Kallie gasped, and sobs broke out of her chest. “But you— you said—”
Marcus took a step toward her, his shoes squeaking against the floor. His tone softened as he realized the mistake he made. “Come on, Kallie. I didn’t mean it that way. I only meant—”
“Fuck you, Marcus!” she snapped, and I heard her push him away. “The only curse you can break is a promise!”
Kallie took off running, and her sobs echoed down the staircase as she left. My jaw dropped.
“Fuck,” Marcus muttered under his breath. “Kallie, wait!”
He quickly followed after her, along with Takahashi.
“Excuse me, students,” Takahashi said quickly as he passed Ava and me. “Session dismissed.”
Within moments, Ava and I were left alone in Takahashi’s office with Oberi.
“Whoa,” Ava breathed. “That was intense.”
“No kidding,” I agreed. “I had no idea Kallie felt so deeply about Marcus.”
“It’s totally obvious,” Ava said as she stood. A keychain on her bag jingled as she swung it over her shoulder. “And it’s not like she can help it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as we left the room.
“Areallmen this oblivious?” Ava groaned.
She paused a beat before adding, “We should probably talk about this somewhere private.”
Ava led me to the balcony. It was quickly becoming our hideaway whenever we needed a moment alone, just the two of us.
I was a bit on edge after what happened the last time we came up here, but Ava was doing well today. Oberi hurried over to the banister and thwacked his tail against the ground as he looked out over the prison yard. Helovedbeing outside.
“What’s so secret we had to come up here?” I asked.
“Didn’t you hear Kallie?” Ava practically whispered, though we were alone. “She admitted they’re bonded.”
“Bonded?!” I gaped. “Like magically? I thought she was talking metaphorically. They’re mates?”
“That’s what Kallie told me, but Marcus has no idea,” Ava admitted.
“How’s that possible? I thought fae only mated with their own kind.”
“They’re supposed to, but Kallie’s different,” Ava pointed out. “She’s the only female shifter known to her people. Perhaps her bonding magic works differently, too.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said thoughtfully. Between us, Oberi whined, and I felt his disappointment.
“What’s up with him?” Ava asked. At the same time, we both reached out to scratch his head, and our fingers connected.
“He wants us to talk,” I said without thinking about it.
Ava’s fingers stilled. “Talk about what?”
My shoulders dropped. “He wants us to talk about fight club.”
Ava began scratching Oberi’s ears again. He started panting. “What’s there to talk about?”
“I don’t know…” I started gingerly. “You’ve been avoiding me. I thought you were still mad.”
“I’m not mad!” Ava cried. “Ancestors, doallmen need everything stated explicitly to them?”
