Page 124 of Spark of Sorcery

Beaufort, the professor and I stroll slowly to the door, none of us want to be the first to pass through the doorway.

“After you, Prof.,” I say, holding out my arm and bowing a little.

“You first,” he growls.

The three of us tussle in the doorway and finally Thorne snaps.

“Get out!”

We file through the door; me first, then the professor and then Beaufort. The door slams behind us.

“Why does she want to talk to him and not us?” I whine.

“Probably because he isn’t a shithead,” the professor says. “And he’s not walking around with his dick hanging out.”

“I didn’t have time to change. Besides, she likes my cock.” I imitate his annoying smirk and anger flashes in his glowing eyes.

“Cut it out,” Beaufort says, walking a little way down the corridor and flopping down onto a chair. “And he’s right, put on some clothes.”

“Where exactly–”

“Magic some up.”

I chuckle and then I let my magic weave through the air, a pair of sweats landing with a thump on the floor. I pull them on and sink into a chair beside Beaufort. The professor remains on his feet and starts pacing up and down the corridor like a first-time dad waiting for the arrival of a baby.

I lean my forearms on my thighs, both legs bouncing up and down and whisper to Beaufort: “You think there’s any truth to his shit?”

“You do know vampires have exceptional hearing,” Beaufort says in his normal voice.

I snap my head his way. “Can you hear what Briony and Thorne are talking about?”

The professor pauses, then shakes his head. “Thorne’s using a blocking spell.”

“What the hell?” I say, peering at the closed door. Whywould he do that? There’s meant to be no secrets between bond brothers.

“And I don’t give a shit what you think, Eros, I’m telling the truth.”

I jump up into a crouched position on the seat of the chair and spin around to face him, leaning my forearms on the back of the chair.

“Okay, so she smells good to you. How do you know that that isn’t all it is? A bit of a crush.” He grinds his teeth together in irritation. “Hey, no judgment, we all have them and she is fucking cute.”

“Do you know how many girls pass through this academy every year? None, not a single one, has ever caught my attention like this. I’ve barely registered their scents, let alone become obsessed with it. Yet the moment she stepped into the Great Hall I noticed it among all the other scents. It stood out like a beacon. It pummeled straight to the core of my brain and lodged itself there.”

“That doesn’t mean–”

“It does. It’s the sign for my kind.” He runs both his hands through his hair. “You don’t think I’ve researched the shit out of this? You don’t think I’ve considered it’s just lust or a crush? It’s not. Briony is my fated mate.”

“Well,” Beaufort says, looking up from his chair, “she’s ours too, so where the hell does that leave us?”

I jump off my seat, gathering my hair into my hands, twisting it into a knot behind my head. I stink of dog and the forest and the weird-ass chemicals of the clinic.

“You know what, I think we have bigger things to worry about right now.”

“Like what?” Beaufort says.

“Those other scents that were out there in the forest.” I rub at my nose. “You smell them too, Prof.?”

“What scents?”