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What in the world could they be calling her for now? Were there more things they expected her to do? Did she break a rule? She shifted in her chair uncomfortably and pulled on the ends of her hair as she glanced toward the doors.

“Want me to go with you?” Riley asked.

Blaire shook her head. “I’m feeling fine now that I’ve eaten.” She motioned down to her tray, where three-quarters of her large meal was gone. “I’ll be fine to go on my own.”

She rose from her seat, and Lukas immediately stood. Blaire shook her head at him. “You shouldn’t miss class. It’s fine.”

Blaire scooped up her tray and headed for the door before he could protest.

26

TRUST

Blaire knocked on the door to Professor Velastra’s office, glancing around the empty corridor only lit with candlelight. It looked vastly different from the rest of the academy, where modern lighting and more open-concept spaces showed remodeling over the years. The student affairs building hadn’t changed in many years.

“Enter,” the professor called from behind the door in her stern voice.

As she stepped into the office, the smell of books filled Blaire’s nose, instantly relaxing her from the nervous tension she felt regarding the reason she may have been called to the office.

“Welcome, Miss Wilcox. Please, sit,” the professor said as she motioned to one of the black leather seats in front of her desk.

Blaire lowered herself into the seat and glanced around.

“So, tell me, how is school going for you? Are you enjoying your time here at Blackthorn?” She sat across from Blaire as she went through papers in a folder on her desk. “Oh yes, I also wanted to apologize for the previous… unruly students. I assure you they have been dealt with. They won’t be a problem again.”

“Thank you… and school is fine. The classes aren’t hard, and the academy is beautiful.”

The professor smiled for only a moment before her face turned serious. “Now, for the real reason I called you here into my office today.”

Here it was. Despite the relaxed feeling she had just moments ago, the expression on the professor’s face unnerved her. She tensed in her seat, gripping the hem of her skirt tightly. She was sure something bad was going to happen or had happened. Had Caleb’s grandparents come demanding her withdrawal and Blackthorn decided it wasn’t worth the hassle? Was she going to have to go back to Caleb? She shifted nervously, panic threatening to grip her.

“Calm yourself,” the professor said in an authoritative voice. How did she know Blaire was panicking?

She swallowed hard, nodding.

“Let’s try this again, shall we? Have you, or have you not, completed your bonding as per the handbook with Lukas Virtanen?”

“I… ah… no,” Blaire looked down at her lap. “We haven’t, no.”

The professor lifted one slender eyebrow in Blaire’s direction. “Pray tell me why has there been a delay? I was certain you both would have quickly sealed the bond by the way Lukas behaved.”

Blaire looked up at the professor in confusion. How did she know how Lukas acted? She hadn’t been around them.

“I don’t know… I used to think Lukas didn’t want me here, but I know better now. But I just can’t come to terms with it. His moods shift so much I don’t know if he’ll fall back on how he was in the beginning again and try to get me to leave.”

The professor shook her head. “Oh, my dear girl… I can assure you he definitely wants you here. Lukas has met me on several occasions since your arrival. He is confused and is struggling with the strong connection because he has spent so long on his own.”

She closed the folder and placed her hands on top of it. “His parents left him at the academy when he was only five and probably see him maybe once a year, if that. Couple that with the fact he didn’t discover his fated one until later than most… He’s used to being alone, and now here you are… a human. You must understand this has thrown his world into disarray.”

Blaire frowned, remembering when Lukas told her his biggest fear. No wonder the idea of being alone forever scared him. He hadn’t found his pair before her, obviously, but she didn’t know his family had abandoned him to the state like that. She thought he exaggerated, and they visited him often. She hadn’t grasped how alone he’d been. He hadn’t had a girlfriend either. She didn’t like the idea of him with another woman, but it made her sad to think he’d been alone for so long.

“Do you have feelings for him, Miss Wilcox?”

Blaire looked down and nodded.

The professor smiled. “Then I’m sure everything will work out. I need you to trust the process, because the gods do not make mistakes in choosing the fated pairs of Their children.”

“Why was I chosen even though I’m a human, though?”