Chapter 4
Sienna
Revyn’s blood drips from my fingertips, its warmth cooling rapidly the further away he steps. A breeze flutters my top as mist suddenly fills the air, nearly cutting off the Dire pack heir from view . . . but not his eyes.
Molten gold with a decadent swirl of bronze, bright enough to illuminate the darkest of nights.
I blink, and they’re gone, replaced by Revyn’s bare ass as he growls at me over his shoulder. “Get up,” he hisses. “Now, Sienna!”
My heart pounds as I drag my limbs from the mud. Tension pulls my skin taut, as though my body is no longer big enough to sustain my soul. I press my lip between my teeth and taste the dirt on my skin—the iron of Revyn’s blood—and something deceptively sweet, lingering on my tongue like a kiss.
Revyn watches me for as long as he dares before turning back around and cursing under his breath.
It’s not like him to be worried about an enemy, no matter how strong they are.
When I say as much, he scoffs aloud like I’ve offended him and falls eerily silent.
I know I told him to shut up, but he never listens.
He shouldn’t start now—communication is vital for our survival.
“Revyn?” Goose bumps prickle his skin at the sound of my voice, his muscles tensing as though I’ve physically touched him. “That’s Thaddeus Dire’s son.”
He avoids answering for a few heartbeats. “His name is Alistair.”
My pulse stutters as my mind races, flicking through dozens of faces we’ve met over the years.
I don’t remember meeting Alistair during our travels.
No one had eyes like these—so golden bright that they rival a dying sun—but I can’t shake the familiarity gripping my senses.
It’s like I know him from a dream. My voice whispers past my lips. “He saw me earlier. In the crowd.”
Revyn chuckles, the sound bitter and broken. “Of course he did.”
The sky dims dramatically, plunging us into dusk without warning.
As the light fades, so too does the muddy bank, quickly followed by the lake, then the trees.
I tumble to my knees on polished stone as a flurry of snow drifts by, whipping my hair into my eyes.
Cold. The air chills my lungs, but it’s quickly burned through by an inferno pulsing inside my chest. Every breath I take fogs the air, my skin sizzling as snowflakes evaporate on touch.
The scent of the lake and its damp shoreline no longer exist. All traces of mud were left behind when we transported.
More tricks from the academy.
Revyn isn’t as lucky with the snow. It sticks to his wild hair and clings to his beard, but at least he’s dressed in hunting furs and boots.
My own clothes have been replaced with a matching outfit, complete with fingerless gloves and a feathered tie at the base of my newly-braided hair. Someone’s having fun with their magic.
A knot in my chest pulls tight, and I turn my head to find those golden eyes advancing rapidly, Alistair’s footfalls lost in the din of the oncoming blizzard. A snarl tears past his lips, and my heart beats so fast that it threatens to burst.
I grab Revyn’s hand without thinking. This shifter is dangerous. He’s going to kill us the second he gets close enough, and Revyn—he’s stepping in front of me.
“No!” My claws sink into his wrist as he tries to pull free from my grasp.
“Sienna,” he hisses, not sparing me a second glance. “Run.”
My body rebels against the thought of running, but I manage to stand.
The moment I turn to face Alistair, liquid fire courses through my veins.
I take a steady step forward, and Revyn shudders beside me, gripping my hand like a vice.
His wounds heal rapidly, his blood freezing on his skin but slicking on mine.
For the first time in our lives, I burn hotter than he does.
Something isn’t right.
“I’m not running.” I avoid telling him that every cell in my body revolts against the idea and focus on the enemy instead.
He comes into view within a few heartbeats, steam rising off his body the same way it does from mine.
Golden eyes flare as he stares at the two of us, our hands still intertwined.
Alistair works his jaw like he’s swallowing a mouthful of shrapnel, his fists clenching hard enough for his nails to pierce his palms. Blood drips down his knuckles and blows away in the harsh winter wind.
Confusion flashes in his eyes the moment ours meet, and I finally detangle the emotions knotting inside my chest.
I want to be close to him. No, I need to be closer, but I’m just as confused about it as he is.
A frost-covered wolf jumps down from a rocky ledge and lunges for me, but Alistair is faster. With a snarl, he grabs the wolf’s throat and slams his spine into the rock face, crushing its windpipe and dropping its corpse to the ground. Ice catches on its fur as its dying whimper fades in the wind.
He makes killing a wolf look easy.
“Fuck,” Revyn breathes. “Fuck.”
My thoughts exactly.
Heat rushes from my head to my toes, my breath catching at the unmistakable lust rolling through my body.
Alistair’s gaze snaps to mine, and Revyn visibly tenses. “I’m going to shift,” he warns me, squeezing my hand before dropping it. “But you need to get out of here.”
I dig my claws into my forearm to clear my head with the pain. Blood beads beneath my fingertips and drips down my wrist. “You know I don’t run from a fight.”
“This once, Sienna.” His voice is barely more than a whisper, intended only for me. “Please.”
Ice floods my veins, dousing my desire in record time. Shit. I shouldn’t salivate over another man in front of Revyn, no matter the distance I’m trying to put between us. “I’m sorry. That’s—” I wince. “I don’t know what happened.”
Something’s seriously wrong with me if I’m attracted to a man whose family keeps trying to kill me.
“It’s okay,” Revyn whispers.
The last thing I feel is okay.
Steeling my resolve, I step up beside Revyn. “We’ll take him together. Then neither of us has to shift, and we can get the hell out of here.”
The headmaster’s light dims overhead, darkening the shadows and freezing the air.
Alistair takes steady strides toward us, undeterred by the wind and ice.
The heat in his gaze burns as hot as his body, steam rising off his skin the same way it does mine.
Revyn widens his stance and bares his teeth, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Get ready, gorgeous, because I’m about to win you back. ”
I’d roll my eyes if they weren’t glued to Alistair.
My heart beats in time with his steps, winding tighter and tighter the closer he gets.
His eyes don’t leave mine—not even when Revyn blocks his path.
“Out of my way, wild wolf—” There’s a snap, and Alistair blips out of existence.
Magic hums in the air, then Revyn disappears next.
“No,” I growl, glaring up at the sky. “You can’t do this—”
Shadows smother the last remaining light.
I’m alone.