Page 54 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

I crept to the edge of the couch to peer out. Freta twisted her hands, looking worried. Silas rubbed her back soothingly. It struck me how brotherly he acted with her. I had briefly considered whether he was into her romantically, but the more I’d seen of them interacting, the less romantic it seemed. A pang of jealousy hit my stomach.

Then immediately scolded myself for it. He was comforting her because she was worried for me!

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Silas told Freta.

“We should still try to find her before next class. If the golden boys decided to kidnap her, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

They left again, and I slunk out from beneath the couch. I was starting to feel frayed around the edges, and carefully released the skimmed form. It was easier to go back to my own body than it was to take the skimmed form.

That had been close. I needed to be more careful with my practice.

Another thought occurred to me while I was sitting there. A bound fae could only have one beast. So I needed to take Seb’s wolf form again for the second binding. I tried a few times to shift forms, but I only succeeded in shifting into the cat a few times, before I couldn’t do it, either.

So far, I’d only skimmed forms soon after direct contact, like when Seb touched my shoulder before the first trial. So I needed to skim Seb’s wolf again if I wanted to survive the second binding. And that meant I was going to need more direct contact with him.

Well. Lotmas may have accidently given me a leg up there. Seb was my peer-mentor. I could, conceivably, demand more lessons from him. Freta outright told me to do it.

I went to my dorm, since classes were over, and changed into fresh clothes. There, I briefly ran into Freta, who gave me my homework for the day. I thanked and reassured her before I headed out again, claiming hunger.

Evening fell quickly, turning to night. The bell for curfew rang, indicating it was bedtime, and the lights that had been guiding me flickered out. After a quick stop to the kitchens, I went looking for Seb. It was easy to find him. He was in Lotmas’s training pavilion with several lights dancing over his head.

He wore only his trousers, revealing a muscular form. His pale skin glistened with sweat, but there were also several bruises over his back and stomach. When he saw me, he turned, keeping the sword in his hand raised slightly, as though he half expected me to attack him.

“You look like shit,” he said, glancing over my face. “Savannah and Red gave you a good working over, didn’t they?”

How was I going to get close enough to touch? Several ideas flashed through my mind, all of which I immediately discarded. As I stared at the bruises on his abdomen, I shook my head slowly. He wasn’t impervious, either, it seemed. “Someone got you pretty good, too, huh?”

“Got me pretty good,” he repeated, then grabbed a second sword from the wall. “Get over here. You skipped training and Lotmas gave me a beating for it. Peer-mentor and all that,” he added with a sneer. “So it’s only fair I give back, right?”

A shiver of fear worked through me, but I made myself scoff as I strode forward and took the sword. It was awkward and heavy in my hand. “I skipped because your lackeys decided to beat me up.”

“Red and Savannah aren’t my lackeys.” He took a fighting stance, sword held at eye-level.

I tried to mimic him, but my arm already ached. I lowered the sword again and tested the edge. It was deadly sharp. “I suppose they’re Flora’s lackeys, then. And she’s the one that needs to keep them in line? She might be more inclined to do it if you’d sleep with her.”

Seb darted forward, striking me across the arm with the flat of his blade. “Flora is none of your concern.”

“She is when I’m getting beat up for no reason,” I snapped back, lifting the sword again. He struck a few times, sending vibrations through my arms as I awkwardly moved to defend myself.

“You’re getting beat up because you’re weak,” Seb responded, all his attention focused on me. His sword clashed against mine. If he wanted to, he would easily cut me to ribbons, but he was holding himself back.

I gritted my teeth and tried harder to land a blow without results.

“I would expect someone with a wolf beast would be stronger than this. You’re an embarrassment,” Seb taunted as he turned his sword, sliding it quickly around mine. I lost my grip and the sword clattered to the floor.

“I would expect that a half-fae wouldn’t even have a wolf form,” I snapped back, losing my patience. My body was on edge, wanting to do more than I was. I wanted to knock aside his sword and drive my fists directly into those smooth planes of muscle. I wanted to put my mark on his pale skin. “I think I’m doing pretty good, considering I didn’t even know I was—”

I cut off, cursing myself. He didn’t need to know that! I hadn’t even told my friends just how much information I lacked about the fae world. Sebastian’s dark eyes sparked with interest as he tilted his head. He tossed aside his sword and lifted his fists, jerking his chin at me. Glowering, I lifted my own hands, preparing myself.

His fist shot out and I jumped aside. I punched back, and he twisted so that my wrist brushed his side. A tingle flushed up my arm, that same spark I’d felt all those weeks ago making me gasp.

Sebastian spun around me, landing a couple blows on my side and back as I struggled to face him. Again, he was holding himself back. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it should have. I quickly regained my feet and faced him again.

“So, you didn’t know you were half-fae, huh? You thought that you were just a human who’d been brought to the Academy?” he taunted. “Must have thought you were pretty special.”

“Special? Sure. I thought I’d been specially chosen to have a nice brutal death. Didn’t realize brutal deaths weren’t special here.” I lunged for him.

As my hands wrapped around his shoulders, sparks tingled in my palms. Seb’s mouth opened slightly. A deep ache built somewhere inside of me. I’d felt this before, but never so powerfully. My fingers clenched against his shoulders reflexively. He tried to shake me off, and I only held tighter.