regain control; I want to give in to the animalistic desires splitting me from the inside out.
Surprising exactly no one, the bond wins. “That’s all you miss?” I tease, startled by the huskiness of my voice. “I’m disappointed.”
Jesus take the wheel, who the frick is this person inhabiting my body?
Understanding sparks in his eyes. His face is positively wicked as he murmurs, “I miss the taste of you, Summer. I miss the sounds you made that night in the maze. I miss feeling your bare skin shiver beneath my touch.”
Bad—this is bad. We’re caught in each other’s orbit, unable to break free despite the consequences.
My stomach sinks. It’s only the first day of school and we’ve already broken enough clauses in Hellebore’s contract to have Valerian, Eclipsa, and Asher put to death.
“But the others—”
“Are willing to die for this,” Valerian finishes, his hands capturing mine.
“I can’t ask them to do that.”
“They’re not doing it just for us. Both Eclipsa and Asher are willing to die as a giant fuck you to Hellebore. Isn’t that right, Dragon Boy?”
My eyes go wide as Asher’s hulking form emerges from between two poplar trees. He grins. “Damn right. Screw that pretty boy and the flowering vine he rode in on.”
Asher’s grin pours an invisible bucket of water over my raging lust. Putting aside my reservations about making out with Valerian in front of Asher, I square to face the dragon shifter. “I don’t want any of you to die for me.”
“Don’t worry, beautiful,” Asher assures me, smiling with those big-ass dimples I’ve never really noticed before—although Mack surely has. “This goes well beyond you into seasonal court politics. Dying to court rivalries is a side-effect of being Faerie.”
“All the same, I’d rather no one dies.”
Asher surprises me by bending low at the waist into an elegant bow. “I will try my hardest, my future queen. Although your mate has a way of making that job incredibly hard sometimes.”
Valerian arches one raven-blue brow, turning my heart to instant goo. “Liar. Without me you would die of boredom. At least this way, if you die, you perish with a stupid smile on that impossibly square jaw.”
As if to punctuate Valerian’s point, Asher’s mouth curves into a giant puppy grin. I figure out a second later why when Mack breaks from the nearest copse of trees, Eclipsa on her heels. She’s wearing her first day of school outfit, which only took her two hours to choose last night—blush colored snakeskin booties and a black romper with ruffle shorts. An adorable tan fedora sits askew over two even cuter pigtail braids.
“Oh, goodie,” Eclipsa mutters, “we’re all here.”
Mack torpedoes into me, knocking the air from my lungs, and we fall onto the ground like idiots. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.” I hug her neck, squeezing harder as the Darken’s threats echo inside my skull. “What are you doing here?”
I can handle the punishment for being alone with Valerian, but the idea that everyone else could be punished as well is unacceptable.
“I heard you leave and realized you left your first day itinerary. I was rushing after you—in only a robe, I might add, you’re welcome—when I saw the forest literally kidnap you.”
“That’s actually an accurate description,” I mutter.
“Then she raced home and texted me,” Valerian adds, giving Mack a thankful nod.
Mack lifts to a sit, picking leaves and moss from her outfit. “What in Titania’s name were you doing up so early?”
The breakfast! Crap. “I was invited to this . . . shit.”
It was a trap. Of course it was. And I sprinted right into the pointed steel jaws like a dumb rabbit desperate for acceptance. I sit up and look around for the invitation, but of course it’s gone—along with my dignity.
“Assholes,” Eclipsa mutters. “You can’t trust anyone, Summer. Not until we know who is allied with Hellebore and the Darken.”
“I mean, I have a few educated guesses in that department. Cold. Wears Prada and the entrails of her victims. Favorite hobbies include torturing me and, oh . . . torturing me.”
“The Ice Witch,” Mack snaps, glaring at a large fir tree as if Inara is hiding just behind it.
The muscles in Valerian’s sharp jaw pop. “This does seem straight out of her playbook. But working with my grandfather?”
“Her two favorite things in this world are power and you,” Eclipsa says matter-of-factly, as if Valerian is a possession and not a living being. “If the Darken promised her you and access to your throne . . .”
“Like a