Page 15 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Silas shook his head with a wry smile. “I promise I’m not a stalker.”

“That sounds like something a stalker would say.”

Silas laughed. It was the first genuine laugh that wasn’t directed at someone’s pain I’d heard since I came here. Somehow, it made the tightness in my lungs loosen. “Fair! I’m unbound, too. That means I don’t have a beast,” he added.

“I’ve gathered that,” I answered dryly.

He shrugged. “I’m low-born, so I’m not a member of any court, but my family lives near Court Alegro’s land. We have all been employed at the palace in different roles, and so I’ve known Freta since childhood. Not close, but close enough to know about her family history. Close enough to know that she’s a good person and she’s being genuine with you. She hasn’t had the chance to have a lot of friendships.”

“So you’re her friend?” I asked directly, uncertain what he was dancing around.

“I wouldn’t presume to be friends with my family’s employer,” he corrected.

I studied him. Was this a matter of him wishing he was Freta’s friend? Or maybe more? Was he secretly in love with the pretty princess who was too high above his station? I couldn’t read this guy’s vibes. He seemed to be genuine in his concern, but I wasn’t sure where the concern was truly coming from.

Finally, I nodded. “Thank you for the reminder. I’ll have to apologize to her.”

Silas visibly relaxed. His smile grew brighter. “Good. Thank you, too. For listening. It can’t be easy, with … all of this,” he added, gesturing toward the Academy. “But we don’t have much of a choice, do we? To refuse to participate in the trials means execution or lifelong imprisonment.”

My stomach dropped.

“Ah … you didn’t know that, did you?” he asked, reading my expression correctly.

I shook my head.

“Which means you’ve also never heard of the passages in the Academy. Servant corridors, hidden routes, the likes of that.”

“Hidden routes?” I repeated, brightening despite myself. Hidden passages were always a favorite of mine.

Silas nodded. “I’ll make a map for you. There’s a lot of them, too many to tell you all about. The one that will be most useful is the staircase that connects the dorm rooms to the library. There’s a door behind the tapestry of a unicorn on the far wall when you come up the stairs. There’s a permanent portal halfway down, which cuts the time to the library in half. Most students know about it, though, so it’s not really that much of a secret.”

“Thank you,” I said again, cautiously.

He nodded, and we started walking again. When we entered the Academy, he led me to a mirror in a small alcove that he stepped through to an identical mirror on the third floor. Well. That would save a lot of time!

How did he know about this, though? And who else knew? It couldn’t be widely known, otherwise there would be a lineup outside of the mirror instead of so many students running down the stairs every day.

Freta wasn’t in our room, so I grabbed my clothes and went to the shared showers. After I cleaned myself and dressed in my last fresh uniform, I took the mirror back to the main floor and grabbed some food, then headed for the library.

If I was going to learn the truth about the fae, it would be in their own books.

I paused before I stepped through the mirror, staring into my own reflection. After seeing the beauty of the fae all day, my own ordinariness was even more of a stark contrast. How could they not see the truth of me? Were they just arrogant enough to assume no human could ever get here?

For that matter, was Silas actually helping me out? Or was this some sort of ploy? I couldn’t see the angle where this would help him at all, unless he was trying to get into Freta’s bed. Be nice to her new friend, get closer to her. But regardless of whatever motives he had, knowing more about the secrets of the Academy would only be helpful.

Especially for days like today, when my classes were so far from each other.

I made my way to the library using his instructions. I wasn’t sure if I was more pleased or annoyed when it turned out to be correct.

My mixed feelings about Silas were quickly forgotten. The library was the biggest I had ever seen. At the orphanage, we had a room that we jokingly called the library, but the books there were all instructional. The novels that I preferred had to be smuggled in on trips to town.

This room was the same size as the great hall. The high, vaulted ceilings were all made completely of glass, allowing the room to be bright even this late in the day. Blue bulbs of light danced through the massive shelves. Each one was at least three times as tall as I was, with a detailed list of contents written on a series of copper plates that hung on the side of the shelf.

I wandered through the stacks, idly looking at the titles. Just as I was starting to smile at the rows on rows on rows of wonderful books, the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I whirled just in time to avoid the pair of hands that grabbed at me.

I ducked, shoved, and backed away. It was Seb again, all the more threatening as the light of day faded away.

He was alone this time, at least. Or maybe that was a bad thing? I stared at him silently, waiting for him to make his move.