Chapter 1 #3
I reached into my skirt pocket and pulled out a handful of mini marshmallows, the ones I’d swiped from the common room stash. Without breaking stride, I began dropping them one by one onto the ground, on tree roots, on mossy stones, tucked into the hollows of old oak trunks.
Theo watched me, and as I glanced up at him, his eyebrow climbed toward his hairline. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”
“Making friends.”
He blinked. “With whom? The squirrels?”
“Pixies, duh.” I dropped another marshmallow into the crook of a gnarled branch. “I’ve been trying to catch one since I got here, and I’ve had zero luck. So I’m changing tactics.”
Theo stared at me. Then he laughed. “You’re delusional. Gorgeous, but delusional.”
“If they won’t come to me, I’ll bribe them. Sweets, trinkets, the occasional shiny object. Eventually one of them will cave.”
He shook his head. “I’ve attended this school for three years, and I’ve never so much as seen a pixie for longer than a second before it scurried away.”
I straightened after placing another couple marshmallows on the root of a tree.
“Well, I’ll be the first then. If there are creatures living on the grounds here, I’m going to find them and make them my friends.
I’ll create an army of them and send them to your room at night to steal your underwear. ”
Theo snorted. “Like I said; gorgeous, but delusional. Next you’ll be fishing in the pond for kelpies. ”
“Only on Thursdays.”
Actually, what he didn’t know was that I fully intended on searching out other not-so-mythological creatures that supposedly resided within the grounds of Imperium, drawn to the swell of Zodiac magic in the area. One way or another, I was going to meet a freaking creature.
We made our way through the grove, the fog parting to reveal the spires of the main building that housed Imperium’s classes, dining hall, library and offices. The school was oriented in layers, with the dormitories on the outer ring surrounding dozens of small courtyards, footpaths and gardens.
“So,” Theo said eventually, his voice dropping as he looked around to make sure we were alone. “Tonight.”
“Yeah.” I exhaled slowly, my breath fogging in the cool air. “Tonight.”
“You nervous?”
“Terrified.”
His arm tightened around me. “Don’t be. It’s just a meeting. They’re not going to ask you to open a portal to the other side of the galaxy tonight, Jupe. They just want to talk.”
“I know that logically. But it’s still...
” I trailed off, searching for the right word.
“A lot. All of it. The Order, the prophecy, Nightfall transferring next week, the nine-mates thing—” I shook my head.
“Sometimes I think I should have stayed in New York and become a kindergarten teacher. Followed in my parents’ footsteps to live a boring, normal life. ”
“No offense, but you’d have been the worst kindergarten teacher in history. You’d have been bored out of your damn mind in a week.”
He may have had a point.
We entered the dining hall just as the study hall tea rush hit its stride, students in uniform lining up for trays or already clustered in the alcoves and at the long tables.
The air buzzed with noise, and several people greeted us as we passed by.
I was beginning to recognize people now from my classes.
It made me feel less like a freaking sideshow.
A hand waved at me from across the room, and I smiled and waved back at William Thomas, making a mental note to talk to him at least once this week.
He’d been the very first person at this school to make me feel welcome.
It was warm inside and somehow smelled both aggressively like chicken tikka and like fresh bread.
Impressive. My boots thudded on the old stone floor as we swept past a table of upperclassmen shield warriors, all of whom watched us with thinly veiled curiosity.
I gave them a respectful nod, and to my relief, they returned it.
I spotted Rowan immediately. He was impossible to miss, looming a head taller than most, dark hair falling in a perfect curtain past his shoulders.
Lucas was beside him, a pair of glasses perched low on his nose as he scrolled his phone with one hand, the ink on his wrists visible even from where I stood.
Phoenix and Jamie already had trays, and Jamie looked up right as we entered, cat-green eyes flicking to me first and then narrowing slightly as he did a scan of the room for any possible threat.
Theo steered me toward them, his hand low at my back, warm through the thin fabric. Jamie’s gaze caught mine and I felt my face flush, which was embarrassing because it wasn’t like he hadn’t already had his tongue in my mouth…and other places. Did it even count if it was just a shared dream?
Lucas slid over to make space for me at their table. “About time. I thought maybe you’d gotten carried off by a herd of pixies.”
“Working on it,” I muttered, sliding into the booth. Noodle immediately began eyeing the meat on Jamie’s plate. Jamie sliced off a small sliver of chicken and handed it over without comment.
‘My minion is a good minion,’ Noodle said contentedly.
I ignored him, because my body realized suddenly every single one of these men was looking at me like I was a giant chocolate cupcake they couldn’t wait to devour.
That was the thing about agreeing to bond with lethal warriors.
Once you said yes, they never really turned off their focus.
It was a constant, living and breathing thing now, humming in the air between us.
The anticipation, the hunger, the way their magic brushed at the edges of mine every time I so much as breathed in their direction.
It was like being surrounded by five jungle cats who all wanted to eat you for dinner. I meant that in both possible senses.
Phoenix’s gaze lingered on my bare thighs for just a moment longer than was strictly polite before he offered me a bowl from the center of the table.
“Do you want something to drink?” Theo asked. “Beer? Tea? Juice?”
“Just water, thanks.” I tried not to notice the way his eyes dropped to my mouth as he set the glass down in front of me.
There was a weird, pregnant pause as everyone settled around the table.
I stabbed at my salad. “What, do I have something on my face?”