“Shall we leave? After today, you must be tired, and something tells me you’ll need every minute of sleep.”
“No, not yet. A little longer, if that’s okay with you? It’s not every day I’m able to enjoy being here.”
We spend however long it takes for elongated yawns to manifest before finally calling it a night. Our time spent challenging one another, going over what she missed from class, and enjoying each other’s company turned into a splendid night…and one I’m jotting down this very moment in the confines of my room.
MY SWEET
You never told me your brother’s name.
Seeing Kyra’s nickname pop up on my phone for the first time sends my aura turning and tickling about. If she is to name me ‘Sweet Buns,’ then she will become ‘My Sweet.’
Upon returning her to her room, I gifted her another secret, sharing that theBook of Bondswill be arriving in four moon’s time. Information she decided on repeating, if only in her mind. Which counts as a secret spoken but I can’t claimthatvictory yet. This, however, I can.
Kahlan, and texting counts as spilling a secret. I’ll inform you when I’m ready to issue my punishment.
Dots fade in and out beneath her name, typing and erasing her response before one word tells me what she thinks.
MY SWEET
Shit.
Chapter 29
Answers without questions
ALEX
It’s beenfour days since Kyra went missing for hours, and my mind went from simple questions, to images and plotted vengeance. Fear led the charge. My magic within grew monstrous, and I hunted through the Academy, leaving one sigil after another deep in search. But the one thing able to calm me was knowing someone would find a far worse fate for hurting her.
It wasn’t until a memory of the fay I once was reared its head, and I recalled a time when my internal devil let loose for me to find my resolve. Dismantled body parts laid waste at my feet while warm blood clung to my skin and lips until I became a layer of unrecognizable shame.
The vampiric nature of my order was a plague released onto this realm, devouring souls and beasts alike. Bones crushed beneath my strength whilst ciphering their magic through the punctures of my fangs. A nightmare of exponential proportions.
A tragedy I swore to never repeat, until the day Kyra vanished from Rebirth. She is more than a mere soul birthed in the realm of mortals. But since reclaiming her fay blood here, everyone outside this Academy has been aching to knock down the doors for aglimpse at the one who extinguished the torches during the Awakening.
Placed to a vote, it resulted in a split decision between the Elders. Half demanded the public to bear witness to the mortal. Wanting to see what makes her so unique, she was allowed to stay at the Academy.
Little word has gotten out about Kyra’s magic, which brought suspicion upon Rebirth. The other half of the Elders stood against their colleague’s decision, opposed on all fronts during our council’s meeting the morning after, bringing a final vote down to Ethan and myself.
Being the only two students on the council, our vote matters not, unless the Elders can’t make up their minds. Of course, Holland disagreed and raged, but he was out-voted. There was no surprise for Ethan showing up; what astonished me was his opposing decision for Kyra to be interviewed by the public.
He loathes Holland as much as one can loath anything and often contemplates removing his head at every possible chance. Arriving solely to piss him off was not unordinary. However, he never cared about anything long enough to decide.
Whatever reason he has for keeping Kyra hidden is enough cause for concern. And this alone begs the question of why he went missing with her that day and the morning after.
Trust isn’t the issue. Kyra has yet to give me a reason for such an offense. But questions still need answering, and our Elders grow weary of discovering students leaving the wards. I’m fronting this charge in finding suspects, not to reprimand, but to ensure more laws aren’t broken.
If our Queen gets wind of this, she will undoubtedly send a team. In doing so, discovering secrets I’m not ready for our realm to know. It will be more to worry about besides the public’s interest and other regions’ incredulity over her not being a problem. Specifically the glooms.
After searching around campus the day they vanished, I knowKyra returned to her room, low of magic, low of aura, and with a scent unlike her own. Mixed with Caspian, Ethan, and something I couldn’t pinpoint, it held me still. Every ounce of me wanted to demand answers, but her alluring eyes invaded me with a sense of trust. She was safe, alive, and breathing.
These feelings I since thought died a long time ago, resurfaced in the boardroom upon her first day here. Logic tried making a compelling argument for this reason, but every throb of her pulse made my fangs itch until I longed to taste the warmth of her savory blood. How every breath made her heart pause for a second’s fraction, left me in suspense and awaiting for its drum to restart.
But there is a downside–eternal bonds, Eros’s gift to us fays.
Once a name is written in theBook of Bondsthere is no escaping it, and soon, Kyra shall embark on this path, writing hers and awaiting the call. If by some reason the Gods deem me fit to form a romantic connection with Kyra and her eternal happens to arrive, Eros himself won’t be able to pull my hands away from that fay’s throat.
So, it’s best my distance remains along with this overwhelming pressure of claiming her as mine.
