Page 13 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Adrenaline started to pulse through my body as I walked over to where he waited. Seb’s smug expression grew even smugger. Was he going to get permission to beat me up? Was I going to be forced to grovel at his feet?

“I will not tolerate disruptions to my class,” Lotmas said, folding his arms. “I pride myself on understanding the stress that students are under, especially first-years such as yourselves. But on Academy grounds, titles will only get you so far.”

Seb’s smile slipped. “Sir?”

Lotmas waved a hand. “How you deal with hierarchy on your own time is your own business. I don’t care. When it starts to impact my class, I have issues with it. You must know, Sebastienne, that I was low-born, too.”

“Yes, sir,” Seb answered, eyes flashing. His hands curled into fists.

“Then you know that even an unbound low-born”—Lotmas waved his hand dismissively toward me—“can become a powerful fae. We have enough trouble with the population without impacting a student’s ability to connect with their beast form.”

I couldn’t tell if he was insulting me or standing up for me. My feet itched to take me away, and the rest of me longed for a cool bath and a warm bed. My headache from before was getting worse from all the exertion, and I wasn’t sure why I was still here. If Lotmas only wanted to tell Seb to be less disruptive, he didn’t need me around as a witness.

“I understand, sir,” Seb said stiffly.

Lotmas peered at him, then nodded. A slow smirk crossed his face. “Good. And to make sure the lesson sticks, you will be Miss Azriel’s peer mentor in my class.”

My head jerked up. “What?”

At the same time, Seb reeled back as though he’d been punched. “What?”

“You will be Miss Azriel’s peer mentor. She has potential when it comes to physical combat, even if she does not yet have a beat form,” Lotmas said. He glanced me up and down as though appraising a horse for sale. It made my skin crawl. “From now on, her attendance and performance will directly impact your grades in my class.”

“Sir!” Seb protested, drawing himself up. “I am the heir of Court Laurel—”

“Then you should be more than up to the challenge. As I said, I will not tolerate disruptions to my class, Lord Seb. Your collaboration with Miss Azriel on this matter will help this mutual hostility between you, with the added benefit of no more hallucinations.” He added the last bit with a derisive snort. “And it will also give you something to do, considering how bored you were today.”

Seb shook his head. “Sir, please reconsider. This girl is nothing. Nobody even heard of her before she was brought to the Academy—”

“And yet, she was deemed strong enough to attend,” Lotmas interrupted. “I have made my decision, Lord Seb. Deal with it.”

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away. A ball of dread dropped to the pit of my stomach as I scrambled for my knapsack, still where I left it. I kept my body turned slightly toward Seb, worried he was going to attack me. I’d almost made it to the pavilion exit before he whirled.

“Stop right there,” he thundered.

I hesitated. If I ran, would he chase me down? I wasn’t sure if having witnesses around would be useful or not. I eyed him warily as he stalked toward me, his black eyes even darker against his pale skin. He stopped a few feet from me, looking at me with pure disgust.

“I am going to make your life miserable,” he seethed at me. “Paired with someone so weak…”

I didn’t wait to see what else he had to say, instead darting out the door and away from the growing fury in his eyes.

Chapter 7 - Azriel

Freta waited for me outside of the pavilion. I grabbed her arm and tugged her toward a small shelter of trees. We had no more classes for the day, but I had to get answers now.

“What are the binding trials?” I asked in a low voice.

Freta winced and looked away. “Z—”

“I know you don’t want to talk about them or think about them, but I have no idea what they are. Nobody ever taught me about any binding trials, and now people keep talking about dying in them. I want to know what is waiting for me,” I said firmly. My heart started to race, despite finally being away from Seb’s dangerous glare.

“You really don’t know?” Freta asked, looking up at me. Her eyes were clouded with worry.

I shook my head. It felt risky, revealing so much to her. Sure, she was my friend, but this only was more proof that I wasn’t who the academy thought I was. “My mother never told me. I guess she thought it wasn’t necessary, because she didn’t think I’d ever be recruited to the Academy.”

No need to mention I’d never met my mother, so how could she tell me anything?

Freta wrapped her arms around herself. With the light filtering through her frizzy curls, she looked suddenly like a fallen angel awaiting her judgment. “You’re right. You deserve to know. The trials are a series of tests that we’ll be put through. It takes a different form every time, but all the students of a certain year are put into a specially curated area, where we undergo … duress.”