“Go right ahead,” I growled out, sounds and sensations pressing down on me from all sides. I felt like my heart might beat right out of my chest, my eardrums might explode, my skull might crack in half. Pretty sure I didn't hear a damn word of that lecture. But I stayed awake.
Oh, and I managed to walk my bum out of that classroom before I passed out.
“I think we can get you out today,” I told Vex two days later, after most of the extra guards had left. I had no clue what the queen or the college knew about the break in, and no idea what to make of the sleep whisperers, of the Everess' presence on the mountain that day, of Ame's sudden appearance. But the last two days had been ridiculously … normal, if not for the bull-poop of Professor Tiukka's Spirits and Shadows class.
“Maybe I don't want out?” Vex whispered against my ear, cuddling me from behind in bed again. I loved having him there. He was like … my anchor to the world of the living, a barrier that kept me from the Otherside. Yes, like Jasinda did for me, but … in a different sort of way.
I liked him.
I seriously flubbing liked him.
“You can't stay here,” I whispered, even though I kind of wanted him to. I hadn't forgotten that the last time I'd slept with Air, I'd almost sent him to the Otherside in the middle of a nightmare. And despite Elijah's reassurance that he'd stop it from happening again, I wanted someone living here with me, someone that wasn't Jasinda. I was tired of burdening my handler with all my … idiosyncrasies.
“Why not?” Vex asked, sitting up and knocking the blankets down his bare chest. He put a tattooed hand on my arm and gave it a squeeze, the warmth from his body seeping into mine. “I'll see if I can't use my status with the guild to get some sort of permit to stay on campus. Reisender is a selfish god. He doesn't give his gift to many. Perhaps the Royal College needs a part-time teacher with my skills?”
My heart soared at that thought. At least, it did until Trubble laughed at me from the foot of the bed. He didn't really have a set spot to sleep. Basically, the little bum-hole did whatever he flubbing pleased.
“Highly unlikely. These snooty upper crust types aren't interested in anything different. They like things the way they like them.” The fox sat up and curled his nine tails around his tiny body, the runes on his head flickering slightly. “Now, when are we going to attempt this spell? Today is not a school day, if I recall my brother's schedule correctly.”
“Maybe Brynn doesn't want to try the damn spell?” Vex growled out, setting Trubble on edge. His fur spike up and he raised his back in an arch, like an angry cat, bronze eyes flashing with anger.
“What do you mean she doesn't want to try the spell? I need my brother back. Vaenn needs my brother back. Europia needs him back. He died for you, and you will resurrect him.”
“Brynn doesn't have to a gods-damned thing she doesn't want to do,” Vex snapped back, pulling me close as I sat up and rubbed at my face. Right. I'd almost forgotten—even the cute little fox was a bleeding prince.
“It's … fine,” I said, my mind straying to Talon once again.
Waiting out these last few days, it'd become painfully obvious to me.
I could not let the thief go. No flubbing way. It was literally killing me inside knowing he was suffering out there. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I had to try something.
“I do want to try the spell,” I continued, feeling Vex stiffen up beside me. I flicked a glance his way and found those gray eyes of his watching me. He'd been there for me when I needed him most, held me while I cried, brushed the hair off my forehead and chased away the nightmares. I wanted his approval, but I also knew that I needed Air back. Beyond that, Eli deserved another chance at life. And Dyre had sacrificed himself for me. Trubble was right in that the world needed him back.
Even if it meant losing everything for me, I had to try. I figured at the very least, if I did resurrect one of the guys, I'd get to keep trying until I succeeded with Air. Then, if I had to, I could run.
“Brynn,” Vexer started as I turned to him, putting a palm flat on his chest. His wings shifted in response to my touch as I curled my fingertips against his warmth. He had a sprinkling of chest hair, just enough to give him this rugged look but not enough to gross me out. Yeah, I had sort of a thing about body hair.
“If I succeed, I might have to run,” I started, licking my lower lip. “Would you—”
“I'd get you out of here,” he promised, before even hearing what I had to say. “Brynn, if you haven't noticed, I'm interested in you. I'm here for good.” He reached out with tattooed fingers and touched them beneath my chin, lifting my face up for a deep, sultry kiss that warmed me all the way to the bone. “I want you as my mate,” Vex added after a few moments of steamy tongue tangling.
“Your … mate?” I asked, feeling my throat get tight and dry.
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Trubble snarled from the end of the bed, biting my toe through the blankets and making me yelp. “If you're to breed, then breed quickly and get downstairs. I'll let everyone else know not to disturb you.”
“Screw you!” I blurted at him, and lost a feather for the effort. “You won't say a flubbing thing to anyone downstairs except that we're trying the spell today. Otherwise, keep your furry mouth shut.”
“I can keep it shut—clamped around your ankle. Just ask Dyre if you can see his scars and you'll see what I mean. Don't take too long.” With a lascivious little grin, the fox jumped off the bed, stretched and then trotted to the door. One of his tails lashed out and grabbed the handle, turning it and yanking it open before he left. He did the same thing on the other side, closing it behind him.
Well, flubbing dung beetles, I was impressed.
“He's one of the most powerful … people I've ever met,” Vex growled out through clenched teeth. I glanced back at him to see his face lined with worry. “Promise me, if he starts to go, you'll get rid of him the same way you did the shadows back at the Vibrant? If he slips away, we'll have one hell of a time trying to defend ourselves from him. He knocked out a dragon like it was nothing at all.”
“I …” I started, rubbing my hands down my face again.
My plate, well, it wasn't just full. It was pretty much heaped to the friggin' ceiling. Hell's bells, I felt like I had a whole buffet resting on top of it.
“I don't want to hurt him. Maybe there's some sort of, I don't know, binding spell we can try. Shadows aren't spirits, no, but they're pretty similar. They're not of this world. If I can bind ghosts to me left and right, why not a shadow?”
“You want to bind … that to you?” Vex asked with a slight smile and a shake of his head. He held up his hands, palms out and gave me this sizzling look that made my skin ripple with desire. “Never mind. Doesn't matter. Let's focus on the previous issue: mating.”
“You said mate, not mate-ing,” I choked out, realizing suddenly how intimate this moment was. The griffin with no shirt, brushing his wings against mine while I lay there in nothing but a silk nightie. It was a recipe for trouble. Or sex. Yeah, more like sex.
“What do you think the word mate implies?” he laughed, this low gruff sound that did all sorts of strange things to my insides. “Although I have to say, not sleeping with you recently has been more satisfying than anything I've ever experienced.”
I snorted and batted his hands away, shifting my wings so they weren't rubbing together quite so much.
“Don't talk like that, it's ridiculous.”
“Brynn,” Vex said, folding one of my bronze hands into his tanned ones. My people were naturally brown; his were white until they got enough sun. We still looked pretty together, our fingers all tangled up. “I know you love the prince, and that you're … interested in Elijah. That doesn't matter to me. I still want you as my mate.”