Chapter 34 Bechora
Everyone went still. Shadrie and Miles both gave me a questioning look.
It was clear from their faces, they were asking if I wanted to share the truth of what I was and the prophecy, with Vallynn and Dante.
I blew out a huff, not sure I wanted to, but also unsure whether I still had a choice in the matter.
“Why would she be looking for you?” Vallynn asked, brows furrowing.
Dante moved to stand across from where I sat, arms crossed over his chest, with a look that said he was clearly waiting for an explanation. “I’m wondering the same thing, Red.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, tilting my head back against the couch.
“B, maybe you should tell them,” Shadrie said slowly.
I inhaled deeply before slowly blowing the air out, and lifted my head to look at them. “I…” I hesitated.
Now, Vallynn was watching me expectantly, too. His lips pressed into a thin line as if he was holding himself back from pressing me for an answer.
“I’m not actually a mage,” I said finally.
“I could have told you that, considering I had to help you get shadow magic under control last term,” Dante deadpanned.
I grimaced at the memory. Dante had known something wasn’t right then, and he hadn’t forgotten it since.
“I’m a Starcaller,” I replied quietly.
“A what?” Vallynn asked.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I launched into an explanation.
Vallynn collapsed into the empty recliner as I spoke, while Dante started to pace in front of the coffee table.
I told them everything. Not just how I could copy abilities through touch, but about the prophecy and the few things Archer had managed to translate from the journal my mother left for me, even though none of it had been useful so far.
By the time I was finished, Dante had gone completely still, and Vallynn held his head in his hand, elbows propped on his knees.
“I hid our bond for nothing ,” Vallynn murmured to himself before tilting his head to look at me. “You were in danger this whole time. If my father…”
“What I wanna know, Red,” Dante interjected when Vallynn trailed off. “Is why it’s fine for you to keep something major from us, but you can’t forgive us for hiding our bond.”
His mouth snapped shut, jaw clenched tight enough to cause a muscle to tick.
“Can you really blame me for that?” I scoffed. “It’s not like either of you just hid the bond. You gave me every reason to think I couldn’t trust you. I’m still not sure you won’t wake up in the morning and decide to activate ‘asshole mode' again, and make my life hell.”
“She’s right,” Vallynn spoke before Dante could reply. “Not to mention me being the Crown Prince. Bechora had every reason not to trust us, before we decided the best way to keep the bond hidden from her was to treat her the way we did.”
“Color me shocked. Vallynn is actually making sense,” Shadrie snorted. “I gotta say, I’m surprised. I thought you lost all decency when you hit puberty and your little fan club started really stroking that ego of yours.”
“Shadrie…” I warned.
“I’m just saying,” she shrugged.
Miles cleared his throat, fingers thrumming on the coffee table beside the notebooks he’d set down.
“If these star chart notes are actually because the Dean is trying to find Bechora, then I think we can definitively say she’s working with the king.
Nothing else makes sense when you account for the fact that she has detailed notes on every missing student and staff member. Even the ones we didn’t notice.”
“We should wait for the others so we can fill them in. They might’ve found something that tells us more,” I breathed, letting myself collapse against the couch cushion behind me.
As if summoned by my words, the door to my and Shadrie’s dorm swung open.
Zypher strolled inside with Caulder and Archer right behind him.
Gabriel made up the rear, eyes boring into the back of Archer’s skull with a strange look on his face.
My muscles loosened, tension bleeding out of me at the sight of my other mates.
Zypher moved to sit beside me while Caulder stood behind the couch, resting a hand on my shoulder as if they both sensed the tension in the room. Archer’s gaze bounced between Vallynn, Dante, and me, but he remained silent, thankfully.
“Did you find anything?” Miles asked, as Gabriel sat on my other side, brooding.
“There weren’t any records of the students on the list,” Archer answered. “But we did find this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled paper, handing it over to Miles.
Miles laid it on the coffee table, smoothing it out as best he could. Leaning forward, I saw what looked like a random set of numbers.
“What is it?” I asked, not sure what to make of it.
“Assigned rooms. Found it stuck inside one of the Daemonium House filing cabinets,” Gabriel spoke.
“I’m not following. How is this related to the missing students?” I asked, frowning.
