Page 9 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

He made a strange noise as he sucked his teeth. “There’re harsh punishments for entering forbidden areas.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

He stared at me a moment longer, then echoed my shrug. “Okay. Suit yourself.”

He continued down the stairs. I watched him go, waiting until I was sure he wasn’t going to double-back after me before I continued. My legs soon ached, not used to all these stairs. I kept pushing myself, certain that I was going to come to something soon. A landing, a wall, a door.

After what seemed like far too long, I finally did stumble onto a landing. It was carpeted in red, the first color I’d seen other than in the stained glass. Two chairs sat near a plain-glass window, but I ignored them.

The landing opened up to a long floor that was too big to be contained in the tower. So much for that fae’s warning that it didn’t lead anywhere. The space was open and huge, with several pillars lining the room.

I pushed myself to the nearest pillar and leaned against it. As I did so, voices reached me. I peered around the pillar to see two figures headed my way.

Chapter 5 - Azriel

I couldn’t make a break for it without exposing myself, so I stayed behind the pillar as much as I could, peeping out as little as possible. With any luck, they’d turn their backs and let me get out of here. Luckily, they seemed to be too interested in each other to pay much attention to anyone around them. As they drew closer, my heart sank.

Of course it had to be Flora and one of the golden boys. His silver-gray hair gave him away. Sebastienne. Or Seb, Freta had said. I wondered if that was what his friends called him, or if he’d rip off the head of anyone who dared called him by his full name. I shrank back, hiding fully once more. Their footsteps were too quiet to track, but soon enough they started to talk.

“Come on, Seb,” she pleased in an overly sweet tone. “Let’s just play a little. Nobody’s going to come up here right now. Even if they do, it’s not let the teachers are going to get us into trouble for checking out the dueling floor.”

“I already told you I’m not interested.” Seb’s voice was deep and cutting. Clearly, he was already impatient with whatever Flora wanted.

Had she lured him up here for sex? It seemed to be a weird place for intimacy, being so open and without even any doors to shield them.

On the other hand, I’d just learned that this was a dueling floor, whatever that meant. That boy I’d met on the stairs seemed to have been telling the truth about it being restricted, though, if Flora was flippantly talking about being above the rules.

“Quincy isn’t like the stewards at your manor, Flora,” Seb answered, his voice rough. “We won’t be spared punishment because of our house names. I can’t believe that I let you talk me into this.”

“Seb, please. Come on. We haven’t had any time just the two of us in ages,” Flora said, her voice turning pleading.

There was a derisive snort from Seb. “Right. Cause that’s what you want, some pleasant one-on-one conversation.”

My opinion of these two dropped even lower. If I had to give the redhead advice, it would be that with her looks, she could have any man or woman in this school. She didn’t have to grovel at this asshole’s feet, begging for scraps of attention. As for him, did he have to be such a jackass? I’d never understood why guys like that would be lucky enough to have the attention of someone as gorgeous as Flora, then treat her like crap. If he wasn’t interested, he could say that more politely.

Maybe I shouldn’t judge. I didn’t know their situation, after all. And frankly, I didn’t care. Whether this was a lover’s quarrel or something else, it had nothing to do with me. In fact, hearing this conversation was only going to put me in danger if either of them ever found out I’d heard it.

I really needed to get out of here before they saw me. If they caught me, I was dead—maybe literally.

Images of getting my head twisted off or other similar fates flashed through my mind. How was anyone to lay the blame on one of the golden boys if there weren’t witnesses to him killing me? My hands tightened and I forced myself to breathe through my fear. Panicking would only make me make mistakes.

“Seb, don’t you just want to cut loose? The court has been so tense, and I know that you must be itching to hunt. Why don’t you hunt me? We could go out into the forest, turn into our beasts and—” She let out a soft gasp that sounded half pleasure, half pain.

Steeling myself, I glanced around the pillar again, hoping to find them engaged in something that would take all their attention. Seb had Flora’s wrists in his hands and he loomed over her. Her back was toward me now, but he was fully facing me. I couldn’t read the look on his face, whether he was going to start hitting her or kissing her.

His eyes flicked away from Flora’s face as she pushed up against him, clearly thinking that it was a kissing sort of look. His gaze met mine. A pulse of electricity shot through me. Without waiting, I spun and dashed for the stairs.

“What was—” Flora said behind me.

I was charging down the stairs before I heard the rest. My heart thrummed in my chest, the blood gushing though my brain. Maybe I should have stood my ground. My feet were already a little clumsy in my haste to get away. It’d be easy for them to trip me if they caught up and claim my death was an accident. I forced myself to slow, to be more careful as I spun down the winding stairs.

Luckily, the two didn’t seem to be chasing me. The only sound was the echo of my own footsteps. By the time I reached the level where I’d entered, I was fairly certain they weren’t coming after me. I paused near the door, holding my breath to listen. No sound, although if they were trying to be quiet, I wouldn’t be able to hear over the sound of my heart.

I slipped out, back into the hallway. To my relief, the corridor beyond had, in the meantime, filled with students. I quickly worked my way through the chatting masses until I reached another staircase. A quick check of my map showed this was one that went to the next floor.

Tonight, I was going to study the map until I knew every room that it showed. I wasn’t going to be caught out like that again.

My aching legs made me slower than usual, but luckily it didn’t seem like the other students were in a rush. I kept my head down, struggling to get my breathing under control even while I continued to exert myself.