Chapter 32 Rune
rune
. . .
The walk to House of Twilight’s classroom this morning took longer than usual. Our squad moved as a loose cluster, half awake and half still groggy. I was probably one of the few fully awake—perks of my poisoned tea.
“I’m telling you,” I said, gesturing with my warm tea mug as I spoke, “I saw a mouse turn into a fly last night. Right after Zuko bit me.”
Dimitri didn’t even look at me; he just arched a brow, hands on his hips. He was the picture of aloof vampire superiority. Still hot, though. “Hallucination. Basilisk venom side effect. I’m sure it happens when you mix arousal and venomous effects—”
I take it back.
He’s not that hot.
Okay, I totally lied.
“No,” I cut him off flatly. “I know what the difference is. I saw it happen.”
“There are no fly shifters, so how in the Fates did you see it?” He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks flamed with heat.
A soft voice behind us: “Um…that was me.”
We all turned, pausing our walk to class.
Eleanor flushed pink from her face to her ears, tucking a soft lock of hair behind her partly shifted antler. “Sorry. I panicked.”
My eyes widened. “You…turned a mouse into a fly?”
“Um, no. I was the mouse that turned into a fly. It’s my…
thing. My special power,” she said, wincing like she expected us to laugh.
“I can shift into any animal or insect that I’ve touched.
If I’m anxious, sometimes it just…happens.
I didn’t mean to shift and spy on you in the kitchen.
I saw fangs and—” she motioned vaguely between me and Zuko, “I got scared. I’m sorry. ”
“Don’t be sorry. That’s really cool!” I gushed, taking a swig of my tea. The poison burst on my tongue, and I sighed happily as my reserves filled up.
Aura’s eyes lit. “That’s amazing. Can you turn into a wasp or maybe a butterfly? Because I have a list of animals and even insects, I’d love to see you turn into!”
Eleanor brightened. “Probably. I mean, temporarily. It’s exhausting if I hold my special power for long. I can stay in my deer form much longer.”
“That’s really fascinating,” Lorian told her. “You have so many advantages with that.”
She smiled brightly at him. “Thanks! It’s not as helpful as your power, but I still find comfort in it.”
“Don’t do that,” he grumbled, nudging her with his shoulder. “Your power is just as helpful.”
She blushed.
“So, Elle,” I said with a grin. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
Darian stepped into our path just as we made it across the bridge. He held a vial of black liquid in his hand, and a smug expression was pasted on his stupid face.
“Not this fucker again,” Slater grumbled, putting his arm around my shoulders.
I leaned into him.
“What the fuck do you want?” Zuko’s arm went around my waist, making sure I could lean against him too.
They were the sweetest.
“Rune,” he said, ignoring everyone else in that irritating way he did.
“I’ve been hearing rumors about a human-made poison floating around.
Thought you might like something…stronger than that.
” He lifted the vial. “How about a werewolf-made poison? I’ll give it to you if you give me another chance. ”
I stared at it, my nose wrinkling as I picked up on the distinct scent. “I’ve had that one.”
He frowned. “Oh, come on!”
“Darian,” I said, my patience evaporating, “none of the poisons you’ve ever slipped me before have worked anyway.”
“Whoa, hold on.” Koa moved closer to me, positioning himself between Darian and I in a protective stance. “Slipped you?”
“Yeah. He slipped poison into so many things…” I frowned at Darian, pausing as the puzzle pieces clicked too loud in my skull. “You slipped them into my food and drinks. I thought you were just being nice. Trying to surprise me, but were you trying to drug me? I mean, actually drug me?”
He rolled a shoulder like he thought it was cute. “I mean, yeah. You like it, don’t you? I thought if I could find something to knock your pretty ass out, you’d be happy. You always—”
“Shut up!” I felt my scales scattering over my skin as I fought the shift into my basilisk form. “You actually tried to drug me?”
Phoenix heat rolled over us before I could strike.
What if he had succeeded?
“You drugged my sister?” My brother stormed forward out of nowhere, his green eyes burning with fire. His fist snapped forward and cracked against Darian’s cheekbone.
Darian staggered, clutching his face. “She liked it,” he spat, blood shining on his teeth. “She would even let me do whatever I wanted to her after.”
Disgust curled in my gut at the memories.
“You fucking prick—” Zuko snarled, stepping forward.
Before he could do anything, a blur of black hair and red eyes sped forward.
Dimitri slammed Darian headfirst into the stone steps of the academy, so hard the wards hummed in protest. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
“Good hit, Dimitri.” Zuko moved back to my side, arm sliding around my hip, burnt-sugar scent enveloping me again.
