“Uh, no.” My nose wrinkled. “Relationships aren’t a competition. There’s no first in anything. You have different connections and experiences with different people based on the bonds you create. You’re my friend, but you’re not my mate. Igor shouldn’t be bothered by that.”
Odette bit her lip. “I know, but… Igor’s worried I’m closer to you than him. He’s uncomfortable about the thought of our little girl gang. He wants to be my best friend.”
Disgust for Igor festered in my organs. “If Igor is jealous of me, or Kiara or Delmare or any of your friends, that’s a huge sign you need to be careful.”
“I just want to give him everything, because I feel if I don’t share my life with him, it’s my fault if we fight,” Odette objected. “If we have an argument, it must be because I’m not trying hard enough. I know he blames me for the disaster at the ballet, and I have to make up for that.”
“That’s bullshit, Odette.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe.”
“Please tell me you haven’t slept with him.” The thought of anyone banging Igor made me want to barf.
“Of course not.” Odette’s eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t want to sleep with anyone until I bond.”
“But you have already—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Em.” Odette sighed in frustration. “I know you believe Theo and I are mates, but I don’t. I don’t feel that connection between us, and I’m not convinced Theo does, either… no matter what he says. If we get together, it’ll ruin our friendship and everything we have.”
“You mean you and Theo haven’t talked about it at all since he confessed you were mated?” I asked in shock. Godsdammit, Theo! He was being too passive again.
She shook her head. “No. And I’m not putting our friendship at risk to explore a connection I don’t think is there. It’s not worth losing him.”
“And you think you have a connection with Igor.” My voice was flat.
Odette sighed. She twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger before she said, “It’s just…”
Her voice trailed off. Odette stared into the pool. Her eyes widened, and went glossy. Her form went utterly still, like a mare in the field. The water consumed her gaze… she stared downward into the sapphire waters, mouth dropping open.
She was scaring me. I forced my arm to move as I shook her shoulder. “Odette? Odette, what’s going on with you?”
She didn’t answer. I was really starting to worry. I tried yanking her away from the pool, but she remained rooted in place, watching the ripples underneath the sunlight.
I couldn’t move her, so I didn’t know what to do. I glanced behind me, looking in the hallway and hoping a teacher was walking by so they could help. As luck would have it, I saw Stefan, Alexei, Delmare, and Theo. They must be heading out to lunch. I got up from my seat and ran past the glass doors that opened into the courtyard. “Guys, I don’t know what’s wrong with Odette!”
Theo immediately sprang into action. He ran into the courtyard while the rest of us followed. He knelt by Odette’s side and placed a gentle hand on her arm, but she continued staring into the pool’s depths like they were bottomless. Theo waved a hand in front of Odette’s face, but it’s like she didn’t see it.
“What’s wrong with her?” Delmare asked.
“Maybe she’s broken,” Stefan suggested, and Delmare socked him in the gut.
“It’s not funny, guys,” I snapped. This was serious. Odette had fallen into some kind of trance, and we couldn’t break her out of it. Had the pool been bewitched? If so, why hadn’t I felt anything?
Theo looked down into the water, as if trying to see what she did. When it didn’t work, Theo took his hand and smacked the water, sending droplets splashing and causing a wave within the pool.
Odette jumped. She shook her head slowly, as if she was coming out of a fog. I gave a sigh of relief. She seemed okay, but I wasn’t sure what the hell had just happened.
Odette looked at Theo. She took his arm as he helped her to her feet. When her eyes set on me, Odette blurted out, “The alicorn stone is in Dolinska.”
Stefan and Delmare’s mouths dropped open at the same time, and Theo paled. I stuttered through my next sentence. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw it, in a vision,” she insisted. “I saw all of us together. We were walking through Dolinska…