Page 79

Except campus smells different today. I lift my nose and dig for what’s off. The cold, wet scent of lake water and brine is stronger than it should be this far inland. My wolf pushes at me to go find the source. I grin up at Ezra.

He hooks an arm around my waist and pulls me into a hot kiss. I don’t fight it. The marks on our necks say he’s mine. I’m done pretending I don’t want him. My mark tingles as my shameless wolf stretches out. I press closer when his thumb strokes my cheek. I pull back, and his face falls.

I’m already looking past him toward the entrance. “I’m going to see the Mer,” I say. “And oh, I need to see Eden. She needs to know about us.”

He furrows his brow. “Eden?”

I huff at him. “Yes, Eden. Skylar and Micah’s daughter.”

He blinks at me with no clue who I’m talking about. “Right. Eden.”

Ezra doesn’t pay attention to anyone but me. That used to drive me crazy, but now that we’re fully mated, I get it. His dragon is worse. I’m his entire world, and that would scare the hell out of me if I didn’t feel the same way about him.

I start for the entrance. He catches my wrist and hauls me back against him from behind. He runs hot through my shirt. I tip my chin up and sigh. “Ezra.”

“Aya.” He arches an eyebrow and waits for me to argue.

I sigh even heavier and twist around to kiss him properly, since that’s the fastest way out of his arms. He drops them with a satisfied rumble from his dragon. I swat his chest and turn back toward the Academy with my lips still buzzing.

Campus is dead quiet. On a normal day, the walkway would be packed with everyone cutting between the dorms and the main hall. The younger students should be chasing each other through the courtyard while the university crowd lugs stacks of books over to the library. No one is sitting on the bench outside the cafeteria where Angie’s girls do their homework after lunch. The splash of the fountain is the loudest thing around. My wolf paces. She doesn’t like it this empty any more than I do.

Ezra sees me frowning at the bench. “University’s closed while the Mer are here,” he tells me. “Headmistress Ebony shut everything down until Kade and Amir can figure out what to do with them. Just a precaution.”

“Oh.” I look around again. Without students crawling all over the place, campus feels huge.

He laces his fingers through mine and tugs me toward the main entrance. He holds the heavy wooden door open and follows close behind.

Inside, the connector hallway between the university wing and the original Academy opens up over our heads with high ceilings and arched windows full of sun. Portraits of Wintermoon’s leaders line the walls. King Amir and Queen Anora come first, then Kade and Leah, then Damon and Selene. The plaques underneath list the treaties they forged and the battles they won. I always slow down in here, even when the hall is empty.

Up ahead, Kade and Leah haven’t noticed us yet. Leah has her lip poked out. She stares up at Kade like she’s about to cry on command. Kade stands in uniform with her blonde hair pulled back. She doesn’t have eyes for anything but her wife. They aren’t usually this sweet with each other in public.

“Leah, don’t give me that pout,” Kade coaxes. “Come on, baby.”

Leah drops the act as soon as she spots us. She throws her arms around me and Ezra with a squeal that echoes down the hallway.

“Oh my goodness, look at you two!” She bounces on her toes and grabs my shoulders to see the mark on my neck before she spins around to inspect Ezra’s. “You completed the bond!”

Kade finally turns our way with a warm smile, but her brows stay pinched together. Now she has my attention. This isn’t the usual irritated Kade who’s ready to get on everyone’s ass about anything. I’ve known her my entire life. I can’t remember the last time she wore this face. Ezra studies her too.

“Another mated couple,” Kade says as she steps forward. “Congratulations.” She pulls Ezra into a hug that has him gaping at me over her shoulder. Leah is still hopping around us and planting kisses on my cheek. When Kade wraps me up next and presses her lips to my temple, my wolf whines. Up close she smells like grief, sour under the starch of her uniform. I know it from the families in the waiting room at Wintermoon Medical. I squeeze her tighter, but she still doesn’t say why.

“Is everything all right?” I ask when she pulls back.

Kade and Leah trade a glance and don’t answer. Whatever is going on with them isn’t small. Leah carries the same scent under all her excitement. They’re doing a terrible job of hiding it.

Leah waves her hand at me. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she squeaks. “Just a couple thing.”

Kade scratches the back of her head. “Yeah. Couple stuff.”

I side-eye them, then Ezra. He smells the lie same as I do. They won’t tell us anything, and if I push, they’ll only clam up harder.

“I thought you were supposed to be resting, Aya,” Kade says. There’s the subject change I was waiting for.

I roll my eyes. Apparently everyone in Wintermoon has been briefed on my medical status. News travels around here faster than a vampire running late for dinner.

I’m dying to dig, but I quit prying for now. “Where are the Mer?”

This time when Kade chuckles, it sounds real. “Fascinating, aren’t they? But they aren’t staying. They have to report back to their queen.”