His gaze flicked to Darian once, then back to me.
He was worried.
I had to force myself to look away, even as my heartbeat tangled in my chest. I had to talk to Dad.
drecken
. . .
“Ineedanother sample,”I insisted, pacing back and forth in Lake Bloodwyne’s office. The academy-issued suit was ridiculous. It was tight everywhere, and the feet felt like footie pajamas. My padded soles barely made a sound on the polished obsidian tile, but red sparks hissed beneath each step, flaring with my growing impatience.
They’d bargained with me to take this teaching position, an insult to my genius in all honesty, in exchange for Sabine’s venom. And now, I was running out of it. I couldn’t finish my testing without more. The venom was volatile, unstable, andfarbeyond the complexity of any toxin I’d encountered.
Sabine, relaxed and unbothered, was curled on Lake’s lap like a well-fed lioness shifter. She didn’t look like her usual scary, untouchable basilisk self around her mates. It was rather sweet. It reminded me of how my parents were before they succumbed to old age.
“Drecken.” She extended her hand across the desk toward me, and her dull green eyes locked onto mine as venom began to seep from her fingertip in slow, thick beads.
“Fates!” I lurched the empty vial underneath her. “Careful.”
“Four dropsss,” she hissed, letting them fall into the glass vial one by one, the dark green liquid glowing faintly against the vial’s glass.
Lake chuckled under his breath. “Four drops for the four years of your work. Consider the first one you already had a bonus.”
“Fantastic,” I whispered, lips curling. My fingers twitched with anticipation as I sealed the vial, magic sparking along my free hand in barely contained bursts.
I already imagined the possibilities. If I could recreate this venom as a potion…then the agents would have an unstoppable advantage.
The door to the office slammed open.
My magic snapped violently, sparks flying around the room in chaotic arcs as I shoved the vial into my bag.
I turned just as their little viperling stormed in.
Rune’s golden eyes were ablaze, and her lips were twisted in a scowl. Her hair was pulled back into two buns again, though this time they weren’t as chaotic. They were deliberate.Shewas deliberate. She moved with the kind of energy that made my magic respond without permission.
Somehow, I didn’t remember my powers ever reacting to anyone in that way.
Odd.
“Why the fuck is Darian on campus?” Rune snapped, but there was a hint of fear in her tone.
Who was Darian?
Sabine immediately stiffened, her demeanor shifting from smug agent coordinator to protective mother. “Oh, honey,” she murmured, pushing off Lake’s lap. “I just found out today. I sent Tobias to tell you.”
Rune’s arms trembled. Golden scales flickered in and out across her forearms, vanishing again in a blink. “Why is hejust now showing up?” she demanded, voice cutting through my heart like a blade. “We hunted for him.”
“I wish I knew.” Sabine crossed her arms.
Lake let out a long, low groan. “I can’t expel him. I’ve looked into it. Without solid proof that he has bad character, our hands are tied. And with the scar Tobias left, the board could use it against both of them. If they investigate, Tobias would be expelled, too.”
Rune’s scream of rage shook the air itself, rattling the metal shelves behind Lake’s desk and making the potion bottles lining the walls hum ominously. “He just grabbed me!” she spat, voice ragged with fury.
Lake’s and Sabine’s eyes snapped to her, but before they could respond, Rune took a breath and continued, “Don’t worry, I handled it,” she growled. “I kissed him. Just a little one small peck on the cheek.” Her voice dipped into something wicked, her golden eyes alight. “Let some of my venom leak into his skin. He started bleeding from every orifice. Zuko stepped in and bit him, too. So yeah, he’s in a lot of pain right now. Slater punched him in the face. Pops is already handling the fallout.”
A flicker of pride sparked in Sabine’s gaze. “Good.”
Lake ran both hands through his hair, groaning. “Fates above...Rune?—”
