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I just shook my head with an exhale, beyond trying to rationalize anymore, and settled back against him. “So what do the twins teach?” I continued scrolling through the pictures. Dining hall, lecture rooms, common areas, training grounds, a massive library that had me drooling.
“Quinn teaches history and ethics,” he said, the words tickling the fine hairs on my neck. “Bellamy is a combat instructor.”
Again, I straightened in surprise. “Wait, our Bellamy?” I blinked, trying to reconcile the image of my playful, charming bond with a praise kink against a stereotypical drill sergeant. “Teaches combat? Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?”
“Don’t let his demeanor around us fool you. Bellamy is one of the most skilled fighters the academy has ever seen.” Alaric’s expression sobered. “Athene trains warriors, Pixie. The fight against shade is not a passive one, especially in crowded urban areas.”
“Right.” I swallowed the sudden knot of anxiety in my throat. “Supernatural police. So why aren’t there more gryphon sightings, or whatever?”
He pulled me back to him. “We rarely shift outside academy grounds for exactly that reason. Being able to draw on the strength of our beasts is usually enough to settle a conflict.”
“But not always,” I muttered to myself, recalling the clash in the ravine and the sight of two magnificent gryphons. “What else will I be learning?”
Alaric pulled up a list of classes. “Hearts have a separate curriculum, but there are core classes that everyone is required to take. You’ll learn about your empathic gift and how to balance dynamics within the drift. We’ll also have time together to focus on developing our bonds.”
I sat quietly, absorbing this while part of my brain gnawed at the divine mission hanging over my head that we still didn’t understand. Something big was supposed to happen once I’d finished forging soul-bonds with my drift. Based on my limited experience with gryphon leadership, I could understand where the need for rebalancing might come into play. But were they the real enemy?
“When are the final bonds supposed to be formed?” I tried to keep the hope out of my voice, but I wanted all of this divine drama to be done.
He released a heavy breath, chest rolling against my back. “Every drift has to prove its effectiveness and cohesion through a series of trials. If they pass, they’re granted soul-bonds and assigned a station in the mortal realm.”
“Well. Damn.” That didn’t sound like a quick solution to me.
Ric pressed his forehead to my shoulder. “I’m sorry.” His voice was pained. “I’m so sorry for all of this, Pixie. I never wanted to upend your life, to throw you into a world you never asked to be part of.”
I turned in his lap to face him, straddling his thighs. “Stop. Maybe I didn’t ask to be some pawn in a divine game of Fate, but you—the others—you’ve given me the things I’ve wanted my whole life and never thought I’d get.” I took one of his hands and placed it over my heart. “Family. A home.”
He watched me with those hazel eyes, remorse giving way to something more vulnerable. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” I sifted my fingers through his soft hair. “It doesn’t matter if it's here or at the academy or somewhere completely new. As long as I have you guys, I have everything I need.”
He pulled me closer, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of my neck. “I love you, Cordelia Grace,” he murmured. “I have from the first moment I stumbled into your dreams.”
His kiss started soft, a gentle punctuation point on his declaration, but it quickly deepened into something more eager. His tongue teased the seam of my lips, seeking entry that I happily granted. His hand tightened in my hair, and I melted against him, drowning in his taste.
Until a loud meow shattered the moment.
We broke apart in giggles to find that Orion had jumped up onto the desk, tail swishing as he watched us with unblinking green eyes.
“We need to work on your timing,” Ric told him with a conspiratorial twist to his lips. Orion gave another chirpy meow, louder, before leaping onto our laps to insert himself between us. He kneaded at my thigh, purring like a motor as he settled in.
“I’ve missed you too, sweet boy.” I ran a hand over his silky-soft fur, grateful for the thousandth time that I hadn’t taken him back to the apartment. When I looked back up, Ric was watching us with a tenderness that made my heart squeeze. “He has to come with us,” I said. “I won’t leave him.”
“Of course.” He scratched Orion under his chin. “He’s part of the family.”
A throat cleared in the doorway, drawing our attention. Quinn stood there, dressed casually in dark jeans and a plain tee with a zip-up hoodie hanging over one shoulder. His tawny hair was pulled back in its typical manbun, and his amber eyes flicked from Alaric to me behind his glasses.
“Cordelia.” His deep rasp was carefully neutral. “Could I speak with you?”
My stomach tightened. Something had started to change between us. I didn’t dare to think that he was suddenly on board with everything, but at the hospital and this morning at breakfast, he gave me what I needed when the others wouldn’t. It was a tenuous truce at best, but one I’d gladly accept.
“Sure.” I squeezed Ric’s shoulder, assuring him that I was okay, and gently deposited Orion into his lap. Quinn’s gaze was unflinching as I approached, but a slight softening around his eyes made my heart skip. He turned with a nod to lead me through the door, and in that moment, I felt a fragile hope spark to life.
57
CORDELIA
Quinn didn’t speak again as we made our way through the kitchen to the terrace. There was a coiled tension in his shoulders, like he was already carrying the weight of whatever conversation we were about to have. More than that, I could feel it buzzing along our heartstring now that he’d stopped trying so hard to suppress our connection.