“We aren’t certain it is yet, Dilectus,” Zypher answered. “I need to return to Daemonium House to determine whether anyone is staying in them or not. I suspect that if I find them empty, we are looking at room assignments for missing demons.”
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, noting the tension in his shoulders and the guilty twist of his expression. My hand reached out to take his, hoping to offer him some comfort.
“I should have noticed before now. If I’d been staying in house Daemonium, I would have,” he said quietly.
“You can’t blame yourself for staying with our mate,” Archer offered. “I doubt the demons would blame you for that.”
“No, but I am still guilty of allowing my other duties to them to go ignored,” Zypher’s tone left no room for argument.
I didn’t know how to comfort him. Miles saved me from having to come up with an immediate answer to that question by redirecting the conversation to what we’d discovered in the Dean’s office. Zypher only seemed to withdraw further into himself by the time Miles was done.
“It’s getting late,” Vallyn said, standing from his seat. “We should all get some rest. We can try to figure out what to do with this information in the morning, after we’ve had some sleep.”
Shadrie yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “For once, I agree with you.”
I held tight to Zypher’s hand as Vallynn and Dante made their way out of the dorm.
Miles wasn’t far behind him, gathering up the notebooks and tucking the list of room numbers inside before he followed them out.
Caulder pressed a gentle kiss to the top of my head with murmured promises that he’d see me in the morning.
Archer was the only one who seemed to hesitate, his eyes sliding to Gabriel before he moved to give me a chaste kiss goodnight.
“I should return to Daemonium House for the night,” Zypher said once it was just me, him, and Gabriel left.
“Zypher…” I started.
“This is on me, Dilectus,” he shook his head.
“No. It’s not,” I insisted. “It’s on the Dean and whoever else is helping her. You can’t blame yourself for someone else’s actions.”
Zypher’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh. “I have a duty to them.”
“I mean, apparently so do I, but you don’t see me blaming myself for not knowing there might be more than one demon missing, do you?”
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Zypher grimaced hard. “That is my fault as well, Dilectus. If I had told you of the expectations placed on you by the demon students, as my mate, you would have already done what was necessary.”
“Stop. Please,” I replied. “You told me weeks ago, and I still haven’t visited the demon dorms like I’m expected to.
That isn’t on you.” He opened his mouth as if to argue, but I pressed on, not allowing him the chance to speak.
“Look, however we may or may not have messed up, we can still fix it. You’ll check those dorms tonight, and tomorrow, after we’ve had a chance to talk about what you found, we can head over together for me to hear the demon students' concerns. But no more blaming yourself for all of this. Deal?”
He pursed his lips as if considering my words and then gave a sharp nod. “Deal.”
“Good. Now, go do what you need to do, before I don’t let you leave,” I teased, attempting to draw out his usually playful nature.
His lips ticked up on one side in a half smile, and he shook his head before leaning over to kiss my temple.
Giving my hand a soft squeeze, he released it and stood from the couch, only glancing back at me once before disappearing into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.
After a few moments of silence, I shifted on the couch to face Gabriel.
My vampire mate’s brows were furrowed deeply as he stared at nothing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, gently nudging his shoulder.
His gaze snapped to mine, and his entire body tensed.
“Did something happen?” I pressed, concern coiling in my chest.
Gabriel didn’t answer right away. His gaze dropped to the floor, jaw tight, as if whatever he was thinking about had its claws buried deep and refused to let go. His body was tense enough that I was almost positive one quick movement would be enough to snap a bone.
“Gabriel,” I said more softly, shifting closer. “Talk to me.”
His throat worked before he finally exhaled, slow and measured. His words felt forced, as if they physically pained him to say.
“Archer and I … had a moment.”
I blinked. “A moment?”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “He kissed me… and then…”
That wasn’t what I’d expected, but it also wasn’t surprising, the way Archer’d been circling him. I slid my hand into his and waited for him to say more.
“I didn’t… I let it happen.” Gabriel’s eyes flicked to mine, searching, wary.
“Okay,” I said carefully.
Gabriel’s brows drew together. “That’s all you have to say?”
I tilted my head. “Should I be upset?”
