Page 29

VALE

I shouldn’t have fixed the top and spelled it to never be destroyed. She keeps smiling. And what’s worse? I like that smile.

There’s something very wrong with me. First of all, I let her win in class.

I really shouldn’t be doing that. Class has always come easy to me, from potions to history, because my memories are endless.

I never forget things—they just stay and linger.

They don’t go from my mind and sometimes I wish I could forget things.

When you’ve had a hard life, you don’t want to remember every fucking detail of how hard that life was. I’d prefer to forget it all.

I’m glad that she likes the top. I told myself I fixed it because I don’t like girls crying, and particularly I don’t like her crying.

But the truth behind it, the annoying truth that irritates me, is that I want her to be happy, and that’s wrong.

I shouldn’t care this much. I should hate her.

She forced me to bond with her and she has no idea how to fight.

Juniper is a walking death sentence, and the situation is only going to be worse when we go to war.

I know she hates me and it’s best that she does.

She will never know that I spent a week on one of the most complicated spells I’ve ever made up to make that thing fireproof, destruction proof.

I didn’t sleep for two nights to perfect the spell.

Juniper could put that top in the middle of a war, have a million shifters go at it, and it would still survive.

The truth was there was magic in the fibers of the cloth that was left.

Powerful magic. It was hard to tap into that magic, to make something new and old at the same time.

Why would anyone leave magic in a top if not to make it in indestructible?

I watch as she goes into the bathroom before I decide to leave the room. I need to get away from her and the smiling.

Kane shouts after me. “Where are you going?”

I don’t answer him and slam the door shut behind me.

I just need to be away from her. From how she smells so fucking good, from how her smile makes my heart do weird things.

I have to admit it to myself—I’m attracted to her.

I like that she gives as good as she gets.

She really fucking impressed me when she hexed all my weapons, even if I wanted to kill her for it. She is a smart and wicked witch.

I walk through the academy, ignoring anybody who shouts out for me, blanking them all.

I don’t know where I’m going until I’m standing in front of the leaderboard and my name is in the top three.

Kane’s at the top. That fucker Asher is underneath him and then under is me.

Black and Maz are fourth and fifth. All of us keep our names high up, since supplies are sent back to the camp for the foster kids, and they depend on it to stay alive.

When we go to the war, wherever we are on this board is what is left for our families to live on.

I’m surprised Asher is still up for climbing the leaderboard after I beat the shit out of him for hurting my bonded.

He doesn’t get to teach her a lesson—only I do that.

My dragon tells me Kane is coming near, even before he walks into the room with his hands shoved into his jogger pockets. He stops at my side, looking at the board in silence for a long time. “Are you worried about slipping down the leaderboard? I’ve seen you’ve been working hard to?—”

“No.” I cut him off. Because of the spell for the top, I’m in third, but after a few days I’ll be back up there. I have nothing to distract myself anymore unless Juniper comes up with another problem.

“Then what is it?” he demands.

“Nothing.” I snap. “I didn’t ask you to follow me.”

“I could tell you’re pissed and when you’re like this, you are hot-headed and reckless. I’m making sure you don’t do anything stupid.” Kane, the leader, the one who feels like he needs to watch us all and fix everything. He can’t fix me.

He’s one to talk though. “Reckless? You poisoned her ex. For what?”

“She smiled at him over breakfast.” He shrugs.

That doesn’t sit right with me, and he should be dead.

Maz and Kane are half in love with Juniper, and this just makes it clearer.

Our bonded group is in chaos and it’s dangerous.

“You spelled the top, didn’t you?” Kane asks, but he knows.

There is no point in admitting it. “I honestly thought it might have been Black because he’s good with spells and potions, but you’re the best. I should have realized it was you. Why?”

“I have nothing left of my family.” I remind him.

“Nothing. Except...” I look down at the gold ring on my finger that I keep cloaked.

It can’t be seen by anyone in the academy.

It’s rebellious, and they’d try to take it.

I drift my eyes away from the ring that my father wore.

“I wouldn’t like to lose it. That’s the only reason I helped her. ”

“Right.” He doesn’t believe me. “You know—you’re always very intense with your women, but you get bored so fast. She doesn’t give in to you and she challenges you at every moment she gets.

I think all four of us have a problem because she’s different and exactly what we need.

I’ve realized that I don’t know what I want, but I know I won’t leave her side. ”

“You can’t ride with her—you know that, right? It would be making her...” I warn him with a low growl.

“I know what it would be making her. I’ve read the prophecies, I’ve read every bit of it, over and fucking over, from the minute that I was told about them.

The minute that we were given the dragon books on our history and the curses of the dragon race.

I know what it would make her, and she is not ready for that.

” He snarls back. “I’m not ready for that. ”

“Neither am I.” I chip. When we all turned eighteen, we were given the history of dragon books—books that were written to warn about every curse that’s ever been laid upon us, every bit of magic used on the dragons to control them.

Our ancestors wrote about how they broke the chains, how they freed themselves, only for all of us to be captured again like slaves in this forest. “She’s growing weak without us properly teaching her. ”

“There’s nothing weak about her.” Kane reminds me.

“I thought you’d know that by now. The truth is, she has become our weakness.

” He is right, and I hate her for it. We are the only shifters that don’t get fucked with, and now the witches have a way to break us.

She is our weakness, and I know he is right. “By the way, leave the wolf alone.”

“He deserved it.” I shrug. “I don’t care.” The only reason I didn’t kill the wolf for touching her is because he had a point. An irritating point.

“Let’s go fly. It always helps.” Kane suggests. A peace offering.

I look at the board one more time before nodding and going with Kane. Nothing is going to help get her out of my blood and soul. For some reason, the more I argue with her, the more I feel like it’s seconds away before we both slip into something so dangerous that no spell will save us.