Rourke turned to the guy and stared, his eyes glittering with a ferocity that almost made me gasp. I was certainly glad he wasn’t looking at me like that.
“Griff, is it? From Wales?” Rourke said quietly. “Their time will come. You need to focus on your own training. Be appreciative of this opportunity.”
“Well, we should at least get some kind of weapon,” said Griff. “What good are we going to do just wandering around with some binoculars?”
“No weapons yet,” Rourke said firmly. “This is your first night here. You aren’t ready. If you see anything out of the ordinary, you’ll sound the alarm, and the instructors or guards will take care of the issue.”
Griff snorted, and I frowned. I knew I should keep my mouth shut. Rourke was more than a little intimidating, but I also had questions that he needed to answer.
“So, all we’re doing is standing around keeping watch with these?” I lifted the binoculars. They were black and heavy and clearly from the human realm. It seemed the fae stole more than just babies.
His glittering eyes turned my way. “Yes, Norah. That’s why it’s called Watch Duty.”
My cheeks flamed. I was glad I wasn’t an Autumn Court fae. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with this guy by my side, his eerie unnerving way of speaking, those golden eyes that I swore felt as though could see past my skin and into my soul.
Not that I could imagine spending the rest of my life with any of them. I mean, we’d just met. Yeah, they were all insanely gorgeous in their otherworldly way they had, and I had a feeling they looked amazing with their shirts off, too. But it was just too bizarre, imagining that one of them would end up my lifelong mate.
And that I would somehow end up thrilled about it.
Of course, it was hard to believe that any of this was real.
“So, what are we watching out for anyway?” another one of the changelings asked, a girl with dark wavy hair that curled around her pixie face. “Are there actually things out there we need to be worried about?”
Rourke’s lips curled into a devious smile. “Oh yes. Why do you think it’s a requirement for all changelings to be trained once they return to Otherworld? You’re in the land of the fae now, and not all creatures of this realm are like us.”
He waved at himself, and his words sent a chill down my spine. I couldn’t help but think of the wolf monsters who had killed Bree. Was he talking about those? Or were there more things out there? Things that were even worse?
I swallowed hard.
As if reading my mind, he flicked his eyes my way and nodded. “There are many types of dangerous creatures in Otherworld, Norah. You’ll begin to learn more about them tomorrow when classes begin. For now, all you need to do is keep an eye out for anything with fangs and fur. If you spot one, sound the alarm.”
At first, my palms were almost too sweaty for me to keep my grip on the binoculars, but after two uneventful hours where there was nothing but buzzing crickets and endless dark, glittering skies, I began to relax.
Rourke had given each of us a small squat watch tower in the corners of the Academy grounds, so I didn’t even have anyone to keep me company for the six hours that darkness would permeate the skies. Once Watch Duty was over, we’d have just enough time to go back inside for an hour’s nap and a shower before classes began for the day.
A privilege, my ass.
A soft cool breeze whispered across the back of my neck, and my body stiffened instinctively. Not because of anything I saw or heard but because I felt something nearby me. Something dark and dangerous and cold.
“Norah,” came a shiver of ice from behind me. “All quiet on the northwestern side?”
It was just Rourke, though that knowledge did little to calm my nerves. My pulse began to throb in my veins, bouncing dangerously quick in my neck.
I lowered my binoculars to the stone ledge before me, but I didn’t turn to face him.
“Yep, no sign of murderous wolves,” I said after swallowing hard. “That’s what I’m looking for, right? More of those wolves that killed Bree?”
A part of me desperately hoped he’d say no. I wasn’t sure I was ready to see another wolf beast so