Page 21 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Chapter 10 - Azriel

After that, I went to the nurses and got a potion to help me sleep, and stopped staying awake all night. I got up early every day, sticking with Freta when we were out. We used the crowds to get to our meals and classes inconspicuously. Even though it usually meant we were super early to our various classes, we didn’t have any further encounters with the golden boys or their stooges.

Occasionally in class I’d sense Seb’s attention on me, but I never looked at him directly. Thankfully, Lotmas hadn’t pushed any sort of extracurricular lessons between us so far. I didn’t know what to expect out of this mentorship, but so far Seb seemed content with ignoring me, and I wasn’t going to seek him out for answers.

Silas joined Freta and I when he could between classes. I found his presence reassuring. He seemed to be genuinely concerned for Freta’s well-being, and no doubt if it came to a choice between the two of us, he’d choose her. At the moment, however, having him around meant an extra set of eyes to watch my back. Safety in numbers and all that. An added benefit was his knowledge of all the secret passages in the Academy.

“How do you know about all of this?” Freta asked one day when were sitting on the roof with the sandwiches we’d snagged from the great hall.

The day was cool and overcast, but the black tiles of the academy’s roof held on to the heat from previous days, giving us a pleasant warmth despite the chill.

Silas shrugged. “Both of my parents went through the Academy. My father’s bound form is a rat, and being so small he got into places that others couldn’t. My mother was naturally curious, and being low-ranked, sought out ways to avoid the high fae. They both told me about all the passages, and I was part of the groundskeeping crew last year, so I had lots of opportunities to explore without being tracked the same way as students are.”

“There are groundskeepers?” I asked, startled.

“Of course.” Here, Freta snorted. “Do you think the grounds stay manicured like this without care?”

I shrugged. “I just never saw anyone.”

“By design,” Silas answered.

It was time to head to Miss Wren’s class, so we quickly cleaned up and headed to the nearest passage. We emerged to find Miss Wren hadn’t arrived yet, but the golden boys had. Surprisingly, Flora, Savannah and Red were all missing. The three royal fae glanced at the three of us as we entered. Freta gave them a polite nod before taking her seat. Silas bowed. I ignored them.

Their heads bent together and they laughed. I sat stiffly in my chair, touching the knife I’d snagged from the great hall. The blade was thin and serrated, better for slicing cooked meat than defending myself, but it was better than nothing.

Fortunately, we weren’t alone in the classroom long. The other students filed in, and soon after Miss Wren joined us. She launched into her lecture immediately about the bloodlines of Court Manilow. I took meticulous notes, even though I wasn’t sure how this was going to help me survive the upcoming binding trials. I had only a month until the first ones were held.

“Miss Wren, might we learn more about shape-thieves?” interrupted Gareth.

Miss Wren stared at him, apparently startled that he would dare to interrupt her lesson. She closed her book and fixed him with a stern look. “Lord Gareth, please wait for me to call on you before speaking.”

He gave her a charming smile. “I’m just so eager to learn, miss. Shape-thieves. Where did they come from?”

A few of the other students shifted in their seats, shooting each other confused looks. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what he was talking about, until Freta muttered under her breath, “Everyone knows that.”

My frown deepened. If everyone knew it, why was Gareth asking about them? I glanced at him to find that he was watching the class, rather than Miss Wren. His gaze skirted over me, lingering briefly on Freta before he moved on.

What was he looking for?

Miss Wren folded her hands in front of herself, nodding once. “Very well. It is a dark piece of our history, but one that is necessary to learn. Shape-thieves are fae who cannot bind with their own beasts, and so steal the strength from others. They contain a magic of chaos, one that twists their minds into creatures of evil and violence.”

For the fae to call something ‘evil and violent,’ it had to be bad. I leaned forward, eager to learn more.

“For generations, our ancestors hunted the shape-thieves. Some were able to be contained. They had not devolved so far into the chaos that their magic could not be bound. Rites were used to bind them to a singular form, and they were allowed to exist in our society. Others were so far gone, the only option was execution. But even those who were bound were not allowed to create children of their own, for fear that the deformity would be inherited. But the efforts of the past have been fruitful. The last shape-thief was killed centuries ago.”

A girl with dirty-blonde hair that sat across the aisle from Freta lifted her hand.

Miss Wren looked annoyed. “Yes, Miss Penry?”

“What about the prophecy of the last shape-thief?” she asked. “My father told me that before the last execution, the shape-thief prophesized that though his descendants would be killed, one would live and that one would dissolve the courts?”

“Nonsense. No such prophecy exists,” Miss Wren said. “Now. If you are quite satisfied, we will get back to the lesson.”

After class, I invited Penry to walk with Freta, Silas and I. Her eyes widened and she stared at us with abject terror, but Freta smiled warmly at her. “I’ve seen you in the common room. My name is Freta.”

“Penry,” the girl muttered. She hesitantly fell in step with us. I thought she looked familiar, but there were so many students around that I couldn’t keep them straight in my head anymore. We took the normal stairs this time, with Silas looking suspicious.

I adjusted the weight of my knapsack. “What’s that prophecy you were talking about?”