Page 3 of Bound By Fate
"Why?" he demanded, pouring himself a mug of black coffee. "Why is that still there? I offered to burn it. I offered to eat it. I offered to crumble it into dust and scatter it over the ocean."
"Because," I said, tearing off a piece of pancake. "It’s a reminder. That we’re not done. And that I’m not afraid."
"I'm afraid," Kai said cheerfully, dropping a stack of pancakes onto Rhett’s plate. "That picture is terrible. The lighting does nothing for your bone structure, Lina. It’s offensive."
"Kai," Rhett warned.
"What? If an evil secret society is going to stalk our mate, they could at least use a high-resolution camera. Standards, people."
I smiled, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the target on my chest. I wasn't afraid. Not really. After everything we’d survived—the overflow, the explosion, the Brotherhood—a piece of paper felt… manageable.
"You’re staring at it again."
Lucien slid onto the stool beside me. He took a precise bite of his oatmeal, his gaze following mine. "Ignoring it won't makeit go away, Rhett. Lina keeps it there to desensitize herself. It’s a valid psychological tactic."
"It's a mood killer," Rhett grumbled. "We're eating pancakes. We shouldn't be staring at death threats."
"It's not a death threat," I said. "It's an invitation."
"To what?" Kai asked, leaning his hip against the counter. "A tea party?"
"To a game," Lucien said softly. "Queen of Hearts. It implies a hierarchy. A court."
"Dean Marrow," I said. "He’s the King."
"Or the Joker," Kai suggested. "He smiles too much."
"He’s dangerous," Rhett said, putting his mug down with a sharpclack. "I don't care what his rank is. If he gets too close to you at the Assembly today..."
"He won't," I promised. "We’ll be in a crowd of five hundred students. It’s perfect safety."
"Crowds are not safe," Rhett countered. "Crowds are chaotic variables. Anyone could?—"
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The front door shook in its frame, rattling the hinges.
We all froze. The domestic Spell shattered instantly. Rhett’s arms tightened, his muscles coiling. Lucien’s shadows flared, darkening the kitchen corners as if the sun had been blotted out. Kai’s eyes shifted, his pupils dilating into vertical slits.
"Police!" a female voice shouted, muffled by the heavy wood. "Open up! I know you’re in there, you cowardly leech-lovers!"
I blinked, the adrenaline spike stalling in my chest. "Ivy?"
I slid off the stool and ran to the door, unlocking the three heavy bolts Rhett had installed last week.
Ivy burst in like a hurricane of neon and fury.
She was wearing neon pink combat boots, a skirt made entirely of safety pins, and a t-shirt that saidWITCH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY. Her hair was a vibrant, alarming shade ofelectric blue today, and she was vibrating with a rage so potent I could practically taste the ozone.
"I need a lawyer," she announced, storming past me into the kitchen. "I need a hitman. And I need a drink. In that order."
"Good morning, Ivy," Lucien said calmly, not looking up from his oatmeal. "Nice hair."
"Don't lie to me, Shadow Boy," she snapped, grabbing Kai’s glass of orange juice and downing it in one gulp. "I look like a disgruntled smurf. But that’s unrelated."
"What happened?" I asked, closing the door. "Why do you need a lawyer? Did you blow up the chemistry lab again?"
"That was one time!" she cried, slamming the glass down. "And it was strictly theoretical! No, this is worse. I got a ticket."
