Page 27 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

I opened my mouth to snark back at him, but stopped myself. All my attempts to get him to back off were backfiring, so I needed a different approach. “Okay. If I’m not very smart, you shouldn’t waste your time with me.”

“Even worthless little worms like you can be useful for something.”

I tensed. “And what exactly do you think I’d be useful for? As a punching bag? To distract you from your woes? Or maybe … maybe you want to intimidate me to make yourself feel better. You want to feel like you’re better than someone else. But the truth is, with your wrong form, you’re no better than anyone else. Not even an unbound like me.”

Jasper moved slowly now, wrapping a hand around my neck. It was a bluff. It had to be. My pulse beat hard against his fingers, giving away my fear even as I fought to keep it from my face. Heat throbbed where he touched me, stealing my breath.

Should I try to push him away? Or maybe I wanted to pull him closer?

It crossed my mind that it might catch him off guard to kiss him, but shoved it away quickly. Maybe it would take him off guard, or maybe he’d expect more than kissing, more than what I was willing to give. And right now, I wasn’t entirely certain where that line would be.

“I am better than you could ever hope to be,” he murmured. His fingers were light against my throat, but felt scorching hot. There was no fury in his voice, only a deeper cold that made my hair stand on end. “You keep your little theories to yourself. You have secrets, too, no? Secrets that are bound to get out. So we’ll make a deal. You close your mouth, and I won’t try to guess what those secrets are.”

I swallowed hard, fighting to hide the war waging in my body. “I’m not sure what sort of secrets you think I’m hiding.”

“You don’t want me to guess, so I won’t.”

Did he suspect that I was human? Had he figured it out? But if he had, wouldn’t he report me? No. No, he was just playing the fae game. It had to be. Fae politics were built on secrets and lies. He assumed everyone had secrets, and assumed mine were big enough to threaten me with. It just happened that he was right.

He released my neck and pulled me to my feet, then grabbed my knapsack. My legs were wobbly from the intensity of his closeness. The potion book I’d been reading was still stuck halfway out, and he snatched it.

“Hey,” I protested.

He read the title and snorted. “These won’t help you when you’re unbound. You’d be better off sneaking into the second-year potions class and stealing what they’ve made.”

With a smirk, he tossed the book back to me. I caught it, fumbling. Gritting my teeth, I shoved it back into my knapsack and scrambled for the tunnel.

“If I see you in here again, you won’t like what I’ll do to you,” he warned.

I dove into the tunnel and crawled through to the library. On the other side, I attempted to calm my body. It still tingled from the encounter, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel this way.

To distract myself, I mulled over what I’d learned. Jasper had a wrong beast. And yet, Gareth and Seb both seemed to be just as tight with him as they were with each other. Was there something else happening with them? An alliance to get through the Academy alive, maybe?

Maybe. I wouldn’t figure it out, though. I should focus on taking care of myself. It was what I was best at.

Chapter 13 - Azriel

I swiped some healing potions from the nurse’s office and drank them until finally all my injuries were fully healed. The potions left me feeling sick to my stomach, and I spent the rest of the day trying not to throw up. It was only that night, when I told Freta about it, that I realized with the magical trackers on us, the school would know I stole the potions.

“Theft isn’t against the rules,” Freta told me with a shrug.

“I noticed it wasn’t on the rule list, but I thought it was one of those ‘it doesn’t have to be said’ things.” I curled on my side, rubbing my sore stomach. My face felt flushed, and my body was tired with exhaustion.

Freta shook her head as she climbed into her own bed. “If it’s not on the list, it’s not against the rules.”

The lights went out and I stared into the darkness, uncomfortable with that revelation. There was a lot not on that list. I closed my eyes, trying not to think too much about it.

The next day, I pulled Silas into one of the secret passages and asked him to give me a thorough tour of all the secrets he knew about the Academy. I didn’t want to run into another situation like the previous night. A strange look crossed his face, and I took a deep breath.

“I can help you get things you want. I’ll steal potions to help you stockpile them,” I offered. “I could do your homework or—"

Silas shook his head. “No, that’s not … I only want to be your friend, Z. I’m only hesitant because not all of the Academy’s secrets are safe.”

“Do you know about the Vespa trophy space behind the dragon statue in the library?” I asked.

“Yeah. And that’s one place you should never go.”

“I found that out yesterday when I stumbled onto it and Jasper found me,” I answered dryly. “The dangerous secrets are the ones I need to know most, so I can avoid such situations in the future.”