Page 28 of Wings of Ashes (Wings of Ashes #1)

CHAPTER

N ix walked into the cafeteria on shaky legs. Without her underwear, she wondered how much stronger her scent was to her fellow shifters.

Food. Focus on food .

Nix eagerly joined the line with a lunch tray and licked her lips when she saw the fresh pasta and vegetables steaming on the buffet line. In her past life at the academy, Nix had never enjoyed the food. She had been sickly thin—but, looking back, maybe that had been the weekly doses of poison.

During her captivity, Nix had daydreamed about the cafeteria food as her captor starved her.

Nix had learned to be grateful for everything in this second chance at life. Food, clean air, the freedom to see sunlight, and learning about topics that could actually be relevant to the future she wanted and not the future expected of her.

Even though an incubus has gained a concerning interest in me … Maybe she was grateful for the distraction he posed to keep her from falling back into her dark thoughts of her past and future.

A distraction from the betrayal. When I see Elle…what will I say?

And would Elle comment on the fact that Nix’s hair was a darker pink than yesterday? Would she wonder why Nix was not blonde after taking the potion? Would Elle push the potion onto her? Or would she feel indifferent if Nix decided to stop taking it?

The main question running through Nix’s head: Does Elle know about the poison?

For ten years, Nix had blindly trusted the Oadess family. Nix had taken their last name; she became one of them.

And Professor Bowen implied there could be permanent, lasting damage caused by the potion…

What if I can never truly shift?

Lost in her own thoughts, Nix did not see it coming.

The scent of strawberry milk tickled her nostrils just before the liquid dripped from her head, down her face and uniform. Nix coughed through the sudden river of pink liquid streaming down her visage.

Rubbing a sleeve over her eyes to catch the sticky, sweet strawberry milk, Nix turned to look behind her.

“You wanted to stand out from us? Congrats,” a female voice sneered at her. Nix recognized her as one of the popular members of the cygnus shifter clique.

With six years of knowledge into the future holding up space in Nix’s brain, she could not remember the girl’s name. Though Nix knew she had known it. In the past, when “mean girls” were the only threat she faced.

“You thought you could transfer into some of the alphas’ classes and dye your hair pink, so they would notice you?” Another woman, Astrid, crossed her arms and glared at Nix from beside the could-not-remember-her-name mystery woman. “Drop the classes,” Astrid told Nix.

Nix gaped, tasting strawberry milk dripping onto her lips. “Excuse me?”

“Stay away from the alphas.” Astrid’s blue eyes were glazed over with disdain as she scowled. “Or else.”

Nix snorted at the blonde’s threat. “Or else what?”

Astrid scoffed and muttered dramatically, “You don’t want to know.”

Nix bent over and shook her hair out like a dog. Strawberry milk shot out of her strands and splattered onto the tile cafeteria floor and the uniforms of Astrid and the other self-proclaimed mean girl.

“ Eww ,” they squealed in disgust.

“I thought I already told you that I have no interest in the guys,” Nix said to Astrid.

“ Liar! We all heard about how you seduced Bael in the middle of class, you slut,” Astrid shouted at her.

“You’re going to give cygnus shifters a bad name. We don’t just open our legs for any alpha that looks our way! An incubus? You’re disgusting.”

“You sound jealous,” Nix deadpanned, bored from academy drama that did not matter to her or her future survival.

“You’re nothing but an adopted stray to the clan. You don’t deserve the last name ‘Oadess.’ And you’re not going to take away our prospects just because—”

“I have a question for you,” Nix cut the girl off.

“It’s distracting, isn’t it? Getting mad at me for taking classes with the alphas instead of getting mad at the alphas who typically keep us out of their classes.

You’re mad at me for being a ‘distraction’ to them instead of mad at them for allowing themselves to be distracted by me? ”

“As if anyone would want you over us, Ugly Fuckling.”

Nix arched an eyebrow. “You can’t have it both ways. Either I am ugly and no one wants me, and my taking classes should not affect anyone, or I pose a threat to ‘stealing’ your potential husbands. Which is it?”

Astrid sputtered.

“I’ll leave you two to think on that one.” Nix cut the lunch line and grabbed a handful of napkins to dry her uniform of the pink milk. Gross .

Tossing the damp napkins in a trash can, Nix strode to where Elle always saved her a seat at lunch. She no longer felt very hungry.

