Keep the baby away from the training field.Barrett is here.
Shit, came the almost immediate response.Will do.
Three little dots and then,Some weird shit is happening in the dorm. Unsure if it’s the baby but seems like it. Odd magic fluctuations.
Fuck.
Try to contain them if you can. He cannot know she’s here.
I’ll do my best.
“What is it?” Dad asked.
I smiled and waved to Barrett.
“There’s a Chimera baby in the dorm,” I whispered.
Dad blinked, his head snapping my direction. “What?”
“Someone dropped her off a few days ago. No idea where she came from or whose she is.”
Dad stared at me for a long moment. “You didn’t think this was important to mention?”
“I’ve had a lot going on,” I hissed. “He cannot know she’s here.”
“You think he might be her father?”
“I don’t know. Very few people offer the things he has for free unless there’s something in it for them.”
Dad grunted. “Fair enough.”
“He’s about to be within hearing distance. Pretend we’re talking about something else.”
“If you don’t get this down, you’ll be useless to us,” Dad snapped.
I blinked. “Geez, Dad.”
“You asked for it. Now, let’s try it again from the top.”
“Do I have to?” I whined. Half of the complaining wasn’t for show. Mom’s drops helped, but they weren’t perfect. I still felt like I’d been wrung out and hung to dry.
“Do you want your people to die horrible deaths when others come for your territories and raid them?”
“We aren’t Vikings.”
“No,” Dad agreed. “The fae are worse. Again, Evie.”
Barrett seemed relaxed. He nodded to both of us. “I see your father is being hard on you again.”
I rolled my eyes, careful to keep my emotions in check. Barrett had a keen sense of smell, and he knew how to use his magic far better than I did mine. I had to pretend like everything was normal. Barrett might be the best guy in the world, but I didn’t trust him like I did Moira or Rowan, or my parents. He was still an unknown.
“Always,” I agreed. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. Once I get through this last drill, I have some questions about Chimera abilities.”
Barrett’s gaze lingered on me a beat too long. “When you canceled training the other day, I thought I’d done something wrong.”
“Not at all,” I said with a dismissive wave. “If you haven’t noticed, Rowan and I are mated. That took precedence for a fewdays.” The heat on my cheeks wasn’t fake. I could still be such a prudish human sometimes.
Rowan’s face was apologetic, but he’d done the right thing. If Barrett wasn’t here for the right reasons, leaving him at the gate would only rouse suspicion.
