Page 112 of The Bound Blood
“Come on, you’re done patrolling tonight,” he says and tugs me behind him, back toward campus. The protective edge in his voice is new.
It’s raw.
Uncontrolled.
“Auron—”
“Not a word,” he warns, scanning the dark. “If it hears you, it will answer. And neither of us want that tonight.”
Another cold ripple passes. Fainter this time. Retreating. Auron doesn’t release me until the lantern’s passing is steady again.
When he finally looks back at me, his expression is something I’ve never seen on him before. It holds none of that cockiness or bored indifference I’ve seen countless times. No, now there appears to be fear in his eyes.
FORTY
LINDSAY
A week passesin a blur of—patrols, Veil tremors, half-finished homework, flirty Fae princes, and absolutely no sleep.
Because tonight is the Solstice Ritual.
Thankfully, no more students have gone missing. And there haven’t been any new fractures in the Veil. But the whispering?
Yeah. That’s gotten louder.
Loud enough that I’m pretty sure my guys are all secretly watching me like I’m one wrong step away from wandering straight into the Veil and introducing myself to whatever is calling my name.
And Dorian keeps hinting that he knows exactly what it is that’s calling me—but, of course, he’s being maddening and refuses to share. The only reason I still patrol with him—and haven’t shoved him into a snowbank—is because Kael assured me that, as annoying as he is, Dorian can be trusted to keep me safe.
And the fact that I’m trusting Kael now…yeah, that isn’t lost on me.
He’s saved me more times than I can count. And after last week—after the moment in his room that nearly, almost, almostbecame a kiss—I…don’t know. Something shifted. Or maybe I just finally saw it.
Which is probably why that almost-kiss is still living rent free in my head.
I shake the thought away, trying to focus on the ritual notes, but my brain refuses to cooperate.
Thankfully, Tamsin and Nolan slide onto the bench on either side of me and drag me back into the present.
Nolan sits delicately, clutching his newest stack of books like they’re emotional support literature. Tamsin flops back in her seat, already rolling her eyes at something only she can see.
“You two look suspiciously awake,” I say in a yawn.
Tamsin smirks. “Oh, I’m not awake. I’m powered entirely by spite and sugar.”
Nolan pushes his glasses up. “And I’m awake because Tamsin threatened me when I tried to nap.”
Tamsin points at him. “He was drooling on his books. Full-on waterfall. I was concerned.”
Nolan sputters. “I wasnotdrooling?—”
I nudge Tamsin with my elbow and link my fingers with Nolan’s. “Don’t bully him before the ritual.”
“Please,” she scoffs, “I bully with love.”
Nolan attempts a dignified expression. “Technically, she bullies with volume. Because she is so loud.”
Tamsin gasps. “Oh. Oh. I see the Solstice Ritual has unlocked your sass. I am so proud.”
