Chapter 40 Bechora
The plan to snoop through the Dean’s office was forgotten after overhearing her conversation. Instead, we made our way back to Magus House. Dante and Vallynn exchanged worried glances the entire way, but I was just…numb, fairly certain I’d finally reached my breaking point with everything.
“You should tell the others what we heard,” Vallynn said when we reached my dorm.
“And we should make a plan to make sure you’re never alone,” Dante added.
“I’ll be fine,” I sighed, shaking my head. Another worried glance passed between them, and I shook my head. “Goodnight,” I said firmly, not wanting to hear whatever plans or concerns were brewing between them.
I stepped into my dorm, shutting the door on them before either could say anything else. The first thing I noticed was Zypher sitting on the couch, his body angled toward the door to my bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder with a broad grin at the sound of my entrance.
“What’s wrong, Dilectus?” he asked, smile dropping at whatever he saw on my face.
“Just chosen one crap,” I replied, waving my hand to dismiss his concerns. “Why are you staring at my bedroom door?”
Zypher stood from his seat and closed the distance between us, the slight furrow in his brow betraying his lingering concern. To my relief, he didn’t push the issue, grabbing my hand instead and pulling me toward the sofa.
“It seems Archer and Gabriel have worked through their… issues,” he said, lips curving into a smile again.
“What?”
“It was quite passionate from what I heard through the door,” Zypher smirked. “Though, I say we keep it from the ice mage for a bit, since she’s won the betting pool on when this would happen.”
“Oh, my God, Zypher. You did not eavesdrop on them!” I snickered.
He shrugged. “I can’t help that I returned just in time to hear them. I was respectful enough to wait here at least.”
I smiled, shaking my head and strolled toward my bedroom door, my mood lightening with Zypher’s words.
“We should allow them their privacy, Dilectus,” Zypher spoke, a hint of mischief in his tone.
“If they wanted privacy, they should have used one of their dorms instead of mine,” I replied with a grin, as I turned the handle to open my bedroom door.
Archer and Gabriel froze the second the door opened. Gabriel held a bundle of bedding in his arms while Archer was bent over my bed, smoothing out a fresh comforter. Both of them looked disheveled, and freshly fucked.
“What have you two been up to?” I teased, my eyes scanning over their hastily thrown-on clothing as I stepped into the room.
Archer straightened slowly, completely unbothered, one corner of his mouth lifting into that familiar, cocky smirk. Gabriel, on the other hand, went rigid, the bedding in his arms tightening under his grip as if he wasn’t sure whether to drop it or throw it at me and run.
“Tidying up,” Archer said smoothly, like I hadn’t just walked into something very clearly not about cleaning.
“Uh, huh,” I said slowly, moving toward my wolf shifter mate, my eyes landing on the faint marks on his neck and spots of blood on the collar of his shirt. “And what’s this?” I asked, when I got close enough to trace my fingers over the marks.
Archer smirked even as he shivered slightly under my caress. “We worked things out,” he replied, words dripping with satisfaction.
“I see that,” I replied, turning my gaze to Gabriel.
Gabriel’s throat worked as my attention landed fully on him. A flush crept up his neck, spreading color to his cheeks, but he didn’t look away. His grip on the bedding loosened slightly before he set it down on the edge of the dresser, as though he needed his hands free to stand there and face me.
“Yes,” he said quietly, answering the question I hadn’t asked.
Archer huffed out a low laugh beside me, clearly pleased with himself, but didn’t interrupt. I studied Gabriel for a beat longer, noting the tension still coiled through him. His worry over how I’d react was palpable.
“Good,” I said simply.
His brows drew together. “Good?”
“Yes, good,” I repeated, moving to sit on the edge of my bed. “It was starting to get exhausting watching you deny what you wanted.”
“You’re… not upset?”
I tilted my head slightly. “Why would I be?”
“Because…” Gabriel started, then stopped as though he wasn’t sure how to finish that thought.
“I told you, already, that this”—I pointed between him and Archer—“is fine. I meant it when I said it, and I mean it now.”
“You don’t think it’s too soon for mating marks?” he frowned.
“Do you?” I asked, arching a brow. I felt more than saw Archer shift behind me, wanting to hear the answer to that as well.
Gabriel sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Honestly? No.” His gaze shifted over my shoulder to Archer, a question in his eyes.
“I knew this was going to happen the first time we met,” Archer replied. “You were always mine, Pretty Boy.”
I leaned back on my hands, shifting so I could watch the two of them. The tension that’d been coiled so tightly between them has shifted into something steadier that warmed me from the inside out.
“Then, I don’t see a problem,” I smiled. “Though, I’d appreciate it if the next time you two decide to ‘tidy up’ you don’t do it in my bed, unless you’re inviting me to join you.”
Gabriel’s flush deepened, and Zypher laughed from where he stood in the doorway. Archer moved to drop a chaste kiss on my cheek.
“Noted,” he smirked. “No ‘tidying up’ in your bed without you.”
“Archer!” Gabriel snapped.
I threw my head back and laughed. A real, genuine laugh that seemed to dissolve the lingering numbness that’d been clinging to me since the Dean’s office.
