Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,37

slide my arms around her waist and neck and lift.

I’d forgotten how light she is, how fragile.

My arms tighten, a growl bubbling up my throat.

“Need me to take over?”

I round on Asher, recognizing him a second before I take off his blocky head. The dragon shifter is smart enough to keep a few cautious feet between us. He’s seen what happens when I’m in this state, but he also knows when I’m this near to my mate, my primal side takes over.

“No one touches her,” I growl, taking the stairs three at a time.

“Prince—”

“I’ve got this under control.”

“You always do,” Asher mumbles, eyeing the crowd. “I can’t decide who poses the biggest threat currently. The Summer Queen, Inara, or Hellebore.”

“Let’s say a prayer to Titania that they don’t all band together,” Eclipsa snarls, whipping out a jeweled dagger with crescents carved into the blade.

The soft caress of her lunar magic taints the air, a deceptively exquisite energy that hides ancient power. Eclipsa is the most powerful lunar Fae in centuries—which is why, of course, my father keeps her chained to our court.

“Let them,” I growl, leaping over the Summer Queen’s silly little river. If only the cruel bitch gave as much attention to her daughter’s heart as she did this gaudy presentation. “I’ll gladly kill them all.”

Asher draws a sword that’s longer than my thigh. “That’s your plan?”

Summer groans, her pale eyelashes fluttering as her eyes try to open. Against my better judgment, I let my gaze roam her wounded body. Blood pools in one eye socket and smears her swollen lips, bruises mar her flesh, and she wheezes with every shallow breath.

Worry lances my heart, and I quickly bury the feeling beneath a thousand pounds of callous apathy. If my enemies saw how deep our bond really is, if they understood the extent of my feelings for her—they would use that weakness.

“Stop moving and relax,” I order, brushing my lips over the delicate curve of her small mortal ear. I force as much of my healing magic into her as she can take, letting the magic seep into her wounded, battered flesh.

We make it halfway across the courtyard before they strike. Inara and Hellebore cut off our path, the crowd hemming us in on all sides. I briefly survey the wall of students, toying with the idea of fighting through them, before deciding against it.

Killing a bunch of innocent Evermore—even if they are idiots—won’t help our cause.

So that leaves dealing with my sadistic fiancé and her even more psychopathic Spring ally. I casually glance over the duo. Inara’s eyes bulge with barely contained rage while Hellebore manages a look that screams homicidal and bored.

There is something majorly wrong with this dickhead, even for a Fae.

“This is going to be fun,” Eclipsa drawls, her magic weaving an undetectable shield around us.

“Yeah, the idea is growing on me,” Asher admits, “and not just because we don’t have a choice.” His smoky-green eyes—normally half-lidded with a sensuality females lose their minds for—glitter with the promise of fire. And he’s not even angry yet.

If the crowd knew what pissed off Asher was like they would back the fuck up.

Footsteps sound behind me, and I whip my gaze over my shoulder to see Summer’s best friend. Mack draws up to my left, barely reaching my bicep, her little mortal fists raised. “God, you guys need to find a hobby.”

“You should probably sit this one out,” I offer.

Normally I wouldn’t mind if a shadow was in danger—that’s their job—but my mate would mind if this mortal died.

Which means now I care too.

Another side-effect of the bond I’m learning to deal with.

Mack doesn’t take her eyes off Hellebore and Inara. “You should probably stop ordering me around, ILB.”

Asher beams proudly at me, the dope, and I shrug. “If you die and then Summer kills me, I’ll come find you in hell.”

“And here I was thinking we were already in hell,” the cocky mortal quips, followed by Asher’s rumbling laugh.

Inara slides a cool talon of brittle ice magic down my neck, forcing my eyes back where she wants them—on her. She’s been like that our entire life. Only when we were little, if I didn’t pay enough attention to her she might administer a flesh wound.

Now she will eviscerate me if I’m not careful.

I grace her with a warning glare. “I am not in the mood for your pathetic cries for attention, Inara.”

“What the hell are you doing?” she spits, the arteries in her long ivory neck