Chapter 27 #2
The thought that consumed him the most, though? How would Avery react? Every part of him wanted to tell her. To protect her, even though he shouldn’t. And wasn’t that just the story of his life right now? He shouldn’t. But by fucking god, he desperately wanted to.
Coming around the corner of the stairs, he nearly collided with a body that blocked his way.
“Sorry,” Felix said, trying to slip past the person’s shoulder.
“What are you doing here? Students aren’t allowed down here,” a voice said.
Felix’s eyes snapped up to Wren, standing on the staircase with her arms crossed over her chest. Her and Avery’s eyes were almost exactly the same, but that was where the similarity ended.
Seeing them on the street, he would never think that they were sisters.
Wren reminded him of a panther, whereas Avery was a fluffy kitten.
His kitten could still leave scratches, though.
“I was looking for a bathroom,” Felix said, lazing against the stone wall.
“There are no bathrooms down here.”
“Well, now I know that,” he said, trying to shove his way past the enforcer who didn’t budge. He took a step back down, making her feel like she had the upper hand.
“What’s your name?” The authority in her voice would have shaken a lesser man.
“Felix, transfer student.”
“Last name?”
He didn’t think she would appreciate being told to go suck a cock. Oh, how he wished he could.
“Solav.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. Every bone in his body could tell that she didn’t believe a word of it.
His nostrils flared in frustration, a subtle movement, but one that Wren caught anyway.
She was far more perceptive than any witch he had met.
Neither of them moved, both predators circling each other.
Eventually, Felix moved aside and put a dazzling smile on his face. He would yield this time for the sake of cover. Next time, she wouldn’t be so lucky. Avery probably wouldn’t like him killing her sister, though. Ugh. Every decision he made revolved around the little witch now.
Wren didn’t take her eye off him until he was out of sight. When Felix heard footsteps going down, he finally let out a breath. Was she going down to the room full of shifters? Did she know? Did Avery know?
Felix wasn’t a man of doubt, not by any standard, but maybe he had been too believing that she would just accept him. Maybe he had been a fool. Maybe the bond had made him stupid. Shifters were everything they were taught to hate, to kill.
Was it so hard to believe that the whole family was in on this?
It wasn’t.
The seeds of doubt started to sprout like a poisonous ivy, weaving their way through every interaction they had. Every moment. Avery seemed innocent, but how much of that was a mask? Had this been her plan all along? His father had underestimated a witch, and it had gotten him killed.
He wouldn’t let the little witch do the same. Even if it meant walking away from the only person who’d ever made him feel something. Even if it meant ripping out the bond and letting that emptiness swallow him whole once again.
The witches would never win.
When Felix came back into the dorm, it was far past midnight.
Avery still slept soundly, a small patch of drool on her pillow and a fluffle of dust bunnies curled up by her head. They were lucky she didn’t have allergies. Despite everything, Felix chuckled at the sight. It was that easy to make him melt around her. He was so completely, utterly fucked.
Before he had met her, he had wanted nothing more than to be alone. People would tire, bore, and frustrate the living fuck out of him. At the end of the day, he would beg that everyone just go away.
But with Avery, for the first time in his whole goddamn life, he wanted her company more than his own. He wanted to fall asleep with her. Wake up with her. He wanted to spend every fucking waking moment in her presence. Most of all, he wanted her.
Funnily enough, his father had told him the exact same thing over dinner one night.
He explained to Felix what it felt like when a shifter met the one person in the universe who was made exactly for them.
A gift from Arawn. Perhaps it was just the bond, but Felix couldn’t blame it on only the bond now.
This was all him. All his catastrophic fucking mistake.
But still, something held him back. Until he knew for sure, he still had one finger holding onto that cliff.
Running a hand through his hair, he dialed the number he had used to call Ciro on before.
Maybe he needed a reminder of home. Maybe Ciro could talk him out of how stupid he was being.
You like a witch? Oh, how Ciro would fucking laugh.
They were our mortal enemies, and no one hated witches more than Felix.
And he still did hate witches, just not Avery; she was a fatal exception.
The line didn’t ring; it just made a beeping sound like the call failed. He tried again. The same thing happened. What the hell?
Opening up the messages, he tried to send the photos of the statues. Status undelivered. Again. Undelivered. Again. Undelivered.
Pricks of ice dotted through his body. Did someone know? Did something happen to Ciro? His whole den could be under attack by the witches, and he didn’t even know. He was letting them down, only thinking of himself, whipped by a fucking witch. A lot more than whipped now.
There was no way he could do this alone. Break whatever spell was on those prisons. He needed to get off this goddamn island. Come back with a whole army, or something, anything. The hardest part of it all, though? He didn’t want to leave without Avery.
A warm hand gripped his wrist, stealing him away from his thoughts. When had she even gotten up?
Felix twirled around, meeting her tired eyes as she rubbed at them with her other hand.
“What are you doing?” she said sleepily. “Are you okay?”
That was the moment that broke him. Those three little words were enough to have his mouth moving before he could stop it.
“I found something.”