Chapter 38 Dante #2
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she shook her head, pushing past me to start down the hallway.
A hint of her arousal reached my nose as she did, and I chuckled.
Yeah, she might want to keep her distance and refuse to forgive us, for now , but she was feeling the pull just as much as we were.
I caught Vallynn’s eye as he fell into step beside me and smirked harder.
The tense set of his jaw told me he’d caught the same scent I had.
“Told you,” I whispered to him. He just rolled his eyes before we continued following Bechora in silence.
We made it across campus and inside the building that held the Dean’s office without incident.
It wasn’t until we’d reached the Dean’s door that things took a turn.
Unlike the rest of the building, her office wasn’t dark.
There was a light shining beneath the crack of the door, and I could make out voices inside.
I grabbed Bechora’s elbow and pulled her backward away from the door, motioning for Vallynn to follow us.
“What do we do now?” she hissed, when we were far enough away to whisper without being heard inside the Dean’s office.
“Listen in on her conversation?” I suggested with a questioning shrug. “It could be nothing, or she could be talking about something we want to overhear.”
“No,” Vallynn shook his head. “All three of us can’t just hang around outside her door and hope we hear something. We’ll get caught.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Bechora hissed.
“The two of you head back to Magus House. I can hide myself with my shadows, listen in, and report back.”
“Absolutely not,” Bechora replied, pursing her lips. “If anyone is going to eavesdrop, it’s going to be me. You should just hide us all with your shadows.”
“Bechora,” Vallynn said, dragging her name out.
“I can’t do that. My shadows will hurt you if they touch you.
Dante can withstand them because he’s a gargoyle, and I’m absolutely not willing to risk something going wrong to have him hold you while I hide you both.
It was sheer luck it worked out last time, and I wouldn’t have taken the risk if I thought we had another option. ”
“They didn’t hurt me when I copied them before,” she replied, reaching for him. “I’ll just copy them again.”
“No,” he snapped, jerking out of her reach.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because you have no idea how to control them, Bechora. My magic is destructive. Do you really want to risk something going wrong with them while we’re trying to snoop?
What happens if you accidentally let them leak into the Dean’s office, or someone happens down the hall and you can’t keep them controlled enough to prevent them from hurting that person? ”
“What about my abilities?” I asked, cutting in to stop the argument brewing between them.
“I’m a gargoyle. I don’t have any magic abilities; the only thing you could possibly copy from me is my stone form.
Why don’t you copy it, and then Vallynn’s shadows can’t harm you? He can hide us both that way.”
“And if she can’t hold the form?” Vallynn demanded.
“I will,” she bit out.
“We go with plan B,” I said at the same time. “If it looks like her stone form is faltering, I’ll cover her with my wings long enough for you to pull back your shadows.”
Vallynn’s gaze bounced between Bechora and me, taking in the determination on her face. She wasn’t going anywhere. We were either all listening in on the Dean or none of us were.
“Fine,” Vallynn sighed, coming to the same realization.
The smile that spread across Bechora’s face caused my breath to catch in my throat.
I was still dumbstruck by it when her small hand slid under the sleeve of my shirt and gripped my forearm.
That simple touch set every nerve in my body on fire.
My instincts screamed for me to make her mine, right there in the middle of the hall where anyone could see.
Somehow, I managed to keep a hold on myself as she held on, presumably copying my stone form abilities.
Her hand slid away, and I lurched forward, hands raising to grab her, before I realized what was happening.
Bechora clicked her tongue, wagging a finger at me, and stepped back.
Shaking my head to clear the urges still running rampant, I blew out a breath and let my eyes focus on her.
Her brow crinkled slightly, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth in concentration.
Slowly, grey spread along her skin, eating up the peach of her normal complexion and the scent of stone and earth built around her.
I was surprised when her features didn’t shift into something more gargoyle-like.
It seemed, unlike me, she still looked completely like herself.
Her canines hadn’t turned into large, stone fangs, her nose wasn’t smushed like a bulldog.
No, she still had her delicate features and pouty lips.
“Fuck,” she muttered, taking a step and wobbling slightly. “I didn’t expect to feel so… heavy.”
I grabbed her elbow to steady her and grinned. “You get used to it, Red.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now come on, we got some eavesdropping to do.”
I heard Vallynn sigh, but I kept my eyes on Bechora, continuing to hold on to her elbow as we made our way toward the Dean’s office again.
Vallynn’s shadows billowed around us briefly before shrinking in, to hug against our bodies.
I felt the shiver that ran through Bechora when they touched her, through my hold on her elbow, and wondered if it was because she enjoyed the feel of them.
Filthy images of Bechora in stone form while Vallynn and I worked her over together, him using his shadows while I used my hands and mouth, flitted through my head.
I hadn’t realized I’d completely let myself get lost in them until Bechora jerked her arm from my hand and elbowed me in the ribs.
The angry expression on her face all but screamed ‘ pay attention! ’ I nodded to let her know I understood and leaned closer to the door.
“No, I need more time,” the Dean’s voice came faintly through the door.
“The longer this takes, Femirea, the more likely he’ll step in himself,” an unfamiliar male voice replied.
“I know,” her tone was sharp. “But the list is incomplete. I promise, I’m close. I just need a little more time.”
There was a beat of silence followed by a heavy sigh.
“I’ll try to convince him to wait until the Academy’s trials to take her, but I make no promises, Femirea,” the male spoke again.
“Thank you,” came her reply.
Cold dread shot through me, and my eyes slid to Bechora.
She’d thought the Dean was looking for her after we’d discovered the list. If she was right, it sounded a lot like the Dean was close and was planning to hand her over to the king.
Footsteps moving inside the office toward the door caused me to shift my body to shield Bechora.
Vallynn stepped closer as well, and I could sense the fear for our mate rolling off him as well.
All three of us held our breath as the door opened and the Dean stepped out, glancing around the hallway as though she expected to find us there.
It wasn’t until she’d vanished toward the building exit that any of us breathed again.