Chapter 1 Rune #2
After the ceremony, I barely had time to breathe before Mom, Dad, Pops, and Tobias swept me over to the side to check me over yet again. Their hands hovered over my neck, their worry sharp enough to make me squirm.
“I’m fine,” I assured them.
“You were strapped to a chair while everyone else was free,” Mom said flatly. “That’s not fine.”
“Not to mention you were injected with a human poison that actually affected you,” Dad reminded me.
“And with what the tourmalyke gas did to you, Rune,” Pops told me sternly. “If it can affect your immunity, that’s a weakness that can be exploited.”
I sighed, but my legs wobbled. “It’s okay. I just need to build immunity to it.”
“Forbidden,” Dad snapped.
“Yeah, Roo,” Tobias agreed with a worried tone. “I don’t trust that.”
“Seeing you struggle against your own venom was hard,” Slater admitted.
Slater, Zuko, Koa, and Drecken had crowded us. Dimitri lingered in the back, but I could tell he was listening.
Jesper appeared next to us, arms crossed. “My squad and I searched every inch of the simulator. No trace of a human. No trace of tampering.”
“I wasn’t hallucinating,” I snapped.
The memory of the masked woman and the damned needle sticking into my neck, still burned in my mind.
“I’m not insinuating that you were,” Jesper assured me.
Drecken’s blue gaze pinned me, and heat prickled up the back of my neck. “Let me take a vial of your blood. If there’s contamination, I’ll find it.”
I nodded and stuck my wrist out for him. “Find it.”
He summoned a needle and drew a blood sample swiftly. I resisted the urge to flinch as the needle went in.
He removed the needle and pocketed the vial before he pressed his palm to my shoulder.
His magic seeped through me, and I couldn’t hide the desire pooling between my legs from the contact.
“Your reserves are low,” he murmured, not noticing my reaction to him.
“Go for a shift. Slither through the forest and let your core reset.”
I exhaled shakily. “Yeah. Okay. It’s been a long time since my last shift.”
“I’ll come with you.” Zuko grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together.
“Be safe, Roo,” Tobias told me pointedly. “Call me if you need me.”
“I will,” I assured him.
Pops and Dad were glaring at where Zuko and I held hands.
“I don’t love that,” Dad muttered.
“Be happy you didn’t have them in class together.” Pops rolled his eyes with a huff.
“This is the only time I wish that I was a basilisk instead of a chaos demon. See you later, venom baby.” Slater stole a kiss to my cheek. “Keep her safe,” he told Zuko.
“Always.” Zuko led us out of the academy and to the Basilisk Forest that lined one side of campus.
His orange eyes caught mine, and he tilted his head. “You ready to shift with me?”
“Yes,” I bit back a smile.
I’d only ever shifted leisurely with Mom and Dad. Pops and Tobias would fly ahead of us in their phoenix forms, and I used to be jealous of that before I found peace in the forest and being on the ground.
When we entered, the forest floor shivered beneath our weight as we shifted. My bones cracked as my scales covered me, and my senses sharpened until the world vibrated with my inner magic.
Zuko’s basilisk form gleamed in hues of sunset—light orange, rose, gold, and deep orange. He was stunning.
We slid together through the underbrush, massive serpents weaving side by side, with a sound like silk dragged over stone. The forest bent around us, branches groaning, and animals scattering.
Each breath tasted of moss and night air. Each shift of muscle was a freedom I didn’t allow myself often.
I caught the rhythm of Zuko’s body moving alongside mine, and I loved how he didn’t try to dominate the space. Instead, he matched me. Our scales brushed, rasping softly, and our magic bloomed underneath the treetops as we slithered deeper.
We glided into a clearing where a rushing river blocked us from going any deeper.
Zuko coiled at the edge, lowering his massive head until his orange eyes met mine. In this form, there was nothing but instinct between us and a strange understanding that made our magic hum.
I had already fallen for Zuko. He differed from my other relationships. He burned bright and was possessive. I felt safe around him and Slater, but Zuko understood a predatory part of me I didn’t think Slater did.
Slater had his own strengths, but I was with Zuko right now.
I’d thought having two boyfriends would be difficult, but it wasn’t. It felt right, but I also couldn’t help but feel that something else was missing.
That night, we returned to the first-year dorm for the last time. Tomorrow, we would all move into our new Houses.
Everyone fussed over me as soon as I stepped inside.
Dimitri checked on me too, though his words were colder. The tension between us ached like a bruise between my ribs that I couldn’t stop pressing my palm into for relief that never came.
Koa, Zuko, and Slater piled into my room with me. We sprawled across the bed, trading stories of the year.
Eleanor and Lorian drifted in as well, and Aura sat cross-legged near the doorway.
“I still think it was a little much for Jesper to rip his heart out,” Aura said quietly. “I mean, he just grabbed your ass.”
“I think it wasn’t enough,” Slater said immediately, his demon form taking over as Snakey hissed his agreement around his neck.
“Definitely not,” Zuko agreed, his tongue splitting as he licked his lips.
Koa’s jaw tightened. “Consent is nonnegotiable.”
Eleanor and Lorian exchanged a glance, then nodded.
“It sucks he lost his life,” Eleanor said carefully, “but if he’d done it to any of us? We’d expect the same defense.”
Aura looked down. “I guess I’m just…not used to murder.”
“We’re supernaturals,” Zuko said, confused. “Violence is in our nature. That doesn’t excuse senseless murder, but we don’t put up with the harassment humans do.”
“Consequences are important,” Koa stated simply.
Before the room could grow too heavy, Vel burst in. “Little legends,” she grinned, sweeping her gaze over us. “You survived your first year. I am so damn proud of you.” She ruffled Aura’s hair. “Come with me, darling. I need a word.”
Aura followed reluctantly. “Good night.”
Eleanor and Lorian slipped out soon after, their shoulders brushing.
I smiled. There was a tenderness growing between them that made me happy. Eleanor and Lorian had been dancing around their feelings for each other the entirety of last year. Maybe tonight, they’d actually let the love bloom between them.
They deserved it.
Koa lay across the edge of my bed. “I’m so glad you weren’t seriously hurt today.”
Zuko and Slater lay beside me, their warmth pressing in on both sides.
“No kidding,” Zuko muttered, sniffing my hair. “Seeing you strapped to the chair made my heart fucking combust.”
“When the feeds cut out, I lost my mind,” Slater admitted.
“But I’m okay,” I told them softly, my eyelids heavy. “I’m safe…with the three of you.”
Slater mumbled something in my ear, but sleep dragged me under. I fell asleep in the tangle of them, comforted and safe.
I wasn’t ready to move into House of Twilight. Not when they weren’t coming with me.