Page 21 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

POLARIS

G oing about my day as planned is easier said than done.

I may be dressed for the day to begin, in a cute, cropped white tee and a pair of denim shorts with white lace around the hem, but my mind is elsewhere.

Braiding my silver hair over my right shoulder, it’s a little worse for wear, but I’m learning, so it’s good enough. But even that doesn’t lift my spirits.

I barely slept.

Shocker.

Between wondering about the unknown and not being with the people I desperately want most, my mind wouldn’t settle. I was also half hoping that Belladora would make another appearance. Why she would, I’m not entirely sure, but the ball feels way too far in my court, and I don’t know what I’m doing.

Despite my desire to curl up in bed or find a way back home, I slip my feet into a pair of sandals and reach for my backpack. Looking at myself in the mirror, I can see the shadows under my eyes, confirming my lack of sleep, but I don’t have anything to hide it, so I’ll have to get over it.

Pausing by my bedroom door, my eyebrows gather as I ponder a thought that has been plaguing me since last night. Where did all of this stuff come from? None of it is truly mine, not from my previous life anyway. At least the clothes are cute.

I open my door to find Ben standing on the other side, fist raised, ready to knock, and he smiles at me. “Good morning,” he sings as he reveals his other hand from behind his back, offering me a chocolate croissant.

“Thank you,” I murmur, my stomach grumbling at the sight of it, and he grins.

I click the door shut behind me and he takes the lead, heading toward the staircase without a backward glance, knowing I’m going to follow him. As I go down the steps, I take a big bite of my croissant, considering that this new norm already feels like an old and familiar routine, which is strange.

It’s barely been a handful of days, but it feels like I’ve done this walk to campus with Ben a million times.

“Are you doing okay?” Ben asks as he steps outside, and I nod.

“I’m good. You?”

He eyes me cautiously and I smile at him. I don’t know whether it works, but he seems to accept my answer. For now at least.

“I’m okay. A slight headache from Bianca being super mad this morning, but otherwise, all is good,” he explains, and I frown.

“What’s wrong with her?” Likely nothing. It’s never anything other than selfishness with that girl, a fact I was already coming to realize before I regained my memories and knew for a fact what a bitch she is.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” he promises as we head down the street and I finish my breakfast. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem… distant this morning,” he mutters, and I offer him another smile, hoping this one is stronger, but I know what he’s referring to.

The joy and excitement that usually carry me to campus and back are gone. The light and wonder in my eyes has dimmed. I don’t want to be here when there’s so much for me to deal with, and it’s showing in my silence.

“I’m good, Ben, honestly. I just didn’t sleep very well last night, that’s all,” I insist, and he scoffs, rubbing a hand at the back of his head.

“Damn, I slept like the dead last night,” he states, and my eyes widen at the irony, but I sink my teeth into my tongue, holding back the snicker that threatens to escape.

He was also passed out yesterday from a spell from the original witch herself, but I don’t say that. Although, it does remind me of the promise I made him, the one I’m determined to keep, and he’ll remember soon enough.

If that means I have to get over myself and focus on the task at hand, which is to blend in here like I have been doing, then that’s what I’ve got to do. All plans come with smaller roles. I just have to accept this is mine, for now.

“I have an hour break between my first and second class if you’re free to get a coffee?” I ask, and he nods.

“Does Wax and Beans work for you?”

“Definitely.” It’s my favorite spot, and he knows it.

“But I won’t be free tonight,” he adds, and I cock a brow in question. There’s a grin on his face and it feels infectious, causing the corner of my mouth to tilt up too.

“And why is that?”

“Because your man right here has a date,” he replies, dusting off invisible lint from his shoulder, and I giggle at his antics.

“Nice. Who might the lucky girl be?”

He rubs his lips together as his cheeks turn the faintest pink. “Bianca.”

“Bianca?” I blurt, instantly regretting it when he winces. “I’m sorry, that was rude. I just… I thought you were arguing this morning?”

“I know, and when she’s mad… damn, she’s even hotter,” he insists, and I shake my head in disbelief.

This guy has an unhealthy obsession with toxic women.

“You’re insane, but you can tell me your date plans over coffee, okay?” I say, and he holds his fist out for me to bump it before we part ways at the quad.

Just because I don’t like her doesn’t mean I can’t be a good friend, even if it does leave me in a state of shock.

