I reeled back as if I’d been hit by this information. No one had told me anything about Samson being an undercover agent for the supernatural authorities. Nerves fluttered in my belly as I realized. If Samson really was part of the supernatural authorities, that meant that what was happening at the academy was worse than I had thought.
“How did you react when you found out?” I reached up and fiddled with my necklace that had both the mushroom Trixie had given me and the ruby ring my parents had given me.
“I love him,” she told me in a soft voice, but the amount of emotion that coated her words was palpable. I was certain I did the same when I spoke about my mates.
“Are you mates?” I tilted my head.
She bit down on her lip and nodded. “The matebond started weaving together when we had first met, and by that second day, I knew we were mates. It didn’t solidify until he kissed me, though. Sirens are kind of like foxes in that the bonds aren’t immediate,” she explained. Love and excitement shone through her eyes.
“I’m so happy for you.” I took a breath of the stale musk of books surrounding us. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be freaked out, but Rowan never told me that Samson was an agent.”
“Apparently, it was Rowan’s decision,” she said.
Disappointment snaked through me at being left out of the loop again. “Rowan placed him with Thorn and Lachlan.”
“And Mirella.” She frowned, and I was sure there was a story there, but I couldn’t push away my feelings.
“I wonder why I wasn’t told about it.”
“Well, it’s supposed to be a secret.” She squirmed in her seat. “But, to be honest, I don’t know. I don’t think your mate would have intentionally kept that from you. Knowing him, he probably didn’t think about it.”
I leaned back in my chair. Rowan had been so busy lately. He had barely remembered to eat since term two started. It didn’t shock me that he had forgotten to tell me about it, but I couldn’t help feeling upset about it either. “Yeah, maybe. What was the other thing you wanted to talk about?” I leaned forward and shoved my paper inside my textbook and shut the hardcover with a snap that echoed throughout the level of the library. A few of the other students glanced over at us, and I sank lower in my seat.
“It’s about Trixie.” She leaned over the table and lowered her voice even further. “Nate really has been isolating her. She only hung out with me for like five minutes after class Friday, and then I didn’t see her at all this weekend. We had planned to go have lunch on Sunday, but she canceled because she said she had to do something with Nate.”
Nate was not a good being, and why Trixie stayed with him was beyond me. But she had never canceled any of our plans for him before, and that raised a flag to me.
“She even missed class yesterday. I haven’t seen her since I got back from the Demon Capital. Trixie usually hunts me down whenever I leave to go to the bathroom.” A shiver cut through me. I really hoped Trixie was okay.
“Do you maybe want to stop what we’re doing since we can’t focus anyway and go see if we can find her?” Callie had put her stuff into her bag already, and I nodded as I did the same.
We got up from our reading nook and left the library in haste.
The bitter cold met us as we stepped out, but not even the weather was able to cool my body.
I’d been trying to talk to Trixie about my growing concern with Nate, but she always told me not to worry. Trixie was the strongest woman I had ever met, and I could not bear for anyone to try to beat her down the way Nate had been trying to do. She deserved more than that, so much more.
The cruelty of Nate’s actions knew no bounds, according to Thorn, and that made me worry so much about my friend.
Callie and I were lost in thought as we walked down the pathway toward the dorms when I bumped into someone. A woodsy scent filled my nostrils, and I smiled as I looked up into brown eyes.
Lachlan smiled as he turned and fell into step with us. “Hey, what’s going on?” His smile turned into a frown as a cold sweat trickled down my temple. He reached out and swept it away with his fingers. “What happened? It’s freezing outside. Something’s bothering you.”
“Trixie.” I frowned.
Callie nodded. “We’re looking for her. Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, I just passed her. She was actually with that redheaded fire fae by the firepit next to the dorms. They seem to be really getting into it. Didn’t Trixie just kill someone with mushrooms? That guy’s a real idiot.” He lifted his arms behind his head as he continued walking with us.
Lachlan had no idea how helpful he was. Just like usual. A flutter of amusement shot through me, and I smiled.
“Thank you,” Callie and I said in sync.
“I’ll go with you,” he said.
“That sounds great.” I hadn’t been able to spend too much time with him since the weekend, but I was missing him and Kian a lot more lately.
Just as Lachlan said, we found Trixie near the fire pit. The fire raged as Nate screamed at her. His face was red as the flames spread over his skin.
