“Loyalty can’t be bought, Mother, as you’re well aware. And Ezra is the only member of our conniving family that I trust not toaccidentallypush me in front of a train to gain a step closer to the family seat.” It was an old argument, and one I didn’t have time to rehash tonight. Before she could butt in with the lecture I knew was coming, I interrupted her with my news. “I foundher.” I didn’t have to elaborate on theherI was talking about. “She arrived today, and things are more complicated than I anticipated.”
“Complicated how?” my mother demanded. She leaned forward, worry morphing her annoyance into a contemplative frown. “Did the djinn already get to her?”
Now it was my turn to frown. “The djinn? What do they have to do with anything?”
“Honestly, Kaiden, I raised you smarter than this. Ask me again why the djinn would be interested in the powerful,vulnerable,bond of our faction's heir.”
My cheeks heated at her disappointment even as my heart raced in a growing panic. The djinn were our greatest opposition on the tribunal. Power just as strong and ancient as our own, they consistently worked behind the scenes to topple the balance in their favor.
I knew they wouldn’t be happy to hear my bond was a nightmare. The combined power our children would inherit promised to keep our faction at the top with theirs for generations to come. Perhaps even push us ahead, something unacceptable to them.
“We haven’t seen any djinn on campus, Mother.” It wasn’t a lie, but it seemed that Ez and I would have to be extra vigilant if my mother was already worked up.
“Then what’s the problem?”
I sighed, frustration sending my shadows into a frenzy. I kept them locked away, barely. “She wants nothing to do with me.”
“Who?”
“My bond!” I growled. “I saw her today, twice. And both times she denied me. Perhaps her upbringing will be a harder hurdle than I accounted for.”
The background noise from my mother’s side rose as she contemplated. As the head of our faction, her days were busy,and I knew this conversation wouldn’t last much longer, despite the urgency.
“I’m not going to tell you to get the girl in line because you already know it’s what you must do,” she said after whatever the distraction was on her side faded. “And I shouldn’t have to tell you what will happen if the djinn get to her before you.”
I glared at her in defiance. Those conjuring assholes wouldn’t lay a finger on what’s mine. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Good. Then I also don’t need to mention what will happen to your power if she’s taken out.”
My jaw ached from how hard I clenched it. My mother knew exactly what buttons to hit. If they killed her, even before we completed the bond, it would weaken me. Perhaps to a point where I could no longer take over from my mother and lead.
But that wasn’t what had my shadows once again breaking free and leaving gouges in the wood of the dresser like phantom fists. No. It was the thought of those curls saturated with blood. Of those emerald eyes fading and taking that spark I craved with them.
I let my shadows rage and watched their reflection in the now-empty mirror. I needed to bring my little bond to heel. No more games. No more running. She would be mine before the semester was out.
I blew out a breath and let my shadows sink beneath my skin once more. But first, I needed a drink.
three
Eryn
Tomorrow was the start of classes, but you wouldn’t know it by the sounds filtering in from outside. I smoothed out the bunches in my sleeping bag for the millionth time, triple-checked that my backpack was ready to go, and mentally ran through my schedule. My first class wasn't until ten thirty, but I needed to hike to the Commons for breakfast and possibly time the distance from there to the bus depot…and back. There was still a lot to do before I felt even moderately comfortable here.
A wolf howl cut the silence of the room, followed quickly by a chorus of yips and answering calls. A quick glance out into the shared courtyard showed windows opening and more heads sticking out to join the campus…serenade? Round up? I had no idea what to call it. There was nothing in the welcome packet about the potential for students to turn rabid the night before the semester started. The digital clock on Rani’s desk read just before midnight as I shut the window and climbed into bed, folding my thin pillow over my ears.
“Absolutely not.” The door to our room struck Rani’s closet with enough force to send some of her precious lotions tumbling. Not that it bothered her as she flicked on the lights and marched up to me. “As your roommate and new friend, I cannot allow this to happen.”
When my instinct to shred her mind to ribbons faded and my heart stopped choking me, I sat up. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Did she mean the howling? It was unusual—and annoying—but as a human, I assumed she was used to the idiocy from the others of her species. She rolled her eyes and stripped the sleeping bag off my bare legs before turning to rummage through the drawers beneath her bed.
“Theta Delta Sigma just sent out the pack call. Didn’t you hear it?”
A fraternity. Somehow, that made sense. I caught the dark denim she threw at me before it hit my face and warily tracked her as she moved to her closet next.
“I heard it,” I replied. “Why is it sending you into a frenzy?”
Perhaps I’d missed something when I declared her human. She laughed at my choice of words and handed me a hanger with a skimpy red top attached. I glanced between the top, the scrap of denim in my lap, and the mischievous grin on her face.
