Page 50 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

I spun around and left, trying not to let his words affect me.

“Whoa, whoa.” He caught my arm and pulled me to a stop. “That was a compliment, Miss Azriel.”

My skin prickled where he touched me. It was so reminiscent of the prickling from when Seb or Jasper touched me that I couldn’t stop myself from scowling back at him. Really? In the orphanage, pickings were slim. I’d occasionally picked someone to have a crush on, but I was more attracted to fictional men than real ones. Now, not only were these pricks making my body respond in ways I didn’t know how to deal with, but there were three of them.

Three dangerous, powerful fae who were used to women falling at their feet.

“Let go of me.”

His grin widened and he released me. With a snort, I spun away.

I was still shaken by the back-to-back encounters when I reported myself to Atira for detention. My punishment for acting out was to clean out the cauldrons used by her upper-level students.

By the time I was done, it was past suppertime. I headed through the Academy, feeling exhausted all the way down to my bones. But I’d read through my books, so I swung by the library to pick up a few more. As I was searching for the books I wanted, I rounded a corner to find Red and Flora standing close together.

“I mean it,” Red was saying. “I just want to see you safe. Once you’re pregnant, we can drug him and put you in bed with him. He’ll think that you two had sex and you can assign him as the father of your child.”

Flora scoffed. “You really think he’d just accept that one night that he didn’t remember was enough to put a child in me? Admit it, Redmund. You’re not interested in keeping me safe. You’ve wanted to bed me for years.”

I gaped. So that’s what was happening? Red was in love with Flora, but Flora wanted Seb. Though there was some part of me that reacted to the knowledge that Seb wasn’t sleeping with Flora. It was almost … smug? Even the beautiful, powerful Flora was apparently not good enough for him.

“Do I think you’re beautiful? Yes. Do I want you away from the Academy? Also yes,” Red said pleadingly.

Flora scoffed again and spun toward me. I froze, but she didn’t respond to me standing right there. She started down the aisle, but Red lunged forward, grabbing her arm. With a growl, she spun around and slapped him soundly across the face. Red flinched back from her.

“Don’t you touch me,” she snarled.

“Flora, please, give it a thought.”

They couldn’t see me. Somehow, they couldn’t see me. How? Not that it mattered. If they knew I’d heard what they were just saying, they’d tear me to shreds, no question about it. Holding my breath, I eased backward. My footsteps were quiet, but as I turned around the corner, my knapsack got caught on a book and knocked it off the shelf.

“Wait,” Flora said. “Someone’s there.”

I started running, headed for the nearest door. Footsteps pounded behind me. Flora chased after me, but when I dodged down one of the aisles, she raced right behind me. My heart was in my throat, but I thanked whatever gods existed that this strange magic of mine was working.

Holding my breath, I walked slower, doing my best not to make a sound. I tried to feel out what was happening with my body. There was a similar thrumming feeling in my veins as there was during the trial. I had thought it was adrenaline, but maybe this was magic? Nobody had told me what magic was supposed to feel like.

I was almost to the passage exit when Red rounded the corner. He jolted and his eyes landed on me. I came to a stop, my jaw tightening. So much for invisibility! What was the point of this magic if it wasn’t something I could actually hold on to?

“Oh. I didn’t expect you,” Red said.

I had to fight back a wave of shock. What? He never deferred to me like this!

He fell back a step. “Sorry, Gareth. I was just with Flora and … we thought someone was spying on us.”

Gareth? I strode forward, instinctively trying to mimic his way of movement. As I stepped out of the aisle, I caught sight of Gareth’s face. My heart stopped, but then I saw the elaborate frame. Not only was I seeing Gareth’s face, but also the back of Red’s head. In a mirror.

I lifted one hand and pulled it through my hair. Gareth did, too.

Somehow, I had stolen Gareth’s face.

Chapter 23 - Azriel

“Have you seen anyone else around?” Red asked, glancing up and down the aisles.

Would Gareth answer him? I put a lazy smile on my face and faked a yawn. “Maybe. Maybe not. Not sure why you’d be so concerned about someone seeing you and Flora hanging around, anyway. It’s not like she’s spoken for.”

Red flushed and I expanded my grin. I sauntered past him, acting nonchalant. In the mirror, I saw him glaring at my back. But when I looked back at my face wearing Gareth’s skin, I saw that it wasn’t quite right. There was something strange around my eyes, something that almost flickered.