Page 49 of Messenger of Death (Ouroboros Academy #2)

I t was utter chaos. I’d gotten to know Liam enough to know he’d never cheat on Sage. He also seemed to be not completely coherent at the moment. It also wasn’t just our group anymore. Sage darted across the room and tackled Lola, but Mazen was with us.

Mazen couldn’t control his shift in potions class and he couldn’t control it now. He ripped through his clothes and that giant black dog was back. And then Khalid shifted for the first time and turned into a jackal. Sorry, Khalid, but Mazen’s dog was much bigger than Khalid’s jackal.

Khalid bared his teeth at Mazen and darted between him and Sage, but Sage wasn’t Mazen’s target. Mazen ran to Liam and fuck, I was going to have to fight a dog. Except Mazen wasn’t trying to bite Liam. It looked like Mazen was guarding him.

Sage flung Lola up by her hair, then kicked her right in the vagina and sent her stumbling into the dresser.

“That’s rape, asshole. He’s clearly drugged.”

“Just because he likes me more than he likes you doesn’t mean he’s unwilling!”

Mazen let out this feral growl from the bed like he agreed with Sage. What was going on right now? Liam reached up and started stroking Mazen’s flank.

“Did we get a dog or is that you, Khalid?” he slurred.

Yeah, Liam was out of his mind on something. I knew he kept talking about sneaking something in the baked goods here, but he wouldn’t have gotten high around Lola and cheated on Sage. Khalid was apparently very vocal as a jackal or jackals were just vocal creatures because he was chiming in, too.

Morgana picked up Liam’s water bottle and sniffed it.

“This potion is forbidden. It’s the fairy equivalent of a roofie.”

“I’m here because I’m not good at potions,” Lola snapped.

“I think you want everyone to think you’re not good at potions,” Sage snarled. “I think you’ve been awake this entire time.”

“I think you’re just jealous because Liam really wants me , Sage. I’m not awake. I don’t know who I am.”

Except her heartbeat changed. Lola was lying. She knew who she was, and she was keeping it secret. Was Lola Hemlock? It would explain why she never smelled like anything. I didn’t need her going all void in here. We didn’t need to let on we knew who she was. I could use it to find her Harami.

“Maybe you should leave,” I said.

“Are you serious right now?” Sage snarled.

Sage definitely looked like she wanted to hit her again. Mazen bared his teeth. Khalid let out those weird noises again and Liam started singing falsetto.

“Yes.”

I gave her a look I hoped she understood. We were connected. It was just a little bit, but we’d been building the blood bond. She gave me a subtle nod. She got it.

“Get out of my sight,” Sage said.

Lola just tossed her hair over her shoulder and strolled out of Liam’s dorm room like all of this wasn’t her fault and she hadn’t drugged and nearly raped him.

“Can you go to the kitchen and steal some blue lotus? It’s the antidote for this potion,” Morgana asked Petros.

“Done.”

Morgana could portal, so of course, she’d taught Petros and Elliot. Sage was fuming, but she was stuck between coaxing Khalid out of his jackal and checking on Liam. I didn’t think Mazen was going to let anyone near him, but Mazen shifted back and hopped off the bed.

“Does anyone have any clothes?”

“There are some sweats in my dresser that should fit you,” Elliot said.

“Thanks. I’m done. I ignored that her story kept changing and how she was treating me because I thought it was trauma. This isn’t trauma, it’s assault. It’s still assault if she’s a woman and he’s a man.”

Did we trust him with everything? Because if Lola had been Hemlock this whole time, then she staged the beating, and I gave her my blood.

The only reason I’d given it to her was because of how badly she’d been hurt and I didn’t particularly want to.

I didn’t like the idea of anyone having fake feelings for me.

It was different with Sage because it went both ways.

Sage kept saying Mazen was on a precipice. It was just going to take one thing to turn him to the dark side. Would finding out how deeply Lola had fooled him be that thing?

Morgana was making the antidote for Liam, so Sage was trying to help Khalid shift back. Mazen decided to help.

“I had to figure it out myself. Lola ruined my first shift, too, so I get it. Let me help.”

Mazen tried to help, and I was taking notes. I hadn’t shifted yet and my bat seemed pretty aloof, but I really didn’t want to get stuck. It was fifty-fifty if you actually thought Iman was stuck as a cat or she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Khalid was probably the most reasonable out of all of us except for when his jackal took over or when it came to Mazen.

It was bizarre. Mazen was trying to calmly walk him through shifting back and Khalid was just hollering at him in jackal.

I knew Mazen was supposed to be a big bad, but I already would have given up and let him figure it out himself.

Oh, look, Liam was conscious again.

“Why the fuck do I feel like I mixed edibles and whiskey?” Liam demanded.

Sage took off and flung herself at Liam.

“Lola gave you a magical roofie. I had this feeling you were in danger and we got here just in time to stop her. Morgana gave you the antidote. Lucian sent her away before I could beat the shit out of her and drag her to Headmaster Mykene.”

Everyone turned to stare at me because yeah, that looked bad and there were two people in this room who admitted they liked killing rapists.

“She lied twice. Once when she said she was bad at potions and again when she said she didn’t know who she was.”

Mazen perked up, but Sage and I both announced at the same time we thought she was Hemlock.

“It’s just a feeling. I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything until I had proof. If I’d said something sooner, this might not have happened.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Liam said.

“It’s not,” Morgana said. “You weren’t raised supernatural, and it’s a lot to trust your gut given how you were raised.”

“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Khalid started yelling in jackal again. I really wished someone could figure out how to unjackal him because that noise was spooky and irritating at the same time. I didn’t speak jackal but even I knew he didn’t want us to tell Mazen about Hemlock and Harami.

I was conflicted about telling him. On the one hand, we could use him on our side. On the other, we didn’t need this pushing him over to the dark side. On my foot, if we lied to him, it would be worse when he found out.

“No, he deserves to know. I can feel it. Mazen, I’m trusting you with this. You can’t go spreading this around as I learned this from an elder and it’s their secret. If you accidentally shift, no one will judge you, but please stay so we can talk it out when you’re ready to shift back.”

I really hoped he didn’t accidentally shift. Khalid’s jackal might attack him and I was the only one who could break it up. I didn’t know if shifters got rabies shots. I didn’t want germy dog or jackal mouth on me, anyway.

If I was going to be bonded to Sage and she was bonded to Khalid and we were bringing Mazen into this, maybe I should ask the healer for a tetanus shot. And ask about the rabies thing. And set boundaries about slobbering on me.

Khalid was sulking. It was weird watching a jackal sulk. Liam could talk to him like this, but he wouldn’t say a damned thing if it went against Sage.

I guess it was time to bring Mazen in and hope it didn’t turn him evil.