“Do it again, for good measure.” Slater’s chaos simmered over me from where he touched me. Snakey formed and slipped around my neck as he hissed at Darian’s crumpled body.
Koa’s flames licked his knuckles, and his jaw tightened.
Lorian and Eleanor looked anxious, but Raze looked like he hoped Darian would try something again.
Darian coughed, his blood splattering the tiles.
He glared up at me through watery greenish-blue eyes, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Walk,” Dimitri growled, wiping the blood off his fingertips. “We have class.”
Eleanor caught my gaze as we turned our backs on Darian. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
I was pissed, honestly. How had I not realized Darian had been trying to drug me? He did it every time he thought we’d fuck…and knowing that made my skin crawl.
I just thought he was being nice by giving me poison. I didn’t think he was actually trying to poison me.
“I’m okay.” I leaned my head into Zuko as he pressed a kiss to my temple.
He yelped as Tibby lunged for him.
“I know you’re marking her on purpose,” Tibby snarled, chasing Zuko down the hall.
Zuko laughed. “It’s not just venom inside her this time,” he called over his shoulder. “Get used to it, big brother.”
Tobias swore creatively and sped faster.
“Don’t forget me!” Slater pouted, nuzzling his face into my neck. “My scent’s fading from you, venom baby. We can’t have that.”
“No, we can’t.” I giggled.
“Get back here!” Dimitri scolded them. “We have class!”
Professor Jarvins was already perched at the edge of his desk with a twig between his teeth. His beady black eyes glinted with glee. “You’ve studied deception,” he said without preamble. “Now, you put it to the test.”
We took our seats, Zuko jogging in last. I briefly wondered what happened when Tibby caught up with him, but I’d have to ask him later since we had no time to talk.
Jarvins was very direct, and we weren’t given a lick of free time in his classroom.
Honestly, I liked that fact. It made time move faster.
“Surveillance Roleplay,” Jarvins continued, tapping something on his tablet.
The screen behind him flared to life with a scene of a velvet-draped interior with fae orbs, shadows, and a bar.
“You will infiltrate a simulated black-market safe-house. Pose as mercenaries selling classified intel to human contacts. Blend. Observe. Extract the code phrase hidden in casual conversation among three targets. Expose your cover, and the simulation ends.”
His smile was wicked, as if this was his favorite part of teaching. “Pairings have been assigned.” He glanced down his list. “Rune and Dimitri.”
My pulse skipped a few beats.
Dimitri didn’t look at me, and frustration bubbled through me as he nodded his head in bored acknowledgement.
“Zuko and Slater, Koa and Raze, Eleanor and Lorian, and Aura and Hawk,” Jarvins finished.
On the way to the simulator, I brushed against Dimitri’s shoulder. “Thanks for earlier.”
“You’re my squadmate,” he said, like that was enough. Like that was all I was, and it made disappointment set hard in my gut.
I hesitated. “And about last night…you walking in on Zuko and I—”
“You don’t have to say anything about it.” He shrugged, and his expression was unreadable. “Focus on the mission.”
We were up last, and the entire time we watched our squadmates on the screen outside of the simulator, silence and something else hung thick between us.
Dimitri crossed his arms, jaw tight, while I chewed at the corner of my lip just to stop myself from saying something reckless. Every flicker of movement on the screen lit his sharp cheekbones and made my heartbeat faster.
Slater and Zuko were up first.
“Those two are insufferable,” Dimitri muttered, watching them charm and torture their way into the code phrase.
“Don’t pretend you aren’t impressed,” I whispered, loving the way Slater made fun of one of the simulated supernaturals for losing their tongue and being unable to share the intel that way. Zuko had no problem cutting it out.
They were a great team, honestly.
Dimitri’s red eyes cut toward me, unamused.
Koa and Raze were next. They looked almost too casual.
Koa caught the attention of a quiet bookkeeper, and rage funneled through my chest as he spoke to her.
His voice dropped, smooth and patient, until the poor thing was all but spilling ink from her ledger to give him information.
Raze killed a few patrons in the meantime, but Koa and him walked away with the code.
Then, it was Eleanor and Lorian’s turn. They were polite to the point of painful, but somehow, it actually worked. Eleanor’s soft questions, paired with Lorian’s unshakable calm, earned them three names and a location without anyone so much as raising a brow.
“They’re…efficient,” I said in surprise.
“And boring,” Dimitri countered.
I couldn’t hide my smile because I felt the same way. “True, but they work well together.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “They clearly have chemistry.”