Page 96 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Chapter 42 - Azriel

The magic was lovely and warm. It felt gentle, like a soothing cloth put over a fevered brow. It entered me and swirled through my blood, settling in like it belonged there. The older student collapsed to the floor, his scream cutting off. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went still. He looked dead, but some part of me automatically knew he wasn’t.

I wiped a hand over my damp hair, shivering as the last of the magic absorbed into me. When I lifted my head again, I found all three of the golden boys staring at me. Jasper’s hand was half lifted toward me. Seb had pulled back, his face a mask of horror. Gareth’s expression was blank.

My blood cooled and I fell back a step as I realized what happened. They knew. They knew what I was.

I spun around to run but Gareth leapt forward. He grabbed my arm and spun me into the wall. Seb and Jasper both crowded around, closing off any of my potential escape routes. I shoved at Gareth, trying to make him release me, but his grip only tightened. My heart raced and a bitter taste filled my throat.

Figured that they’d be the ones to kill me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself. Even though I still struggled, I knew it wouldn’t do any good. They’d seen the truth. They knew my secret, and they were going to kill me. Tears burned behind my lids as I prayed that Silas and Freta wouldn’t be hurt for their association with me.

“You’re a shape-thief,” Seb said. He sounded stunned and betrayed. “A shape-thief.”

“Of course she is,” Jasper snapped.

My eyes popped back open. So he had known, all this time, just like I suspected. I stared pleadingly into his icy blue eyes, but I wasn’t sure what I was pleading for. He couldn’t protect me. He’d said it himself. He didn’t have the power to shield me from anyone, certainly not from the courts.

“You knew?” Seb turned on him. “You knew what she was?”

Jasper grunted and whirled toward him. “How else could she be mate-bound to both of us?”

“She’s a shape-thief! She might not even be our age!” Seb hissed.

Gareth was the one who answered. “She is. The prophecy was clear about the year the last shape-thief would be born. Twenty-one years ago.”

His green eyes were cold and deadly. I closed mine again, waiting. He had what he wanted. He had me.

Jasper hissed out a curse. “The teachers are coming. Give her to me. We have to get her out of here.”

His arms wrapped around me, and to my surprise, Gareth released me. I stumbled into Jasper’s side and opened my eyes again. He pulled me away from the others, heading back down the way I’d just come with Seb. My heart wouldn’t slow, and when I looked over my shoulder, Seb and Gareth were still staring after us.

So what was going to happen now? I clutched at Jasper’s arm, desperate for some stability. My legs felt shaky. Was that because of the magic I absorbed. or the fear that was still making my thoughts slow?

Strangely, the only thing I could really understand was how glad I was that I’d been with both Jasper and Seb before my death. A deep regret pooled in my heart, but at least I’d known what it meant to be with them, to have their touch, to have them close, to find a bright spot of happiness. My life seemed utterly bleak when I looked back on it. I was glad to have made friends. Freta, Silas, and Penry. Gods! Even though it was truly the end of me, I was glad to have come to the Academy.

Jasper got me back to the Laurel room quickly. Seb and I hadn’t cleaned the room after we had sex, and the smell of us still lingered faintly in the air, along with the bucket of water we’d used to wash up. I held my breath as I waited for Jasper to react to it, but he only pressed a quick kiss to my forehead.

“Stay here. Keep out of sight until we come back and figure out what to do next.”

“I—” I cut off, uncertain what to say.

He kissed me again and left. I sank onto the couch, where Seb and I had cuddled just a little while ago. I ran over what had just happened over in my mind. They knew the truth. They’d seen it for themselves. Jasper had clearly known for some time. My skin still tingled where he’d kissed he. He knew and accepted it. He’d protected me.

What were they doing now? Working together to deflect the teachers? I wasn’t quite sure if I could believe that. But if they wanted to expose me, wouldn’t they have just done it already?

Instead, it seemed like they were covering for me. It must be the instinct coming from the mate-bond. Seb and Jasper were both drawn to protect me. Was that the point of having multiple mate-bonds among shape-thieves? To manipulate them into protecting us, even when it was against their own self-interest?

And what about Gareth? The way he’d looked at me, as though he finally had the answers he wanted. A shudder ran down my spine. Had he suspected all this time?

If he did, then he had no reason to hold back. I had no proof he felt a draw to me the way I felt toward him. He’d done nothing to indicate that he also felt a mate-bond with me. I jumped to my feet, clenching my hands. He wouldn’t turn me over to the teachers because he wanted to kill me himself.

I had to get out of here. Maybe if I hid in the Vespa room? I had to stick with Seb and Jasper so Gareth couldn’t find me alone. If he did—

I whirled toward the door just in time to see Gareth slip in. He shut it and locked it behind him. My hands fell out of their fists as I stopped. His expression was hard, his aura pulsing with danger. I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

“I thought there was something different about you.” He started forward, moving deliberately, ready to lunge if I tried to make a move.

What should I do? If I attacked, he’d be more justified in killing me. With the door locked, I couldn’t run. The room was too small for me to hide. Even if I went invisible, I couldn’t go anywhere without giving myself away, the place was so tightly packed with different greenery. This room had seen bliss just a little while ago, and now it could see my death.