Page 30 of Our Covenant

“We didn’t get that far.”

“I say we let her lure in whatever poor sucker she’s aiming for and walk away. It’s not worth us losing our heads over.” Fox reclines back in his chair as if the mystery is solved.

“I don’t think we have that kind of time.” Thorne looks like he’s ready to brawl.

His stony expression fixes on Asher. “Do you have classes with her tomorrow?”

“Just one in the morning.” Asher perks a brow at him, his voice tilting with the silent question.

“Good. That gives us time to prepare the guest room.” With that, Thorne turns and leaves the library and the three of us dumbfounded.

“What the fuck is he talking about?” Fox springs out of his chair and jogs after Thorne, Asher close on his heels. “Thorne!”

We follow him down the short hallway into the kitchen. He takes a soda from the fridge and pops the tab before taking a long sip.

“You invited her to come over for a little fall break vacation?” Asher leans against the white and gray marble top of the kitchen island. “Because I don’t think that’s a great idea considering the timing.”

“Not to mention, she didn’t seem warm to the idea of spending more time with us,” Fox adds to the mockery.

“There’s something going on with her and we’re not going to figure it out until it’s too late.” Thorne’s eyes pan across us before he continues, “We need to get to her when she least expects it. I think someone else is pulling her strings, and she can either tell us or we’ll figure it out when they try to come get her.”

I glance to Asher, who looks like he’s processing Thorne’s words like they’re in another tongue. Isn’t this what I wanted? To confront Elsbeth and get to the bottom of this before it’s too late? Then why do I have a sinking feeling in my gut that this is the biggest mistake we could make?

“You’ve lost it.” Fox laughs. “Say you’re kidding.”

Thorne smiles but it doesn’t hold any humor. Fox and Thorne are always on the same page. They practically finish each other’s thoughts. But right now, I don’t think any of us have the same idea in mind for Elsbeth.

“I hate to say it.” Asher sighs on the other side of me. “But I think he’s right. This isn’t harmless flirting or high school love spell bullshit. I felt . . . something when I spoke to her today. Then I just kept feeling a pull to her during class. Like a vibration or thread pulling me closer.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Fox slaps his palms down on the countertop and takes a step back. “She’s got you all twisted up in some common pickup artist type bullshit. Lure them in, treat them like shit, and they’ll come begging for more. Isn’t that what those losers on YouTube are always saying with their crazy red-pill nonsense?”

“Why do you think someone else is behind this?” I turn to Thorne, that piece of his rant finally blooming bright in my tangle of thoughts.

“I . . . followed her to the library this morning,” Thorne admits, his shame hanging around his neck like a fifty-pound dumbbell. “I saw the two of you talking before the fire alarm went off.”

He’s looking at Asher, whose jaw is tight. They stare at each other for a long moment before Asher finally speaks. “Did you see anything on her that looked like the spell she had when she met Mads?”

He doesn’t seem angry or embarrassed. It’s almost like someone told one of his secrets without warning, and I wonder if there was more in that exchange than he told us and think back to the brief moments I had with Elsbeth and how enthralled I was from the second I saw her. Was that a spell, or is she that enigmatic?

“No,” Thorne answers him. “But I saw a ghost pull her into the bathroom.”

“Now I know you’ve lost your mind.” Fox howls. “A ghost pulled her into the bathroom for what?”

“I saw someone pull her into the bathroom, but when I got the door open, she was the only one there. They’d vanished. If it wasn’t a ghost, then it’s someone with very strong magic, and for right now, I’d rather believe they weren’t corporeal.”

“Vanished? And she didn’t seem freaked out?” I am trying my best to put myself in her shoes but am struggling to put my own feelings aside.

“She was . . . fine,” Thorne replies, and the large boulder that has been sitting on my chest for the last thirty hours gains more weight.

“We can’t kidnap her because she had a mysterious bathroom meeting?” Fox pipes up as the only voice of reason, but even he knows he’s outnumbered because he hops up to sit on the counter behind me.

“We’re kidnapping her because we’re not safe if we don’t know what she’s up to,” Thorne assures him then looks at me. “Can you handle yourself if we bring her here?”

I know why he’s asking me and no one else. Not because of the insta-love spell, but because I have skeletons that like to come out when I’m under stress.

“I’ll bunk with Asher.” I shouldn’t put that burden on Asher, but he’s the only one who will be able to withstand my abilities if I lose control.

Thorne gives me an approving nod. “Good. Let’s go ensure the guest room is well equipped for our little problem. With the break, we’ll have ten days to get to the bottom of this.”