Chapter Eight
Vallynn
“We have a meeting with Thrackborne tomorrow after he’s named head of house,” I murmured to Dante as he sipped his ale. “Linoran has passed coordinates for a new target.”
“I’ll be ready,” Dante assured me.
Whatever I was going to say next fled from my mind as I felt a strong tugging sensation low in my gut.
Glancing up, I locked eyes with a stunning, petite redhead across the clearing.
The air around me felt charged with electricity, and I could feel my shadows aching to slip free and close the distance between us. Whoever the woman was, she was my mate.
“Fuck,” I hissed, just before a slim hand ran up my back and over my shoulder. I tried to tear my eyes away from my mate before Daena could follow my gaze, but I was too late.
“Really, Vallynn?” she hissed in my ear, her nails digging into my chest through my shirt. “I know we both have our dalliances, but she’s below you. I ran into her on orientation day—she’s just human realm trash.”
“Daena,” I gritted out, forcing myself to look the shrew I was betrothed to in the eye. “I had no intentions of seeking out anyone else’s company this evening.”
“Good,” Daena replied, plastering on a saccharine smile. “I’d hate to think you’d lower yourself to slumming with the likes of her.”
I gave her a tight smile and caught Dante’s eye over her shoulder. Much to my relief, my friend wasn’t too drunk to catch my unspoken request. Clearing his throat, he slapped Daena hard on the shoulder.
“Daena, a pleasure as always, but we’ve been summoned. Vallynn, if you’ll follow me,” he said in a tone that shouldn’t have allowed for argument.
“Really, Vallynn?” Daena hissed. “You’re going to let your stone-brained guard talk to me like that? I’m going to be your fucking queen. I deserve the respect that entitles me.”
“Don’t make a scene, Daena. You know how my father feels about women who make a scene,” I warned. “If you want to remain at my side, you’d do well to remember that.”
Daena paled and pressed her lips in a thin line. Dante barely stifled a snicker as he led me through the crowd and into the forest. He didn’t press for answers as we made our way across campus back to our dorm room. Dante knew I’d explain myself once we’d reached our suite.
“What was that all about?” he asked once our door shut behind us and I’d cast a silencing spell around the room. “I know Daena is a piece of work, but you’re supposed to be keeping up appearances.”
“My mate was there,” I replied before running my hands through my hair and tugging at it hard. “I didn’t think it was possible. There hasn’t been a fae that’s found their mate since before I was born, but she was there.”
“Fuck. This is bad,” Dante breathed. “If your father catches wind of this…”
“I know.” I groaned as I started pacing the floor in front of our sofa. “At best, he’ll imprison her to use against me. At worst…” I couldn’t bring myself to say what my father would do. The thought alone was enough to make me feel like I was being torn apart.
“Vallynn!” Dante barked, causing my head to jerk up.
“Shit!” I’d lost control—my shadows flooded the living room of our suite, and Dante shifted to his stone form to prevent them from injuring him.
Gritting my teeth, I fought to regain control. When my shadows finally succumbed to my will and slid back into me, I let out a breath of relief.
“Did she sense the connection?” Dante asked gently.
“No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
“Good, that’s good. We just keep her away from you, then,” he said, nodding his head to himself. “What did she look like? It’ll make it easier to run interference.”
I closed my eyes and pulled the image of her standing across the clearing to mind before describing her in great detail to Dante. When I opened my eyes, my friend went so still I almost thought he was still in stone form.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing. It’s just…I had a run-in with her a few days ago. She’s Shadrie Nightshade’s roommate.”
Tilting my head, I frowned at him. I knew Dante well enough to know he wasn’t telling me everything. “Shadrie would castrate us both and eat our still-beating hearts if she could.”
“She would,” Dante grinned. “It’ll make it easier to stay away from her. That’s good. This is good.”
“And if she starts to feel the pull of the bond? We were both taught about these things as children,” I cautioned. “She may not feel it now, but my soul will continue to call to her until she answers.”
“We take a page from Daena’s book.” Dante winced. “Make her hate you so much she stays as far away as she can.”
I collapsed onto the sofa and threw my head back with a heavy sigh.
My magic was restless under my skin, almost angry at the idea of doing anything to harm my mate in any way.
But I knew my father, and he’d become increasingly unhinged over the last decade.
Since the night he stole my mother’s magic and murdered her, he’d been on a paranoid downward spiral.
He was even starting to suspect that I was working against him—his paranoia getting something right for once.
If there was even a whisper of me having more than superficial feelings for a female who wasn’t his chosen bride for me, her life would be in immense danger.
“If this isn’t what you want, say the word, Vallynn,” Dante said, interrupting my thoughts. “We’ll talk to Thrackborne and figure out how to keep her safe from your father another way, even if it means hiding her somewhere.” He sounded almost hopeful, something I wasn’t ready to look deeper into.
“The safest place in both realms is the Academy. Besides, it would be cruel to have her cut off from her magic, not to mention dangerous. The Academy’s magic wouldn’t allow her to leave unbound, not until she’s learned control.”
“Then we have no other choice.” Dante sounded pained, and his face was rife with remorse. “Avoid her as long as possible, and turn to cruelty when that no longer works.”
“Selir forgive me, because I’m not sure, at the end of this, my mate ever will.”