“Now that we’ve settled that,” Zypher said, moving to sit on the bed and pull me into his lap. “Care to tell us what was wrong when you came in, Dilectus?”
All levity left Archer and Gabriel at that. Both of them moved to settle in next to Zypher, their hands reaching for me to offer comfort, even as concern bled into their features.
“Did something happen while you were with the fae and gargoyle?” Archer asked. “Did they do something to upset you? Do the three of us need to pay them a visit?”
I patted his hand where it now sat on my thigh. “No, it wasn’t them,” I replied, shaking my head.
Gabriel gently squeezed my arm before rubbing it in a soothing pattern. “What did happen then?”
“We overheard the Dean with someone in her office. A man; I didn’t recognize his voice.
Something to do with needing more time to complete the list and taking ‘her’,” I said, making air quotes for the word ‘her’.
“I’m pretty sure she meant me. It’s the only thing that makes sense with everything else. ”
“Fuck!” Gabriel hissed.
Archer’s hand tightened on my thigh, his easy-going demeanor gone in an instant. “You’re sure?” he asked, voice low, dangerous.
“I didn’t hear everything,” I admitted, frustration creeping back in. “We got close enough to catch pieces. But it wasn’t just what she said. It was how she said it. Like… like she was negotiating.”
Zypher went completely still beneath me. “Repeat it,” he said quietly.
I swallowed, replaying the conversation in my mind before repeating everything I’d overheard through the Dean’s office door. Silence settled over the room as I relayed it, thick and suffocating.
Archer was the first to break it. “So, she’s definitely involved with whatever the king is up to,” he said flatly. “Has to be.”
“We have until the trials to figure this out,” I said. “Which doesn’t give us much time at all.”
“We need to tell Caulder,” Gabriel said. “And all of us need to be ready to get you out of here, before whoever she was speaking with has a chance to take you.”
“You guys can’t be with me all the time,” I sighed. “And even if you could, the campus is on lockdown. Nobody can leave.”
Zypher’s arms tightened around my waist. “That isn’t entirely true, Dilectus. My kind can portal to the human realm from anywhere. Not even the Academy’s warding can stop us from doing that.”
I shifted so that I could look at him. “You never told me that.”
“I didn’t intentionally keep it from you, Dilectus,” he grimaced. “It simply never crossed my mind until now.”
“I’m not mad,” I assured him. “Just… surprised. And maybe feeling a little guilty.”
“Guilty?” Zypher asked, head jerking back slightly in confusion.
“I mean, yeah. I’ve been so focused on the whole Starcaller prophecy thing that I stopped making an effort to learn about any of your”—I shifted to let my gaze move between the three of them—“cultures or species, beyond what you tell me or I see with my own eyes.”
“Saving the realm is a little more important than studying up on supes,” Archer snorted. “We’ll have all the time in the world once all this is settled, for you to learn.”
“The wolf is correct, Dilectus. You have nothing to feel guilty about,” Zypher said. “But I do agree that we cannot be with you at all times. I suggest we involve Daemonium House. As my bonded, you are my mother’s heir. The demons will want to help protect you. All we have to do is ask.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I’m not dragging anyone else into this if I don’t have to. I couldn’t live with myself if someone got hurt because of me. If I thought I could keep all of you out of it, I would, but I’m smart enough to know none of you would ever allow that.”
“You can’t expect us to let you put yourself at risk when we could keep you safe,” Gabriel said. “We should tell the demons, like Zypher suggested.”
“No,” I said again, my tone leaving no room for argument.
“Then what do you suggest, because letting someone take you isn’t a fucking option, Bechora,” Gabriel snapped.
“We have until the trials. We tell Caulder, and as much as I don’t want to deal with them more than I have to, we work with Dante and Vallynn, and the seven of us make a plan.”
“What about Shadrie and Miles?” Archer asked. “I don’t think your friends are going to let you leave them out of this.”
My shoulders sagged as I blew out a heavy breath. “I suppose we loop them in, too. Shadrie will figure out something’s up if we don’t, and I’m not sure she won’t go off and do something dangerous.”
“That’s settled then,” Zypher said, his tone firm but calm, anchoring the rest of us in place. “We tell the dragon, first thing. Then we gather everyone and make a plan together.”
Archer nodded once, sharp and decisive. “And we move as a unit unless we have no other choice.”
Gabriel exhaled slowly, some of the tension finally bleeding out of him. “Prepare for the worst and hope we’re wrong,” he mumbled.
“Together,” Zypher said, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“Together,” Archer echoed, bumping his shoulder against mine.
“Alright,” I said, glancing over Zypher’s shoulder toward my pillows. “We have a plan. Right now, I’m exhausted.”
Zypher chuckled softly, shifting his hold on me so he could lay me on the bed. “Then sleep, Dilectus.”
Archer peeled off his shirt without hesitation, grabbing the comforter and motioning for me to get beneath it before claiming one side of the bed. “Best idea you’ve had all night.”
Zypher chuckled, and Gabriel rolled his eyes as they followed suit, shedding their clothing in favor of shorts.
Zypher settled into the bed at my back, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his chest, as Archer scooted closer to my front so that Gabriel could settle in behind him.
Despite everything waiting for us outside of my bedroom.
I felt safe cocooned in their warmth as I drifted off to sleep.