“Sorry about that,” I declare, sounding nothing close to it. The creature that dared to try to touch my little sister—and now that I think about it, they were trying to go for her Demstone—the protection spell that Rez made each of us in Hell. Moni's stone is in her vines, woven into her hair, clearly on display, but it blends in well enough that you would never know unless you were told of it.So who tipped this thing off?
This being is a cross between a forest creature and an elf. What was the fish’s name that was here last semester? This could be its wooden cousin.
“Frederick tends to slip when nasty creatures get too close to his sister,” I emphasize to the creature from Cyanide Conservatory as I smirk down at the blood dribbling out of its hand. Reaching down, I’m careful only to touch my star as I rip it out of its flesh, slightly twisting as I do. The small prongs at the end are going to leave their skin burning for at least a couple of hours, even with healing potions. “You might want to get that looked at,” I calmly tell them as I turn my back and follow Knox, who has thankfully continued to walk our group forward. “Frederick tends to roll around in rare poisons.”
There’s no need to look back to know the look of horror and shock on their faces. I just hope word gets around so they won’t fuck with us again.
Finding our spots at the front, I’m about to take a seat when Rez motions for me to sit with her.Ah, yes, my Goddess wants more of me.
I wrap my arm around the back of her chair and give JP a head nod on the other side of her when she gives me a sharp jab in the ribs.
“Fuck,” I hiss, trying to stifle my expression as I pull her into me. Maybe it was a good thing to sit in the front. This way, no one can see my damn face. “What’s that for?” I whisper into her hair.
“Why are you stabbing people already?” she asks into my neck and then nips at my skin, making my mind skip to what I want to do to her right now. The guys can always tell us the rules if we sneak away right now. “Ryker!” Her teeth snap at me again, drawing my attention back.
“Sorry, my mind was thinking about all the naughty things we could be doing right now with that mouth of yours,” I tell her, and a spike of her arousal hits me like walking into a bakery and smelling the fresh cookies coming out of the oven. Knox meets my eyes and gives me a slight nod.
Yeah, buddy, I know she just rang the fucking dinner bell.I’m not about to admit it’s my fault; I can’t help teasing my woman. She’s hot and fun to pick on; I can’t stop even if I tried, that would be asking me to live without breathing.
Knox lets out a low growl, and I look around the room, finding the Incubi who are lasered in our direction and flash my electric eyes. They might not know who I am, given that they are from different schools, but I’m making it clear that this woman is mine. At least I’m giving them a fair warning, so if they fuck with her, any one of us can take them out.
“You are insatiable,” Rez teases me as she bites her bottom lip. “Ugh, even though I love that idea, we can’t. I need to hear about the Gauntlet, and you’re just distracting me. What was up with you stabbing that supe back there?” she insists.
“You didn’t see it, but it was going for Moni’s Demstone on her vine, so I stopped it,” I tell her, but before she can react, I keep going. “You have to realize, we’re not backhomeanymore. It might seem like it, but with all of these students here from other schools, we might as well be back on the Trail. The only people we can trust are ourselves again.” I kiss her hair and sit back up when our fathers take the stage. I cock my head to the side when I see five people and yet six chairs.
“What’s going on with the chairs? I’m lost,” Rez whispers.
“Welcome, students. Please have a seat,” Dean Caldron says as he walks forward in front of the six chairs on the stage.
“No clue,” Levi says on the other side of me.
Seeing Delvin up there is a surprise, but honestly, after knowing he was coming to help Matthew with the preparations for the meet-and-greet, I figured he would be here.
“I want to welcome you to this year’s Pre-Gauntlet Orientation officially,” Matthew greets the assembly, and the room cheers. He snaps his fingers, and the noise quiets down immediately. “Congratulations to all of you who have made itthis far. It speaks highly of your talents that you have not only gained knowledge but have conquered fears, slayed monsters, and mastered your magic with the dignity and prestige of the academies that you represent.
“The Gauntlet has always been a long tradition of demonstrating your worth through your magic and skills. The Fates will be watching you closely next week as you run through your course. For the practical exam, you are permitted to bring anything you can carry to help you. Now, I will turn this over to Dr. Steinbeck.” Matthew nods and moves back to his seat as Dad comes up to the podium.
“Hello. I am Dr. Steinbeck, and each of you will be required to come by my clinic tomorrow, else you will not run the Gauntlet,” he states, and even with Matthew’s dampening spell, there’s an uproar.
Wow, Dad, way to make friends.
“With the dangers of this year’s Gauntlet, the compromise all the schools have made is for everyone to be fitted with a health monitor. It will not allow us to track you, but simply to know if you succumb to the elements, your neighbor, or if you need rescuing after the Gauntlet is over.” There’s no sound whatsoever as those words sink in.
“The medical and science building is open, and I have staff that can answer any questions that you may have before Monday, but we willnotbe available during the Gauntlet. So, I would suggest getting the supplies you didn’t bring or already have with you. Any medical questions I can answer while I’m here?”
A few hands fly up, and Dad calls on them, but most of these I already know. All of this feels like a waste of precious time that I could be doing something better, or in between someone’s thighs, more like it.
“Will we be able to find all of the plants we need here in Nova?” someone asks, and Dad takes off his glasses and cleans them.
Bingo.A tell. He’s trying to figure out what he can and can’t say. I sit up a little bit straighter and lean into Rez.
“Pay attention. Dad doesn’t know what to say, so he’s weighing his options here,” I whisper, and she nods before zoning in on him.
“As the medical professor and a herbalist, I would suggest either making notes of exotic plants or making sure one of the books you carry isTilly Wonders Over.”
Everyone starts furiously scribbling down what Dad says. I go to ask Rez how to spell Tilly with an ‘i’ or ‘y’, and she’s just looking down into her lap and biting her bottom lip, trying not to laugh.
“What—”
