Page 36 of The Bond That Burns (Bloodwing Academy #2)

The classroom used for Sanguine Rites was a foreboding space, reserved for the more advanced students of House Drakharrow. Located in the lower levels of the Academy, the walls of the room were black stone veined with crimson.

Sanguine Rites was my least favorite class and I’d have dropped it if I could. I was an excellent student, one of the professor’s favorites. But using blood to force compliance or binding individuals or creatures to a caster was low down on my list of goals to accomplish outside of a classroom. Blood magic was too close to thrallweave for my liking. That said, crafting sigils and glyphs from blood to protect ourselves against other kinds of magical threats was potentially useful. Next year, I knew we’d be using blood magic in duels against one another and practicing offensive and defensive techniques. Now that I might be able to get behind.

I walked in with Theo by my side. Students from the previous class were still trickling out. We’d arrived early.

Standing at the front of the room was our professor, Alastor Vane. He was a tall, thin highblood man with hair so pale it almost seemed white. He wore it tied back in a long greasy-looking tail. Vane’s face was angular and almost skeletal, perfect for a professor of blood magic.

Professor Vane was brilliant but I’d never warmed up to him. Now I narrowed my eyes as I saw who he was conversing with. Standing next to the professor’s desk was my brother, Marcus.

“What’s Marcus doing here?” Theo muttered.

“I don’t know. But if he’s here then it can’t be for any good reason.”

“You mean because he’s a bloodthirsty psychopath?” Theo supplied helpfully.

I shot him a look. “I would have just said asshole, but sure, that works.”

Marcus was leaning against Vane’s desk with the casual arrogance of someone who thought himself untouchable. With a pang, I realized the pose was easy to recognize—since Marcus had taught me how to come off that way myself. I’d learned from the worst.

From this angle, Vane’s face was unreadable. But Marcus’s face was stretched out in an easy smile. Whatever Vane was telling him, it was making Marcus happy. And we didn’t want Marcus happy. No, we did not.

Before I could approach them, Marcus glanced in my direction. Our eyes met briefly, then he said something to Vane and strode out of the room.

I dropped into a seat next to Theo, my shoulders suddenly tense. “What the hell do you think that was about?”

“Maybe he wants to audit a class,” Theo suggested, as he set his books down. “Some older highbloods come back to do that from time to time, you know. Keeps their minds from becoming stale.”

I glared at my cousin. “Right. Because Marcus is the type to worry about his mind.” I slouched forward, draping my arms out over the table and wondering about why Marcus was at Bloodwing.

At least he hadn’t been hanging around Lunaya. I’d talked to Lysander about his sister and my brother that morning. The Orphos leader had told me he was as concerned as I was and that he’d be keeping a tighter watch on Lunaya, as well as speaking to her about the danger my brother might pose to her.

Honestly, I wasn’t offended when he’d said that. I was just relieved to hear my uncle hadn’t gotten to Lysander and made him some kind of an offer to have Lunaya become Marcus’s next consort.

I realized Theo had become unusually quiet. When I glanced at him, he was staring at me with wide, alarmed eyes.

“What?” I asked, irritation creeping into my voice.

Theo didn’t respond. His gaze moved downwards. I followed his line of sight—then felt my stomach drop.

Scales. All over my hands and wrists. Red, iridescent scales, bright as flames.

“Shit,” I hissed, yanking my arms off the table and scrambling for my jacket. I pulled it on with phenomenal speed, fumbling to pull the sleeves down as low as they’d go, then crossed my arms over my chest.

“Blake,” my cousin whispered. “What the hell was that?”

“Nothing,” I said defensively. I pretended to adjust my cuffs.

“Nothing?” Theo’s voice rose slightly. I shot him a warning glare—which he proceeded to ignore. “Blake, those were scales. Why the hell do you have scales?”

“Keep your voice down,” I growled. But my heart was pounding. I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “Look, it’s complicated. But everything is fine. I have it under control.”

This was an exaggeration at best. A great big, blatant lie at worst.

“I don’t believe you,” my cousin said, shaking his head. “How long has it been happening?”

I hesitated. I could see the worry etched on Theo’s face and for a moment I considered telling him the truth.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said finally. “I’ve been...sick.”

“And one of the symptoms is growing scales?” Theo said in disbelief. “Maybe you should see a healer.”

“I’ve seen a healer,” I lied. “They said it’s nothing to worry about.”

Theo shook his head stubbornly. “Lying again.”

I sighed and stole a peek at one of my arms. The scales had vanished. “Look,” I said, holding out my hand. “See? Nothing to worry about. I told you.”

