AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mhm, to the max. And believe me, she’s not done yet. Not if he’s staying sweet on you.”
My heart thumped a little faster, adrenaline teasing across my stomach, spreading through my arms, turning them shaky. “Oh dear. I didn’t mean to make enemies.”
Vesta clasped my hand again, squeezing it tight, her wide smile revealing perfectly straight teeth. “Relax, Cecilia. You’re friends with me now. If she touches you again,”—she raised her free hand in the air and the fingers crackled, breaking into flames— “I’ll barbecue her ass.”
I breathed deeply, Vesta’s words helping to calm me. “Thank you, that makes me feel safer. But please don’t barbecue anyone’s ass unless you really have to.” And I thought of Jax, protective, super strong. He was on my side too. My social circle was still tiny, but it was growing.
I split my Danish with Vesta. Once our coffees were done, I was delighted to find out she and I were actually going to the same class, despite her being one year above me. It was a compulsory module for all students, on best practices for academic essay writing, which she’d decided to re-take, explaining that first time round, her love of partying had caused her to miss most of the info.
We walked from the café and through the campus, arms linked, best friends already. Reaching the building where our class would be held, with a little time to spare, we sat on one of the grassy embankments nearby, chatting, her fascinating me with campus facts that weren’t in the university brochure.
A guy in a white shirt and blue tie was handing out leaflets to students as they went in and out of the building. He approached us. His sandy hair, thick stubble and strong build said he was most likely a shifter. Being polite, I accepted one. Vesta was polite too, in the way she declined.
He flashed a toothy smile and said, “Services nightly at our temple downtown, dear sisters. Come, find your salvation, through purity.”
He walked on, and I looked at the leaflet. It said:
The Temple of the Pure Breed invites YOU!
Brothers, sisters, come join us in celebration and salvation!
All are welcome, who would be pure!
Service - 7pm nightly
Presiding Guide - Overseer Clyde Blunton
New Lincoln Central Temple
New Lincoln
“That’s the only place in New Nebraska you’ll find all the breeds under one roof, with the same beliefs, socializing, getting along,” Vesta said.
“Really? That’s great then. Maybe I’ll go along one night.”
“Yeah, great. That’s what I thought. I even went to a service one time, and thought it was something special. Until I quickly realized they were all fanatics.”
“Damn, really?”
She nodded. “The worst. They’re all in one congregation, all equal members, but any interbreed marriages, and any kind of relations like that, are strictly forbidden. Breed impurity is sin, apparently.”
Sighing, she plucked the leaflet from my hand, crumpled it, and it erupted into flames in her grasp. “When hatred is your unifying force, you know things aren’t going to go well.”
I made a mental note, about the Temple of the Pure Breed.
I added them to the list of things to be wary of in New Nebraska.
Xander
They were all oblivious to my gaze.
The little human and her fiery friend, who were relaxing on the embankment, enjoying the cool grass and late summer breeze.
And the Fae, who was doing his own bit of sneaky peeking, from a third-floor window, across the quad. Not just any Fae, either. The swaggering prince, himself. What was his name again? Oswald? Orville? Something like that, suitably pompous. My memory failed me. Though Ididrecall he had a reputation for a number of powerful Fae abilities. Ones that I, grudgingly, admitted were best not to be tangled with, at least not without my coven’s support.
He was staring at the girl, drinking her in, as much as I was. Maybe more. He lookedstarvedfor her.
Did he also have a predatory compulsion towards her slight form?
