“It’s fine. He must have felt guilty because a replacement arrived this morning.”
“It’s not fine, Glynda. When I see that asshole, I’ll…”
“You’ll what, witch?”
I turned to see the mage himself leaning against the door frame, with Maverick behind him, dusting snow off his broad shoulders.
“I’ll fry you for hurting my friend!” I blasted a mixture of fire and shadows at him, gratified to see his eyes widen in alarm before he deflected my attack.
“Raven!” Maverick’s panicked yell registered a second before his living room burst into a raging inferno.
“Oops?”
25
Raven
The cafeteria fell silent when I walked in with Zane and Kai flanking me like lethal, super-hot bodyguards. It had taken considerable effort to persuade my merman to join me for breakfast in the cafeteria, but since Maverick’s cabin was depressingly fire-damaged and our new accommodation lacked a functional kitchen, we had no choice.
Ignoring the hushed silence as everyone stared at us, I turned to Kai and whispered, “What do you normally eat?” I hadn’t considered my mate’s dietary preferences. Whereas I would happily eat literally anything, I wasn’t so sure about him.
He shifted uncomfortably, not enjoying being the center of attention. A harsh laugh broke the silence as a familiar witch sneered at me.
“Oh my goddess, has the freak mated yet more freaks?”
Zane rested his hand on my lower back while Kai looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
“At least I have mates, Demelza,” I called. “I don’t see anyone wanting to tie themselves to you for life.”
My incubus snorted. “She’s not even a good fuck.”
I glared at him before hissing, “You better not have touched her skanky ass!”
“Of course not, my sweet pet.” I tried not to groan out loud when he kissed me way more passionately than the public setting warranted. “Only repeating what all the wolves tell me.” He said this loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“That’s defamatory!” Demelza flushed bright red as several people snickered around her. “I’d shut up if I were you, Zane! Now that you’ve mated with an unstable whore like her, the Mage Council will probably have you arrested. Nobody wants a repeat of what your unhinged father did to those poor people.”
The room fell silent once again as everyone turned to see how Zane would react. He said nothing, but the tension down the bond between us told me Demelza’s not-so-subtle threat had hit home.
How did she know we were soul-bonded mates anyway?
“Probably from Alaric,”Zane said in my head.“Her family is in Tiberius Vane’s inner circle.”
Kenji blinked into view and hopped onto Demelza’s table. Before she could react, he used his tail to knock a glass of green juice all over her skirt. She shrieked in rage and cast a fire spell at him, but my wily kitsune vanished and the spell hit her friend instead.
The poor witch screamed as her hair turned into a blazing inferno.
“Demelza Thorn! My office now!” Miss Windborne swept across the room and extinguished the flames, but it was too late for Demelza’s friend. The poor witch sobbed as scorched clumps of hair fell to the floor, still smoldering.
I felt rather sorry for her, but then, she’d laughed at me too, so I smirked.
“It’s not my fault!” Demelza shrieked, but Miss Windborne took no notice.
“Your father will hear about this attack on another student, and it will be added to your permanent record, Miss Thorn. The school takes all reckless acts of magical endangermentveryseriously. It might be an accident, but imagine if you’d injured a human because of your woeful inability to control your magic!”
“But…”
“No buts, Miss Thorn. Now move!” Demelza threw me a look that promised she’d exact a horrible revenge later before stomping out of the cafeteria.
