“The fae I’m visiting do not know about my role here at the Academy, so no. There’s no reason for them to suspect you’re a recruit, nor one who is clearly not of the SummerCourt.”
“Alright, I guess I can do that,” I said with a frown. “But don’t I need to be here for my classes? I mean, I may have shifted or whatever, but I clearly need as much training as I canget.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” he said with a grin. “So, you have the day off from classes. I’ll have you back long before Monday’s trainingbegins.”
“Alright, I guess that’s okay, then,” I said, stillfrowning.
With a brilliant smile, Liam pushed up from his chair and strode to the door before pausing to hold his fingers over hislips.
“Now, remember. I wasn’t the one who healed you.” And then he disappeared out the door with awink.
As I sat there staring after him, and remembering the electric feel of his fingers caressing my skin, I couldn’t help but shudder. Liam wasn’t my mate, and he never would be. I was promised to one of the others, and going along with him on this trip was clearly not the best idea in theworld.
What the hell had I gotten myselfinto?
* * *
The next morning,I snuck out of the Academy just before daylight. Liam was waiting for me in the courtyard. And he was...sitting on a horse, one with sleek green-gray skin that rippled as it stomped its hoof on the dewygrass.
I slowed to a stop in front of them and frowned up at Liam’s bonfire eyes. “You didn’t tell me there was going to be horse-riding involved.” A pause as I scanned the horse, noting the green-gray color. Dread pooled in my stomach. “Is this one of thosepookas?”
He tipped back his head and laughed before giving his horse’s neck a soft pat. “Sapling here is about as far from a pooka as she can get. Trust me. When you’ve seen one up close, you’ll be able to spot thedifference.”
I decided not to tell him Ihadseen one up close, though in its weird goblin-like form. These fae sure were fond of keeping secrets from each other, of sneaking around, and of breaking the rules. Doing things unknown, things they knew the others wouldn’t approve of. Rourke clearly hadn’t filled the others in on how he’d used me as bait, probably because it had been a pretty asshole thing todo.
Though come to think of it...every single one of them would probably do it, too. A thought that didn’t leave me feeling much better about our secret trip to visit the AutumnCourt.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, then where’s my horse? You don’t expect me to walk the whole way while you get to take iteasy.”
He flashed me a grin. “You’re on this one with me, darling. Mates would never take a ride on theirown.”
I wasn’t usually the type to have a dirty mind, but there was something so suggestive in the way he said his words. My cheeks boiled under his heated gaze, and I cleared my throat, desperately casting my eyes around for anything at all to look at that wasn’thim.
With a chuckle, he held out his hand. “You’re so easily flustered. Keep it up. The Autumn Court won’t have any trouble believing in our coupling if you keep blushing likethat.”
I narrowed my eyes as I took his hand. “I’m notblushing.”
“Then, why are your cheeks so gloriously red? They practically match myhair.”
He pulled me up onto the horse as if I didn’t weigh a pound. My legs slid in behind his, a perfect fit. Timidly, I wrapped my arms around his waist, tensing when I could feel the hard planes of his stomach through his thinshirt.
“It’s just warm out here,” I finally said, realizing I hadn’t replied. “It’s summer. You know, the hottest season of the year? Maybe I even have asunburn.”
I didn’t have asunburn.
“And you like the warmth?” he asked as the horse took off across the courtyard lawn in a prancingtrot.
“Of course,” I said. “Who doesn’t? Long, warm nights. Lazy days. Swims that make your muscles ache.” My heart panged at my words. So much of that reminded me of Bree and our trips to the beach. “Though I guess summer isn’t like thathere.”
“Oh, summer is very much like that here,” he said. “There’s a small river down the hill behind the Academy. You can go there for a swim anytime you’d like. We train you hard, but we like you to have time off,too.”
“Really?” I peered over his shoulder to see him turning the horse onto a hard-packed dirt road that led away from the eastern side of the Academy. “What about all the dangerous creatures that we’re supposed to be watching outfor?”
“Well, those are easy enough to avoid. Don’t go swimming at night.” His body stiffened. “And get your swimming in while you can. It will be perpetual Winter when you head to your assigned Court in a few years. Not much sunshine there. Just lots ofsnow.”
“Perpetual Winter,” I repeated. “You mean, there will be no Summer, no Spring, and no Autumn? But...does that mean the Academy is located in the SummerCourt?”
“The Academy is located on free territory, which means it doesn’t belong to any one Court. That means it gets to experience all of the fae seasons,” he said. “It’s the best kind of situation for training changelings. Even though you’ll only belong to one Court, it’s good for you to experience what each of them are like, though there are some who would disagree withthat.”
