by five fae, and every single one of them was pointing a sword our way.
One of the swords belonged to Kael. I stiffened when I saw him. His cruel eyes, his thin curving lips. It was the first time I’d laid eyes on him since the night he’d abandoned me on the cliff to face the Redcap alone, and anger still very much burned in my veins. This fae before me, who had thrown me at the feet the very thing that had killed my friend, without any help from him…he was probably my mate. Instead of Liam.
I almost hoped he charged with his sword. That way, I’d have an excuse to fight him for all I was worth.
When he flicked his eyes across my face and then to Liam, he frowned and lowered his weapon, motioning for the others to do the same. They were all wearing leather armor and bracers made from steel. I’d seen some of them during Watch Duty, standing guard for the Academy.
“Liam, where the hell have you been? And why do you have Norah with you?” His voice was cold and edged in steel.
The muscles in Liam’s back tightened. “She has the weekend off, no? I was just showing her around Otherworld.”
Kael’s glittering dark eyes narrowed. “Her roommate reported her missing. We thought she’d been taken. Or worse.”
Whoops. I hadn’t even thought about what Sophia might do when she found me missing. I’d been too swept away in the excitement of a quest.
And the idea of spending time with Liam.
“It’s not like you to overreact, Kael,” Liam said with a chuckle. “Students explore Otherworld all the time on the weekends. There was no reason to jump to conclusions.”
“I wasn’t jumping to conclusions.” Kael frowned and glanced at the four guards who were watching the exchange with expressions ranging from irritation to anger to distrust. Kael raised his arm and waved at the looming Academy behind him. “Return to your posts.”
As the four guards began to disperse, each heading toward a different watch tower, Liam dismounted the horse and held out a hand to help me do the same. This time, I only stumbled a little, though I did almost twist my ankle. I was improving?
“What’s with the armed guards?” Liam asked, gesturing to the retreating fae. “Night doesn’t fall for another few hours. We don’t need to worry about creatures just yet.”
“While you two were having your little joy ride, the Academy has been undergoing a series of attacks from the Redcaps,” Kael said, his voice as icy as his eyes. “Last night, the student on Watch Duty in the northwestern tower was attacked and killed.”
Horror pounded through me. I glanced from Kael to Liam, whose face reflected the same revulsion I felt. A strange buzzing filled my head. A student was dead. A changeling keeping watch in the northwestern tower. I swallowed hard.
“But that’s Norah’s tower,” Liam said, fists clenching. “That’s where she usually stands watch. She’s spent five out of seven nights there since she came to Otherworld.”
Kael gave a curt nod. “So, you can see that I wasn’t jumping to conclusions, Liam. This cannot be a coincidence, especially after what happened in Manhattan. The Redcaps appear to want Norah dead. It’s not safe for her to leave the Academy.”
Chapter Fifteen
My life at the Academy went from strange-yet-intriguing to just plain terrible after that. Finn, Liam, Rourke, and Kael seemed convinced that my life was in danger at every turn, and I was forbidden from stepping outside of the Academy walls. That included restricting me from participating in Watch Duty, something they all thought would please me.
But I’d kind of enjoyed the task, as strange as it sounded. It was doing something, even if it was nothing more than just keeping out an eye for danger. It had been time outside, under the stars. Now, I could longer breathe in the fresh air of summer and smell the wildflowers that dotted the campus grounds.
Instead, Kael had taken it upon himself to add some in-depth one-on-one training to my curricula, which meant I was supposed to spend an extra four hours a day doing coursework. With him. In the library. He seemed to think it was the only way to keep me alive.
Not that he cared if I lived or died. Clearly.
When I showed up for my first extra lesson with him, I glared at him for awhile before plopping into the chair across the table from him. I waited, wondering if he’d