Page 31 of The Bound Blood
“Tell your library girl to check the spell-thread counts on public message boards. The numbers are spiking. Every time someone asks about Lindsay, there’s five more who remember what she did—how she protected the school. There’s already whispers about unfair imprisonment, rumors about the Council binding students without consent.” I let that hang. “All seeded and intentional.”
Tamsin kicks her boots up on the table and grins. “You’d be amazed what bored students with a sense of injustice and zero sleep can accomplish.”
“Especially when one of them is a fae-witch with charm magic and a chronic need to prove everyone wrong,” I add dryly.
She salutes me with two fingers. “Guilty.”
Auron nods, slowly. “Good. The more pressure, the better. We need this to look spontaneous. Organic. If the Council thinks it's orchestrated, they’ll crack down hard.”
“I know,” I say. “That’s why we’ve been using magical proxies. Letting other voices carry it. Upper-years with connections. The four houses. I’m staying in the background.”
“You’re the one who got them to care, Nolan.” Tamsin’s voice softens a fraction. “Don’t forget that.”
I glance away, uneasy with the praise, but I feel it all the same—lodging somewhere under my ribs and making my heart squeeze.
Auron’s gaze lingers on me for a beat too long, unreadable.
“What?” I ask.
He blinks once, slow. “Just surprised.”
“Why?” I fold my arms. “Because I’m not wearing a House ring or a Bloodborn Warlock?”
“Because most people in your position would’ve chosen survival over defiance.” His voice is flat, but something like curiosity cuts beneath it. “You’re putting a target on your back. For a girl.”
“I’ll protect her until my last breath,” I mutter.
“Careful,” Auron says, looking between us. “If this works, and you’re found out, the balance of power shifts. That will make you a threat. Not just to the Council—but to the ones watching behind them.”
I narrow my eyes. “You mean your father.”
Auron’s face hardens. “I mean the Circle of Blood.”
Tamsin snorts. “And what’s keeping you from telling them everything once she’s safe?”
He shrugs. “Nothing. But that’s a chance you’ll have to take.”
He’s right. We could be walking straight into a trap he’s set to get rid of us both. But Lindsay is worth it.
I press my lips together and inhale through my nose. “If you betray us, we will make you pay.” The words come out calm and clearly a threat. Apparently I am really brave or really stupid. I will choose to believe I’m the first until proven wrong.
Auron meets my gaze head on, his icy blue eyes drilling into mine, but I don’t blink away or back down. The corner of his mouth lifts, and he gives me a brief nod.
“Well,” he drawls, voice full of wry amusement, “looks like the scholarship boy finally grew a spine. Try not to lose it the second things get hard.”
Tamsin rolls her eyes. “Do you evernotsound like you’re about to curse someone?”
“I wouldn’t need to speak to curse you, since you are already cursed…isn’t that right half-blood?”
Tamsin mutters something under her breath that sounds suspiciously likeBite me, but Auron’s already moving toward the door.
Before he opens it, he glances back. “The first spark is set. You’ll know it’s working when the Council starts denying things no one’s asked about yet.”
That sends a jolt through me. He’s right. We already saw it this morning—two announcements about “routine containment procedures” and “unfounded rumors” on the student network. No one believed them. Which was the point.
Auron continues, voice dryly, “They’re watching for someone to blame. Don’t make it easy.”
And then he’s gone.
