He steps closer to me and lowers his voice as if he’s worried he’s going to be overheard. “Drawing too much attention to yourself isn’t smart. You’re going to have every elite in the school out for your head.”
“Attention is the last thing I want.” I don’t remind him that he was the one who insisted on the public display.
“Stay out of trouble, Briar.Everyoneis watching.” With those parting words, he bumps his shoulder into mine as he brushes past me. I can’t help but look out into the field to see if his words are true, but I already know the answer. Several sets of eyes quickly avert, while many others don’t even try to pretend they aren’t paying attention to my every move. Great, I was already a target, but now it looks like my head will be the top trophy.
BRIAR
It’s hours before the entire group of us is released for the day. There was no lunch break, and from what I gleaned from other conversations, the nest isn’t expected at the tavern for a few hours. Not surprisingly, the elite get to eat breakfast last and dinner first. I’m under the impression anyone can risk going at any time, but these routines are established to the point of tradition.
I’m just happy to get the hell away from everyone. Even if I were hungry, which strangely enough, I haven’t been since the whole consuming magic thing earlier, I still wouldn’t be pressed to eat now. I need to be alone for a little while and get lost in this frigid place so I don’t feel all the eyes on my back.
While everyone is lumbering toward the stairwell, I hang back a little, trying to get lost in the crowd. The only reason it works in my favor is because no one is willing to be too close to me. Thoughts of Kage and how he must have felt brush against my mind, but I shove them away and focus on finding some place to hide for a few hours.
When the last murmurs from the stairwell die down as everyone disappears, I pass the opening they all left through and venture into uncharted territory. I want to be gone before the tutors come out and find me. All I need is for Mick or any of the others who were watching over the group to find me snooping around. I probably should head straight for the nest like all the others, since he warned me that they would be watching me, but I can’t force myself to spend more time confined with them right now.
The building is run-down and a little dingy, like no one has bothered to clean the floor in a few decades. It’s probably too damn cold to mop here. The water would freeze, and the place would turn into an ice rink. I can just imagine everyone slipping down the halls. A smile cracks my lips at the thought, and I almost feel bad for imagining Mick flat on his back after losing his footing.
I pass several doors, but they are all closed, and I’m not dumb or desperate enough to peek inside. After the fourth or fifth turn, I’m as good as lost for the time being. I let out a long sigh and slide down a stone wall until my ass is on the cold hard floor. I stayed on this level on purpose. I figured even I would be able to find my way back to the field and eventually the nest when need be.
One thing I will say about this place and the cold is that it’s quiet. The frigid air seems to mute sounds, yet it’s not the intrusive quiet that makes it feel like your ears are going to pop. The way it eats into your bones is hard to take though. I washoping I could trade information to Mick for a cloak, but I don’t know if today set that endeavor back or not. Maybe I should have told him Syrinx had me questioned by a truth detector because she didn’t trust me either. I could have given him something other than Syrinx didn’t like me again.
“Ugh,” I groan, pulling my knees up and folding my arms over the top to rest my head on them. Sleep would be nice—the deep kind of sleep I would get when curled up next to Ziv. Hell, I’d even take the semi-restless nights I would get when I was sharing the floor with Connor and a few of my other brothers. It wasn’t great, but it was what I knew. A sliver of regret worms its way into my dark soul when I think about Ziv. I would have been better off if I’d never met him, because then I wouldn’t have thoughts of him and Kage constantly in my head, and I wouldn’t know what it felt like to be safe, even if that feeling was only an illusion.
I lift my head, letting it bang against the wall behind me, and my chest tightens. The same feeling of familiarity I had earlier comes back. I don’t want to open my eyes and find the hall empty, but I can’t force them to stay shut either. Stupid hope.
My gasp of surprise is only slightly faster than the curse that flees my lips. There’s a massive gray wolf less than twenty feet from me. His lips are curled up in a snarl, showing a row of glistening white teeth thatalmostput Ziv’s to shame. It could be my imagination, but I swear I see a drop of saliva fall from a vicious point.
Its head lowers an inch, and he takes one slow step forward. I’m frozen. I’m used to wild animals. We lived on the edge of town, and I’ve come across my fair share of wolves and cougars. Hell, there was even a knot of indus worms that surfaced pretty close to the house, but there is something more about this animal.
Staying on the ground and letting it maul me isn’t the best idea, but I can’t seem to make myself get up, even when it takes another slow step forward. Proving something inside me is fundamentally broken, I can’t even muster up the proper amount of fear I should be experiencing. Do I really care so little anymore?
“Come to rip out my throat?” My voice is far too casual for the topic, but it isn’t like I’m expecting it to answer. “I doubt I’ll even taste very good. I’m too scrawny.”
The wolf lets out a low growl, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. It takes another step closer, and a tingle of awareness tickles my senses. “You’re the reason I keep thinking they are around,” I accuse rather sullenly. Something about the wolf triggers the feeling of familiarity within me.
The beast tilts its head, its amber eyes sharp as if it understands every word I’m saying, or maybe I’m just desperate enough to hope it does. “I have a favor to ask. I know it’s crazy to think you would even entertain it, but… if you’re going to kill me, will you do it quickly? I hate pain, and I feel like it isn’t that much to ask considering. You know?”
The wolf’s head inches back as it—or ratherhesits on his haunches. Is it weird I noticed it’s a male? Yeah. I’m definitely losing it.
“So you’re not going to snap my neck right now?” I scan his gray fur, feeling slightly jealous. I bet he’s warm. The wolf growls again, but it doesn’t feel threatening, more like he’s communicating with me. “Will you warn me before you do? On second thought, don’t. I might do something stupid like try to save myself.”
The wolf drops his head an inch or two and makes a noise that is more of a whine than a growl. I think he feels bad for me, which is nearly tragic if you think about it, but I’m willing to use it to my advantage, especially since I’m stubborn enough not todie easily. My luck, he would only maim me, and I’d lose an arm or something, making me even more pathetic.
“Hey.” I lick my lips, preparing to sound crazy. “If you aren’t sold on the idea of eating me—” He sneezes or snorts, some combination of the two, interrupting me. “We could be friends,” I offer. I’m actually already thinking about how nice it would be to curl up next to him and sleep. I doubt people would want to challenge me if I had a wolf at my beck and call, or at least as my companion. “I can get you food. I mean, it isn’t great food, but it’s food.” I don’t want to upsell the cooks here too much. Everything I’ve eaten has either tasted the same or had no flavor at all.
“I don’t know how the others in the nest would feel about an animal bunking with me, but I don’t really care either.”
The wolf stretches out his front legs, coming very close to touching me, then he sinks his head low to lie down. His eyes, though, never leave my face. A strange feeling tightens my stomach. I know predators don’t lower themselves for prey, yet this beautiful creature has done just that for me.
The instinct to reach out and wind my fingers into his fur is so strong, I have to curl my hands in to keep myself from touching him. I don’t want to push him when things seem to be going well.
“My name is Briar,” I whisper because I don’t want to disrupt what feels like such a pivotal moment. “I wish you could tell me your name.”
The wolf blinks slowly, concealing his too knowing amber eyes for a moment. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t divulge his name, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to come up with one. An idea springs into my mind, and I know without a doubt it’s the perfect fit. “I’m going to call you Sunny.”
He picks his head up from his paws and eyes me.
“You are the first glimpse of warmth I’ve found in this icy hell, and your eyes… I mean, it’s perfect,” I defend.