“What if they come back?” Theo insisted. “What if they get worse? What if someone else sees? Wouldn’t you rather talk to me about it?”

“No,” I said, setting my jaw tightly. Theo had enough on his plate. He’d finally recovered from his ordeal with Aenia. Though he needed to regain some of the weight he’d lost. He was still looking too peakish for my liking. “And you can’t tell anyone about this. Not Vaughn, not Visha, not anyone. Do you understand?”

Theo hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But I’m here, Blake. If you want to talk, you can trust me. You know that.”

He looked so hurt that I felt like a total bastard. I clapped him on the shoulder. “I know, cuz.”

“You’ve been there for me,” he said quietly. “Every step of the way.”

I cringed. “You mean when I almost let Aenia kill you? I wouldn’t be so quick to give me any credit.”

“You didn’t let her do anything,” he insisted. “You couldn’t stop her. Neither could I. She’s incredibly strong for a child when she gets like that.”

“I should never have left you alone,” I said morosely.

“I’m fine now,” Theo assured me. He smirked slightly. “Maybe better than ever.”

I looked at him, then felt a smile tug at my lips. “You mean...?”

“Vaughn might be in House Orphos, but it’s my bed he sneaks into most nights,” Theo said with a wink. “He knows my House Leader won’t kick him out if he sees him.”

I felt a twinge of guilt. “I certainly won’t, but...” I hesitated. “Maybe you’d better use his room sometimes. Most of the time, Theo.”

He looked so crestfallen, I quickly added, “We have spies.”

“Spies?”

I nodded. “Viktor is watching us. This year more than ever. Please, Theo. You and Vaughn have to be careful.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Theo said, sitting up straighter and scowling. “But if that fucking monster dares to hurt Vaughn again...”

“He’ll have both of us to deal with. We’re stronger together,” I said firmly. “And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. You and Visha.”

“Visha? What did you want to talk to Visha about?” Visha sauntered up to us looking far too perky for a blood magic class. “Miss me, boys?”

I looked her up and down. “Someone looks pleased with herself.”

She sank onto the bench beside us. “You have no idea how pleased I am,” she practically purred. “Did you know dwarven women have incredible stamina?”

“No,” I said, eying her with amusement. “But I have no doubt you’re about to tell us as you regale us with your most recent exploits.”

“You couldn’t stop me if you tried,” she said, batting her long lashes. “Lace Ironstride. Scout. Third Year. Fucking goddess in the sack.” She paused. “You know, I may just have to go exclusive.”

Theo leaned forward. “I beg your pardon. Did she just say what I think she said?”

“Good luck telling that to Lucian and Evander,” I said wryly. “Don’t they, um, appreciate a third from time to time?”

“They’ll live,” Visha said placidly. “But I won’t. Not without Lace.”

Theo hooted. “Who is this girl exactly?”

“Some dwarven scout who has excellent stamina,” I summarized. “I assume it’s with her tongue.”

“And fingers,” Visha added. “And toes.”

Theo gaped. “Toes? You let her... stick her toes...?”

“I’d let her stick anything anywhere,” Visha drawled.

I shook my head admiringly. There was no one like Visha. “Well, in that case, I doubt you want to hear about how I’ve chosen my Second.”

“About damned time,” Visha said, eyeing me with a little bit of interest. “Who is it?’

“You,” I said. I turned to Theo. “And you.”

“Both of us?” Theo exclaimed.

“Interesting.” Visha looked me over. “Because you love us so much you just can’t choose? Or because all hell is about to break loose and you want us to clean up your mess?”

I thought for a second. “Probably both. We’re at Bloodwing after all.”

Visha cackled. “Right.”

“Besides,” I said with mock seriousness. “I can’t count on you alone. You might be off with your little dwarf girlfriend when I need you to deal with something.”

“I might be off with Vaughn.” Theo pretended to pout.

I grinned at him. “In that case, I’d deal with it myself. Wouldn’t want to upset your boyfriend.”

Theo smiled, pleased. “Very considerate.” He glanced at Visha and his eyes widened. “He’s being nice . You know what this means, Vish.”

She nodded.

“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Visha smiled slowly. “You got some.”

“Some what?” Then I groaned, realizing what was coming. “Stop it.”

“He did,” Theo crowed.

“Some of that rider ass,” Visha said, not pulling any punches.

“She’s not a piece of ass,” I grunted. “Though she does have a fucking amazing one.”

They both laughed and as the lecture started all thoughts of scales and my brother were far from my mind.