But I still have some control over just how much danger they’re in. I’m not letting them paint targets on their backs if I can help it.
“Should we hide our bond marks, then?” I say cautiously. “If people find out we sparked our match the same night Kenneth disappeared, there’ll be a lot of questions.”
Cole sighs raggedly and swipes his hand over his face. “I suppose there isn’t much choice left. For fuck’s sake.” He narrows his eyes at Salvatore. “That means you’ll need to keep your glim under wraps if there’sanyoneother than us around.”
Salvatore rolls his eyes. “I do know a few things about avoiding prosecution, Professor Raith.”
“And the rest of us…?” Byron’s mouth twists as if he’s not sure exactly what he’s trying to ask. I don’t like how off-balance my normally poised match looks.
Why wouldn’t he be off-balance? Just a week ago, he was worried he’d accidentally assaulted me. The last time we spoke, I acted like I hated him.
And a matching like this… If his family tree is like my original Byron’s, he’ll be the first Worth heir in generations not to be the core of his union.
Technically, I’m stealing him away from his family into mine. Not what he or his relatives would have anticipated—or wanted.
Cole lets out another huff of breath with authoritative firmness. “Before this mess gets any worse, we’ll hold off on waking up more of our glims. When we do, it’ll be following the proper procedures to make sure there are no destructive consequences.” He scowls at me as if I sparked with Salvatore while nearly drowning for kicks and giggles.
“We’ll need to start our own investigation,” Asher puts in. “Cole, you could access all Kenneth’s academy records, right? They might have some useful information.”
Yes, that seems safe enough. There’s nothing odd about a professor looking at student records.
My attention returns to Byron. He looks back at me warily.
There’s one obvious place he could ask around, but I’m not supposed to know it even exists. None of the other men do.
Fine. I can be subtle about my suggestion.
I manage a faint smile. “You and Kenneth ran in some ofthe same circles… extracurricularly, didn’t you? You could ask a few discreet questions, see who else comes around asking about him.”
He nods with a short jerk of his head. “Of course.”
“And I,” Salvatore begins, brandishing his switchblade, “will?—”
I clutch his arm. “You’ll wait until we’ve covered the basics. You said yourself how powerful this woman must be. We don’t want to do anything risky that could backfire on us or make her realize how much we know.”
“I’m not afraid of her.”
I tighten my squeeze. “I know. But I am. Can you be careful for me?”
It’s a cheap ploy, but it works. Salvatore’s expression softens as he looks down at me, sending a giddy stutter through my pulse.
He hugs me close. “Whatever you say, mia amata. But I’ll be ready when we find that bitch.”
Okay, loose cannon temporarily defused.
Thunder rumbles louder with a dimming of the moonlight. New clouds are rolling in above us.
I’ve diverted disaster for now, but I’ve got a long tightrope walk ahead of me. I have four lives I need to avoid ruining and a history of doing the opposite.
Cole swipes his hands together. “All right. We know where we stand and what our next steps are. Let’s tie up the loose ends here and get some sleep so we can go forward clear-headed.”
He picks up Kenneth’s knife and motions the rest of us back. With a heft of ephemera, he sends a torrent of river water over the boards. It washes the blood away.
Salvatore slings his arm over my shoulders. “I’ll see that our match gets safely home, and then I’ll come back and get rid of the wall I conjured in the river. You three can take off for now.”
His dismissiveness of the other men provokes a sharper pang through my heart. The situation is tense enough without me looking like I’m giving preference to one of my matches.
I seek out Byron’s gaze again. “You’d be heading the same way?—”
