14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Willa stood in front of the forest; her arms were spread wide and she seemed intent on making this class seem more exciting than it was.
“Imagine,” she said, still acting like she was about to amaze us. “Two shifters that are completely identical! Now, we’ve already established that just because two shifters share the same form, that doesn’t mean they’re identical, but with fated mates, that’s the opposite!”
She turned her attention to Nym and Harpy, waving them over to where she stood.
“Now, I want you to show us Harpy’s cat form.
They both shifted into the fluffy white cat, but it was obvious who Nym was from the irritated tail flick.
Had I not seen him shift, I would know for certain who he was, even if they were identical.
“Perfect!” Willa exclaimed. “Did you know that if Harpy trains his cat, running around and exercising, he could improve his strength and that Nym’s cat will follow even though his cat hasn’t been exercising?”
Well now, that was interesting.
“Many focus on their own form, bettering it for their own sake but also for their mates. We recommend you focus on your born form, letting your mate do the same. This way your forms can become more powerful, even if only by a little.”
A girl held up her hand as Willa gestured for Nym and Harpy to return to the grass where the rest of us sat and watched. Willa pointed to the girl. “Yes?”
The girl cleared her throat. “Why are you so intent on training us for battle? Doesn’t it seem like a waste of time when no wars are being fought?”
Willa didn’t miss a beat when she replied, “Who says there aren’t?” I swallowed hard at the thought of war, but I knew our kingdom was good allies with our neighboring kingdoms, so if there were war, it thankfully wasn’t near my family or home kingdom.
I spent the rest of the class reminiscing about last night. The way Casey had felt as I worked my way into him, how utterly beautiful he looked when taken over by pleasure. My mate was the greatest gift and I couldn’t seem to stop myself from reliving our mating.
Nym had returned to their room an hour later, making it possible for me to claim Casey a second time before I had to leave. We’d bathed at the same time this morning, not sharing a bath but picking ones next to one another and talking casually between us, knowing others could come in and overhear.
My attention returned to Willa where she showed off Hans in his phoenix form. He was magnificent, there was no other word for it. Myve was sitting close by and I hated that she was forced to watch him.
“Now, with phoenix’s who’re said to be the most painful form to have, it’s important to know the cycles,” Willa continued whatever she had been saying before, when I wasn’t paying attention.
“When they’re close to their burn phase, they’ll be more aggressive simply because they’re in pain.
It doesn’t just affect their shifted form, but also their human forms.”
Now that was news to me. I glanced over at Myve again, pleased to see she was still paying attention.
Willa went on, “Once a year their form burns hot enough to shed its old feathers and grow new ones. On the day of the burning, they’ll be in such agony that it’s advised they stay away from people.
Their forms take over just like with dragons and they often lash out.
This is why you must know these facts. It might seem like it's only bad, but a phoenix is also the strongest a week up to their burning phase. Their bodies are literally molten hot and ready to burn anyone who gets too close. I’d failed in noticing this in one class and poor Hans here had been scared of shifting, for which I apologize.
” Willa then went on to talk about how they couldn’t cause fires unless they wanted to, their flames wouldn’t catch without intent.
Myve was staring at her lap, worrying her robe between her fingers, deep in thought. I felt awful on her behalf, but perhaps now she could ask Hans directly and learn from him and not Willa.
A raven caught my attention then, it was sitting in the tree closest to Willa, all its attention on me. It seemed my mate’s class was over for the day. Someone was eager for our next date. I sent him a wink, almost chuckling when Casey responded by ruffling his feathers at me.
Casey and I had picked out a good selection of food before we left the dining hall and ventured down to the beach.
The wind was almost non-existent today so we figured a picnic on the beach was the best spot for our next date.
Myve had reminded us that it was a public place and we shouldn’t get freaky, making the rest of my family laugh as we’d left them.
They were just jealous that they didn’t get to treat their own mate to an amazing beach date.
Nym had even seemed impressed when I told him where we were headed.
Casey had brought a blanket he’d found in his dresser, The Magic once again understood our needs and provided for us. We’d been given two baskets by the cooking staff, their eagerness to help us out was so sweet and they’d even given us two bottles of lemonade, one yellow and one pink.
“This seems like the perfect spot,” Casey declared, placing the blanket and using the baskets to keep it in place. He found a blue stone in the sand and upon taking a closer look, he put it into his pocket for later.
“For the nest?” I asked knowingly, making him blush.
“It looked pretty.”
“Can I see?” I asked, sitting down on the blanket. We weren’t in view of anyone here, only those on the beach close to the water, and right now there weren’t any.
Casey handed me the stone and I gave it an assessing look. “Beautiful,” I agreed, handing it back to him.
“I think one of the things I’m looking forward to the most, is making our forever nest at the palace,” he said, placing the stone back into his pocket.