Heading toward the psych building, I’m lost in thought, bewildered by my friend’s life choices, but I quickly shut my judgment down when I consider the men I’m infatuated with.

Lincoln is a headache, but the sweetest blissful kind that doesn’t even make sense. I’m addicted to his madness, and when his fire and desire are aimed my way, I’m putty in his hands.

Wylder is all-consuming. He doesn’t shy away from his feelings, and he’s more than willing to chase me when I run. The thought of that alone has my thighs clenching.

Tatum is my gentle and kind, yet fierce man who sees me in a light no one else seems to understand. But even among the shadows and darkness, get this man between the sheets, and he’ll destroy me just as thoroughly as the others.

Asher wields dominance with precision, like a knife. Even with his head in his cell phone, he’s always watching, always listening, and when he lays out a command, there’s nothing I want to do but follow it.

Blaze has wreaked havoc on me since the very beginning. To the world, he hated me. Alone, he worshipped me, even without a single touch. It was in his actions. Compulsion or not, what he hid from me was alluring and obsessive, and I’m a glutton for it.

I’m still deep in thought as I step into my class, and it takes me a second to realize I’m the first one here. Opting for my preferred seat in the middle row, I drop my backpack at my feet, but before I can take a seat, the creak of a door catches my attention as the professor steps into the room.

His eyes land on mine instantly and he offers me a half smile as he nods. He doesn’t say a word as the tension rises in the room, and I sense apprehension stifling the air around me.

What the hell?

He stares at me expectantly and I frown, tilting my head as something about him suddenly feels… familiar.

I purse my lips, unable to speak as I think. I don’t know where I know him from, but he knows me, and he’s not afraid to hide it. I spoke to him just yesterday, but this is different. I squint, and the shadows it casts over my vision make me halt as I realize where I know him from.

The understanding must show on my face because he nods, placing his soft, brown leather briefcase on his desk.

“She told me you knew,” he states, eyebrows raised, and I gulp.

“Belladora,” I breathe, and a ghost of a smile spreads across his face at the mere mention of her name. He nods and I instantly shake my head. “I don’t know anything, it seems,” I admit, adrenaline shooting through my veins with apprehension, but I don’t feel unsafe… yet.

“You recognize me.” It’s a statement, not a question, and I nod, worrying at my bottom lip before I breathe.

“You were hiding in the shadows.”

“In the vision she placed on the chalice,” he finishes, and I nod.

He was inside the building, where everyone was plotting their demise while Belladora was sobbing in Jonah’s arms outside.

“What’s your name?” I ask, knowing it’s one of four, and he purses his lips before he speaks.

“Octantis.” I offer him a tight smile as he shakes his head. “I never thought anyone would see that vision. It was a long time ago when she placed it, never mind when it actually happened,” he admits, and the tension in the room eases enough for my shoulders to drop an inch.

I nod, but I don’t really understand. “Why are you here?”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “I’m always here. It’s the role forced upon me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I point out, and he smirks, but it’s dark, tainted, broken.

“Nothing about the blood kin curse does, does it?”

Silence lingers in the air, the darkness of our pain clouding the room, but I have to make the most of this opportunity. If I can’t see Belladora, I can still seek some kind of understanding from him.

“What can you tell me about that? The blood kin curse, I mean.”

He shrugs, not offering a single word as he looks down at his feet, and I sigh.

“Thanks.”

He looks up through his lashes at me, but still doesn’t say anything as the creak of the door opening echoes around the room again.

Disappointment takes root in my gut, the chance to learn more vanishing, but when I turn to the door, it’s not another student who enters, but a man. A man I’m familiar with for similar reasons.

“Jonah,” I breathe, remembering him more vividly since Belladora called his name in the vision, and he smiles at me. It’s genuine, filled with hope, and it leaves me off balance and unnerved.

“You’re real,” he states, pausing at the end of my row, and I nod, a tiny huff of laughter bursting from my lips.

“So are you.” He winks playfully as he tucks his hands into his pants pockets, and I take my chance, cutting straight to the point. “Do you have anything you wish to share about the blood kin curse at all?”

His entire body stiffens as his lips part, but whatever he wants to say won’t come out. Instead, he shakes his head with a gruff grunt before settling his stare on me again. “Break the curse, Polaris. It’s what you were destined to do.”