Page 67 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

He shrugged. “There are no allowances. The children aspect is the reason that is given, but I’m forbidden from romance, not just sex, and with men as well as women. It’s meant to inspire me to fix myself.”

“And what if you just happen to be alone with a girl, and there’s nothing sexual at all happening? The argument could be made that we’re just lying about it,” I said, clenching my hands together. What would the faculty do to me if I was found in this place with him?

“If you’re accused of having sex with me, demand a confession potion. Then you can verify that there is nothing sexual or romantic happening here,” he said, gesturing between us. “But let’s get back to the situation at hand, shall we? The unbinding. The official word is that a fae that is unbound can sometimes be bound again, and so if they’re not killed, they’re imprisoned.”

“Let me guess … that’s a lie?” I asked. I wanted to talk more about whatever this was between us, but also … I didn’t want to. There was too much I was trying to deal with already.

“Hilda never had a chance.” Jasper rubbed the back of his neck, still blank-faced, but the exhaustion of the day was clearly weighing on him. “The second binding trials will be going on ahead as normal.”

Of course they were. Why let two deaths stop the killing games?

Jasper fixed me with his icy glare. “You need to be careful. After this, there’s going to be more scrutiny on the low-born and weak-bound. Try to avoid drawing attention to yourself if you don’t want your secrets revealed.”

His words made me tense once more. “And just what sort of secrets do you think I have?” The look he gave me in answer made me bristle. I folded my arms and knocked my ponytail over my shoulder. “I don’t have secrets.”

One of his pale eyebrows lifted. “You never knew your mother. You didn’t know you were fae until you came to the Academy. You can be invisible, and you have other secrets. Secrets that Robert saw during the first binding trials.”

Did he mean my skimming Seb’s form? Did he see that it was wrong, that I didn’t fully know how to inhabit it? “How would you know what Robert saw?”

“I was close enough.” His face was impassive, but the meaning behind his words was clear enough, wasn’t it?

He knew. He had to know. He’d seen enough and he’d figured it out. Was that why he’d been so insistent on taking me away from the forest? Because if people knew I was a shape-thief, I’d be blamed for Hilda’s unbinding. Was I to blame?

“I have to go,” I said, standing.

Jasper moved quickly, getting up from the couch to block my path. “Azriel—”

“I have to go,” I repeated.

I tried to go around him, but he caught me by the wrist and turned me, pushing me against the wall. I gasped in surprise, then he was leaning close to me, his arms on either side of me. Electricity crackled between us. Jasper let out a soft breath, the ice in his eyes melting.

He started to lean forward, his eyes moving to my mouth. I jerked up my hand and pressed it to his chest. His heart pounded wildly against my palm.

“You just told me that you’re not allowed romantic entanglements and things will be bad for me if we’re caught. And worse for you,” I murmured. My fingers curled into his shirt, wanting to draw him closer. Gods, there really was something wrong with me, wasn’t there?

Jasper bent closer, his lips brushing my cheek. “I am nothing if not a selfish person.”

“Won’t argue with that.”

He chuckled, the warmth of his breath wafting across my neck. I closed my eyes, enjoying this closeness, enjoying the heat under my skin and the tightness in my core. It felt easier to name this, to feel the draw, than it was with Seb. Probably because Seb was such a jackass and Jasper was not as clear-cut.

A bell rang from somewhere deeper in the academy. Jasper pulled away from me abruptly, cursing.

“What?” I mumbled.

“That’s a warning bell. They’re going to use the tracking system to enforce curfew tonight. Get out of here,” he added, pushing me toward the exit. “We don’t want them to realize we’ve been alone together.”

I quickly crawled through the tunnel, images of being force-fed nasty tonics to ensure I wasn’t pregnant running through my head. A second alarm sounded while I was in the passage getting closer to the dorms. I hurried to mine and Freta instantly threw her arms around me and started to ramble about how worried she’d been. I hugged her back reassuringly.

I wasn’t sure I was okay, though. The events of the day and everything I’d learned had left my mind spinning.

“Gods,” I groaned. “I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”

Chapter 30 - Azriel

The second binding trials were held only a few days after Hilda’s death. Life had been slowly settling back into normal when Headmaster Quincy made the announcement at breakfast.

He smiled at us, as though nothing was wrong, and said, “The first-year students will all be escorted to the top floor for their second binding trials today. Tomorrow the second-year students will be escorted into the forest. The next day…”