Not all shifters felt their form’s needs as much as others, it all depended on the person and their forms. But Casey seemed to need his nest and I felt the same need mirrored in my raven, the purpose of having someplace we shared that was just for us and our pretty things.
“We’ll have plenty of options, especially if we pick the palace roofs.”
I opened the first basket that held the tiny sandwiches. I’d picked out some tuna and sausage ones, knowing Casey preferred the tuna over the rest of their selection. Next, I grabbed the strawberries and grapes, our makeshift dessert for our date.
“I want to try the pink lemonade first,” he said, grabbing it from the basket. We didn’t have glasses, but we didn’t need them, we’d simply share the bottle. So damn romantic.
Casey took a sip of the lemonade, humming happily as he let the taste linger on his tongue. “I love this one! I hope we get to drink it for meals in the future.”
“I’ve noticed them bringing out new stuff, almost as if they have the whole two years mapped out already and don’t want us to grow bored with the same food.”
“Funny you’d noticed that as well. I found their breakfast options to have switched over these last two weeks. I don’t care for it.”
I laughed. “That’s only because you can’t get your roasted nuts anymore.”
He gasped. “You’ve noticed too?! It’s a whole scandal. Like, what did nuts ever do to the cooks? Don’t they know they’re superior to oatmeal?”
I simply shook my head, smiling fondly at my mate. “Once we’re out of here, I’ll make sure you get all the roasted nuts you want.”
He beamed, eyes bright. “Promise?”
I nodded. “Hmm, and we have the best caramelized almonds as well every fall at the markets.”
“I can’t wait,” he sighed dreamily.
We then dove into our sandwiches, watching the waves lap at the sand, the view breathtakingly beautiful. Then I turned my head, catching Casey already looking my way.
“I was just admiring the view,” he smirked, taking a small bite of his sandwich.
“Oh, were you?” I teased, forgetting all about my own food as I closed in on him, making him fall to his back, my lips on his as he melted into the blanket.
Our tongues met and I felt desire rush through me.
I broke the kiss, breathing hard. “We better stop, wouldn’t want another trip to the headmaster’s office. ”
He snorted, both of us sitting back up and returning to our food. “You think Hyland got his ass handed to him?”
I shrugged. “I doubt we’ll ever know. I do think Wren had him interrogated though.”
“Interrogated,” he snorted. “You make it sound like he’s a criminal or something.”
I just smiled, handing him the bottle. “No matter what happened, I hope he’s done bothering us.”
“I’ll toast to that.” Casey then bumped my sandwich with his, giggling happily when I returned the bump.
We finished our sandwiches and then I removed the stem from one strawberry at a time, feeding him the red fruit as he lay with his head on my lap.
This had been the perfect date and what made it even better, was knowing we had a new stone to add to our little nest after this, our beautiful reminder of how wonderful this date had been.
I wanted to make it a tradition, finding small treasures on each date and bringing them back to our nest.
Casey sighed happily and I smiled. A perfect date indeed.
We’d fallen asleep on the beach, too satisfied from the food and the good company to remain awake. Myve was the one who woke us, shouting something about Ryn.
“What?” I asked, blinking my eyes open and seeing the setting sun in the distance.
Casey sat up too, looking adorably mussed.
Myve stopped next to us, panting for breath. She then smiled widely. “Guess who just got dragon-napped?”
I blinked at her, confused. “Dragon-napped?”
“Yep! Ryn and I were taking a stroll by the lake and then whoosh! Damon came swooping down, grabbing Ryn right off the path and flew off with him towards the mountain.”
“Was Ryn scared?” Casey asked, his eyes wide with worry for my cousin.
Myve grinned impossibly wider. “Oh, he was smiling as I saw them fly away. I bet he’s having a lot of fun right now.”
Casey seemed to doubt that.
I brushed his cheek lovingly. “Sweetheart, Damon is Ryn’s fated mate.”
My mate’s eyes focused on mine. “Really? I thought it was just something you guessed, but you’re certain now?”
“Oh, yes!” Myve cackled. She then grabbed one basket and began putting our things away. “Let’s get this back to the kitchen, I want us all to be there when Ryn returns.”
I eyed the setting sun, then Myve where she was kneeling next to Casey, helping him sort the things correctly. “You think they’ll make it back in time before dark?”
“Eh,” she shrugged. “Nym and Harpy stayed out late, too, and they didn’t exactly get punished for it.”
“She does make a point,” Casey said, standing and handing me one of the baskets while they tackled the blanket.
I simply smiled and laced our fingers, Casey having the blanket tucked safely under one arm, Myve handling the last basket.
Together we walked back inside, eager to see how things would turn out once Ryn returned.
I was just glad I already had my mate, the one person I’d searched and longed for.
Casey smiled at me and as we left the beach behind, I saw the warm glow of the sun caress his skin.
My sweetheart was so damn beautiful. And all mine.
The end.