucker!” Trixie struggled in his hold as the human’s skin protruded in lumps everywhere, but especially his stomach. It expanded until it couldn’t anymore.
A squishy sound followed by a loud pop echoed through the trees. My legs gave out, and Damien’s tattooed arms swooped around me as blood, flesh, and mushrooms scattered across the forest grounds. Hot, wet pieces hit me, and disgust swelled up inside me.
“I’m here, little bird,” he murmured into my ear. “I’ve been here the whole time. Thank fuck. Great use of your power, Trixie.”
“Figures you’d approve.” Her voice wavered, and she fell back on her butt. She snapped her fingers, cleaning off the remains of the human from our bodies and clothes. “And you’re welcome.”
“Did you just… blow up a human with mushrooms?” Callie’s voice was exasperated, and she leaned against a tree, shaking visibly.
“I grew mushrooms inside him until he popped.” Her brown eyes flicked around the forest, taking in the gruesome remainder of the threat.
Thorn phased in, his feet landing on top of a pile of human mush. His eyes were wide and panicked as they met mine. “Kit, what the bryony happened?”
“Just cuss, ice fae,” Damien muttered, tightening his hold on my waist.
“That is cussing where I’m from,” Thorn snapped, walking over the pieces of flesh and cupping my face in his hands. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t answer. I wasn’t okay, and he knew it. Fear splintered down the bonds from me, and I knew Rowan would be here any minute. Anxiety clogged my throat, and I couldn’t think about anything other than breathing.
“Everyone’s okay,” Thorn assured me. “Nobody got hurt.”
“Which is great, but how the fuck did it get in?” Trixie’s voice cut through my panic, and I zeroed in on her over Thorn’s shoulder.
She got to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. “Tabitha said to be careful, but she hadn’t run into any threats while strengthening the wards. She does this daily. Shit, Callie, are you okay?”
I glanced over to see Callie against the tree with terror visible in every line of her body. Her whole body trembled, and tears welled in her eyes.
Somehow, seeing her like that was enough to kick my panic to the curb. Damien’s hands slid to my hips as I tried to stand on my own, and then I moved away from my mates and toward my friend.
She grabbed onto me for dear life as I wrapped her in a hug. “I’ve never told anyone this, but my friend… the siren who was killed last term—” She choked, taking a minute to collect herself. “I was with her. The human thing grabbed her just like that one did. Someone hit me over the head—it was a woman, and she said something about specimen 450, but then everything went blank! I heard a man, too. He was laughing. I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything before, but I just didn’t want to relive it!” she wailed.
“Why didn’t they hurt you?” Rowan’s voice came from behind me, and my chest filled with more comfort.
“I ask myself that every day,” she whispered, squeezing me tighter. “I woke up in my dorm room, and I had convinced myself it was all a bad dream, but then, they found her.”
“Oh, Callie,” Trixie murmured behind us.
Callie pulled away and wiped her tears. “I didn’t mean to lose it like that.”
“Nobody blames you. That was a pretty horrific sight to see,” I assured her as Rowan pulled me back into his fiery embrace.
