Page 90 of Shattered Stars

I’ve never seen him look so angry, his whole body taut with it, his magic crashing and swirling around him with violence.

“No, because I’m not cheating on Azlan. He knows about this.”

“Sure he does,” he growls, without any of his usual humor.

“Tristan, he does. Because …” I swallow. Telling him this, confessing it, makes the situation between the two of us a lot more complicated. But I can’t afford to let him tell York. Because if Summer’s also been to the principal telling tales, York will be marching straight to the chancellor and then all three of us are in danger. “Because …”

“Because!” he snaps. “Out with it, Piggie, I’m fascinated to hear your excuse, to learn how you’ve convinced yourself that what you’re doing with that jerk is somehow–”

“He’s my fated mate, Tristan!” He takes a stumbling step backwards as if I slapped him right across the face. “Stone is my fated mate.”

“No,” Tristan says, staring at me in horror, shaking his head slowly, “no, that isn’t true. You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying!” I step forward, the bond in my stomach aching for him. “You know your cousin, you know Azlan. And you know Stone. They are the closest of friends. Do you seriously think Phoenix would go behind his back and–”

He shakes his head. “They can’t both be.”

“Tristan,” I say gently, far more gently than he deserves, “they are. Which is why you can’t go telling York. If she learns the truth … if she tells the chancellor.”

He stares at me and I can almost see the cogs turning in his brain as he deduces the consequences.

“Who the fuck are you, Rhianna Blackwaters?”

The question strikes me deep in my chest. Because who am I? Tears pool in my eyes. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “I don’t know.”

He watches as a tear trails down my cheek. For a moment his face seems to soften, then he shakes his head, his shoulders stiffening.

“And this is why you don’t want me? Why you’re denying the bond between us?”

“There is no–”

“How else did you follow me here then, Rhianna?” He glares down at me and I say nothing. “You have your two mates and so you’re going to deny your third. But do you know how rare this is? Do you know what the hell it could mean?”

“I don’t care what it means.”

“But two’s enough.”

“Fuck, Tristan. How the hell would I know?”

“It’s the reason you’re denying this bond between us.”

“It isn’t the reason and you know it. I told you already. You treated me like shit. Hell, you told me yourself how much you despised me, how strongly you tried to fight this.”

“I also told you, that that was before.”

“And I told you, you’re too late.”

His shoulders visibly slump and his gaze drops to the ground. For the first time ever, I look at Tristan and see defeat. Defeat and a deep, deep sadness.

My bond strains even harder towards him, wanting me to comfort him, to wrap my arms around him and forgive him. But I can’t. I just can’t do it.

“Are you going to tell York?” I ask softly.

He keeps his eyes fixed on his shoes. “You know I can’t. And I’ve also made sure Summer doesn’t tell her about your little incident in the woods.” I stare at him in shock and he raises his eyes to meet mine. “Because, whether you like it or not, Rhianna Blackwaters, fate has determined that I’m mixed up in this. Just like Azlan and just like Stone.

Stone’s waitingfor me under the trees that line the meadow, a frown planted between his brows, Pip snuffling around his feet.

“He’s not going to tell,” I say. I want to wrap my arms around him and rest my cheek on his chest but we’ve already been caught once tonight, I don’t fancy it happening again.