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I dared a look and found Arthur’s eyes already locked on mine, gleaming with want and mischief. My once rather timid mate was slowly blossoming and becoming addicted to teasing the shit out of me. Like now where he sent me a look that could make me combust all on its own.

My body was strung tight, needing the sweet release it was promised. It was then that Arthur removed his tongue from my ass, rising to stand and surprising me once again as he easily picked me up and speared me straight onto his cock. When had he even used the oil on himself? And better yet, when had he used it on me?

Those things didn’t matter, though, what did matter was the look of pure awe on Arthur’s face as he filled me with his cock. His eyes told me so much as we caught our breath, both of us staring intently at one another.

“I love you,” he blurted, then grinned as I laughed, surprised yet again.

“And I love you,” I said, kissing his lips. He started moving then, as our lips were still connected. It was clumsy and his hands slipped on my ass a few times, but it was perfect. My mate had finally claimed me in a way I’d needed him to, and now I felt closer to him than ever.

Reaching back, I grabbed the table behind us, using it as leverage and leaned further back. Now I wasn’t only held up by Arthur, but by my arms as well. The change was instantaneous in the way he moved, thrusting into me harder and faster, making me pant.

Water splashed around us and something behind me fell into the water. I didn’t care. All I needed was Arthur inside of me, fucking me like he owned me. Which he did. He owned my fucking heart and soul.

“Are you close?” he asked, panting. “Because I am.”

Nodding, because that was all I could do at the moment, I grabbed hold of my dick and began stroking in hurried movements, needing us to come together.

Arthur groaned as he came seconds later, making me stroke harder and faster. His satiated grin was the thing that had me come undone. I came, my dick erupting between us and mixing in the water.

The light then flashed, warning us that we would be transported to our room soon.

We shared horrifying looks, then burst out laughing.

Arthur groaned next to me as we woke for another day. After many weeks of training—and sadly more classes with Silas—I should’ve been used to them, but I wasn’t. Leaving my mate’s arms each morning felt horrible and I couldn’t wait for us to soon be out of here and able to snuggle in bed for hours each morning.

My dream had been to become a potion maker once I started working for real, but I considered pushing that back another year or two and just having fun with Arthur. I wasn’t required to work by my fathers. It was just my preference in life. Waking up each morning without a set goal or something I needed to do just felt wrong. Arthur and I had talked a little about what we each wanted to do. He had no clue what he wanted for himself, having grown up believing he’d become some pretty armpiece for the king. He hadn’t dared to dream. It had broken my heart realizing that.

We made our way into the bathroom and cleaned our teeth and washed our faces with some water, then walked hand in hand down to the dining hall. Myve and Hans had been the very first ones to be tested by Willa and Silas, but they were unable to speak about it. The Magic stopped them from uttering even a single word about what awaited us. They’d passed and so had all the other students that had been through it. Nym and Harpy had passed theirs yesterday, which meant Arthur and I were the last ones in our family to go through with the test.

As we joined the others with our plates of food, it occurred to me just how calm and relieved they all were, sitting there casually eating and laughing. I was jealous of that. This test was the only one we had left that would decide if we graduated or not. It would be the one thing that would grant us our soul forms, something all who’d graduate would get at the same time once all tests were done.

“I miss being outside during the day,” Jamie whined, telling me with absolute clarity that he had it too good.

Casey nodded in agreement. “I miss the beach.”

Arthur and I shared a look that spoke volumes. We were not amused with my family members, something Myve clearly noticed.

“You two will feel the same once you’re done with your test,” she sassed, waving a forked pineapple piece in the air. “We got it done and over with quickly, but we’re still trapped in here during the day with all of you.”

“Besides,” Nym cut in. “You two have that beach date prize you can use anytime. Why not just use that and get a break from all of this stress?”

He made a good point, but… “We’re saving that for after our test is done. It’s our celebration for passing,” Arthur explained.

“Aww,” Myve cooed. “I love that!”

“You’d likely not be able to use it anyway,” Ryn shrugged. “No one is allowed outside, remember?”

“The prize specifically states that we’ll be transported to a secret island and that we will be totally alone for two hours. Food, dessert, and drinks included,” I said, smirking at their gaping mouths. That was the best prize I’d won and the biggest reason we’d been saving it.

My light flared bright red, flashing. My eyes widened as they met Arthur’s, his expression just as horrified as me.

“Oh, good,” Myve laughed, knowingly. “Your test day has finally arrived.”

Chapter Fifteen

Arthur’s shaking hand held mine with a tight pressure, and I was certain my own was clammy with nerves. Willa and Silas stood by the bench near the forest, Willa smiling and Silas looking bored. We tentatively approached them, our nerves likely visible even as we tried to appear casual about this. If we failed, we wouldn’t graduate. For weeks, we’d seen other students return with injuries, some just dirty, some looked like they’d seen some shit and needed to process whatever had happened, and others just beamed happily like they’d been on a joy filled walk.

Jamie had been hurt, his eye bruised and his right cheek bleeding from what looked like a cut or a claw mark. Of course, they couldn’t tell us how he’d gotten hurt, but it proved that this test was the real deal, involving real danger. I didn’t want Arthur anywhere near danger, and that was the thing I struggled with the most. Doing this test with him meant we were equals and would protect each other. I felt protective over my mate and didn’t want him to get hurt protecting me, so this truly would be a test for me. I had to trust Arthur could protect us both, like I would, even if it terrified me.