“I thought you might be.” His voice dropped, rougher now. “Given our mate bond. The fact that—” he cut himself off, frustration flashing across his face. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” I countered gently. “It matters to you, so it matters to me.”
Silence stretched between us for a heartbeat.
“I liked it.” Gabriel’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“That’s what’s bothering you?” I asked, shifting to face him more fully. “That you liked whatever happened between you?”
“Yes.” The word was filled with so much shame, I felt my heart twinge in response.
“Gabriel… You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, but I need you to know, there’s nothing wrong with being attracted to Archer.”
Gabriel went very still beside me. His gaze snapped to mine, something raw flashing through it.
“That’s not—” he cut himself off, jaw clenching hard enough I could see a muscle tick.
His hand shifted in mine, like he wasn’t sure whether to pull away or hold on tighter. He settled for neither, fingers tense and unmoving.
“I pay attention, Gabriel,” I continued, keeping my voice soft but steady. “I know you think you’re subtle, but I haven’t missed the way you steal glances at him.”
His brows drew together. “You’re mistaken.”
“Am I?” I challenged, lightly. He didn’t answer. I tilted my head, studying him. “Your eyes track him when he walks into the room. You get irritated when he teases you, but you’ve never actually asked him to stop.”
A flicker of something, recognition maybe, crossed his face before it vanished.
“You look at him nearly the same way I catch you looking at me when you think I won’t notice.”
His shoulders tensed as if bracing for impact. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“You don’t have to overcomplicate this, Gabriel. There’s nothing wrong with you for wanting him, too.”
“I’m not…” he trailed off, as if he couldn’t even bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Bi?” I offered, gently.
Gabriel flinched. “I don’t know what I am,” he admitted, the words rough, dragged out of him. “I’ve never… it was never an option.”
I leaned into his side, slipping my arms around him. “You never had the chance to think about what you might actually like,” I added for him. “You fought so hard against wanting me for the same reason.”
His eyes widened, mouth opening in a silent ‘O’ as everything seemed to suddenly click into place for him. Shifting to put an arm around me and tuck me closer to his side, he let out a deep breath.
“Shit,” he breathed, turning his head to look at me. “You’re really not upset?”
“Why would I be?” I paused for a beat. “Unless Archer pushed whatever happened between you, without your consent.”
Gabriel’s face flushed red, blooming upward until it touched even the tip of his ears. “No. I mean, as difficult as it is to admit even to myself, I wanted it.”
“Good,” I smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “Mate or not, I’d have kicked his ass if he had.”
Gabriel let out a weak laugh at that and shook his head. “No. It’s just.. A lot…”
“I get it. It’s not exactly the same, but coming to terms with the fact I have so many mates has been overwhelming to say the least. Having your whole identity flipped on its head can be a total mind fuck.”
Gabriel huffed out another quiet laugh. “You’re not wrong.
I’ve spent my entire life not even considering what I might want because of my father’s expectations.
When I accepted that we were bonded mates after I accidentally marked you, I just assumed that was it.
It made sense. And then Archer showed up and… ”
“Completely blew everything you thought you knew about yourself to bits?” I smiled.
“Yeah, that,” he replied, tension easing from his body as he sagged against me.
“I’m not going to tell you what you should do about things with him, that’s your call to make,” I said gently. “But for what it’s worth, I think he could be good for you. You’re nearly as uptight as Caulder, which is understandable with your history.”
“I am not,” Gabriel scoffed.
“You are,” I laughed.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes at me for a split second. “Fine. Maybe I am a little uptight. I’ve spent my entire life walking a tightrope of expectations, so I don’t think anyone can blame me for that.”
“Nope, but it wouldn’t kill you to loosen up just a little bit,” I grinned.
He shook his head in response, lips curling into a soft smile.
We lapsed into silence again, long enough that my eyelids started to droop and my weight settled heavier against his side.
Gabriel didn’t speak when he shifted me into his arms and moved us from the couch to my bed.
It wasn’t until he had me tucked against his chest, his body curled around mine, and one arm draped over my side, that he spoke.
“Thank you,” he whispered softly. “For accepting this… For giving me space to accept it myself.”
My hand found his as I murmured, “Always.” Before drifting off to sleep.