“And he asked me to the dance! Can you believe it?” Elle grinned at the others at the lunch table just as Nix sank down into the empty spot beside her.

Nix ground her teeth as she contemplated the possibility that her friend for ten years was purposefully weakening her. Why?

“Nix,” Elle cheered at her presence. “You didn’t get any food?” Elle’s pink lips slipped into a frown as she saw the damp spots on Nix’s uniform. “Why are you…wet?”

“Doesn’t matter. Someone asked you to the dance?” Nix asked, closely studying Elle’s face as her friend stared at Nix’s reddish pink hair.

“The pink looks, um, darker today,” Elle commented. “Did you…?” Elle flicked a nervous glance at the others at the table, signaling she would not reveal that Nix took an illusion potion to better fit in with the cygni clan.

The thought that kept banging around inside Nix’s mind was: Does Elle know about the poison in the potion?

Did she know?

Did she know?

“Tell me about your date to the dance,” Nix changed the subject. She tried to contain her impulse to grab Elle, shake her by the shoulders, and question her.

“He’s only the most gorgeous guy at this school,” Sarasa commented.

“Only the best for Elle,” Nix said, trying not to sound as bitter as she felt.

“He’s a new student,” Elle gushed with invisible hearts shining in her cornflower blue eyes. “He looks just like a cygnus shifter, but he’s a big, strong alpha with money.” Nix internally cringed at how superficial Elle sounded. “Blue eyes and white platinum hair.”

Nix stiffened. White platinum hair was rare in the shifter community. Only arctic shifters, lamb shifters, and cygnus shifters were known for it. Well, and one other very rare, nearly extinct shifter.

A Pegasus shifter.

Like Persius .

Nix’s lungs froze as she forgot how to breathe. “What’s his name?” she asked softly, lost in tense thoughts.

“You don’t know him.” Elle waved off the question without answering. “He doesn’t take potions or combat. He prefers more gentle topics.”

Is it Persius? Is Persius here? At the academy?

My mate.

The back of Nix’s neck began to sweat. If Persius was at the academy, Nix could find him and save him. She would never let them be captured in this new chance at life. We could be…together .

“You can meet him at the dance in a few days,” Elle said. “If you find a date.”

Nix’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?” Nix had attended plenty of dances without a date. She remembered sitting by herself, next to the dance floor, silently begging someone to ask her to join.

“New rule,” Sarasa said, munching on some delicious-looking biscuits. “Now the only people who can attend the dances are couples. Gotta have a date to attend. It’s spinning other cygni into quite a frenzy to find someone in time.”

This was new. Different. What had altered this timeline to cause such a rule? “Why would they do that? That just creates a barrier for people who tend to be shy or want to focus on their studies instead of romance. The dances are meant to be a social event for everyone.”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s helping people,” Elle said in her ever-positive, cheery tone. “Think about it: if people want to attend the dance, now they must find the guts to pursue someone. Now the lonely singles don’t have to sadly watch the couples dance all night.”

Elle draped her hand over Nix’s on the table and squeezed as she added, “I’m sure I could ask my brother to ask you to the dance. That way—”

“I don’t care about the dance,” Nix replied, but…

What if I could find Persius there?

Persius had once described the sensation of recognizing her as his mate. A version of love at first sight that bloomed an urge to protect her and comfort her and give her anything she wanted.

Persius would just have to look at Nix, and they would be together again. Sure, this Persius would need to get to know her, but she already knew everything about him. Everything that mattered.

I miss him so much .

“I thought you’d love to go to the dance with my brother,” Elle said, looking at her with a pointed “ what’s gotten into you? ” expression. Uh, oh. Suspicion .

“I…” Nix couldn’t care less about Elle’s handsome brother, Adar Oadess, in this life. But in her past? Yeah. Going to the dance with him would have been everything she wished for each night.

Does Adar know about the poison in my illusion potion?

“My brother actually asked me if I thought you already had a date to the dance,” Elle added and elbowed Nix excitedly. “I think he might be interested in asking you all on his own. I could always push him a little—”

“Elle,” a familiar male voice sounded from behind them. Adar. Had he heard his name from across the loud cafeteria?

Nix turned to face Elle’s picture-perfect older brother and began to choke on her own saliva.

Because standing beside Adar was Persius.

Nix’s Persius.

MATE.