Blood Pledged (Arcane Arts Academy #3) - Elena Lawson Page 0,20
my power to do it, then so be it.
I shuddered at the rushing of it. The sheer force of the power contained within a thin barrier of flesh and bone. I channeled it where I needed it to go—into making that call. Into strengthening the signal of it and directing it through airwaves.
Before I couldn’t contain it anymore, I began to lift the dam again, sealing the pull of power off before it overwhelmed me.
There was a jolting second where I was taken swiftly from my own mind and planted firmly in the mind of Cal. I saw through his eyes a mind-bending torrent of moving green as he ran on all fours through the forest. It was incredible. Exhilarating.
Somewhere in my own mind, I was squealing in pure bliss at the sensation of flying.
The fuck?
The thought was not my own. It was Cal’s voice—in Cal’s head.
I was jolted out, jostled, and thrown into the mind of another beast. I looked through Adrian’s eyes as he sped over the earth just behind Cal, who had begun to slow.
“Adrian?” I tried, speaking both aloud and in my own mind, unsure of how the bond would work best.
His front paws dug into the earth and he skidded to a stop, sending waves of dirt flying toward where Cal was bounding back toward him. Harper?
“Yes, it’s me.”
The hell you doing in my head?
The better question is how are you getting in our heads? The distaste in his voice was clear.
“It’s a familiar bond thing,” I explained quickly, unsure how long I would be able to hold to the slippery connection before the call dropped. “I’ll explain later, but I need you both to listen.”
The urgency in my tone must’ve done the trick because I felt Adrian’s wolf stiffen and watched the green-eyed beast that was Cal let go of his snarl in favor of sitting calmly to listen.
“A girl was found dead today, on academy grounds.”
I told you I smelled something off this morning, Adrian thought through the three-way bond toward Cal.
“They don’t know what happened yet, but she was bitten by something and left to bleed out.”
Silence.
“I’ve fixed it so you aren’t suspects,” I told them. “If you’re approached by the Arcane Authorities or asked when I left you last night—” I paused, realizing a little belatedly that Elias was about to learn the truth and that I’d lied to both him and Granger. I sighed. “Tell them I left at three. And that you went straight to sleep after that, okay?”
Elias’s hands dropped from mine as though burned, and I winced, the connection faltering.
You left at two, Cal stated, cocking his head.
“And the girl was killed at two-thirty.”
Shit.
“Yeah. Shit just about sums it up.”
Thank you, Cal said. Come to us when—
But the connection broke off, like the snapping of a twig, and I jolted back fully into the present. Left staring at a face filled with disappointment.
“You lied,” he accused.
I swallowed hard and sat down. Weakened from holding the connection for so long.
“I did.”
“Why? One of them could be responsible for—”
“No,” I growled. I knew what everyone else would think. I expected it the moment Granger told me Lacey was bitten. But I knew with every fiber of my being that it wasn’t them. And I didn’t care if I had to lie to prove it to the people who wouldn’t otherwise believe.
I’d expected more from Elias, though.
“They wouldn’t have done this. They aren’t murderers, Elias.”
He looked like he wanted to say something more, but kept his mouth shut.
“Are you telling me you wouldn’t do the same for me?”
“I didn’t—”
“Then don’t look so surprised I would want to protect them.”
I didn’t know if it was the weakness gnawing at my bones, or the still airy feeling in my mind, but I hadn’t meant to snap at him.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, rising shakily. “I’m going to get back.”
I needed fresh air. Or maybe a warm shower. Something to bring me back to the here and now. My head felt funny after being inside two others.
“Fine,” Elias replied. “I’ll walk you back. The first time you connect like that can be jarring. It takes a lot out of you.”
You think?
“It’s broad daylight. I’ll be fine. Stay.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond. Needing more than wanting to get outside. The airspace of his cabin was suddenly stifling. He didn’t follow me out, and I was grateful, because no more than twenty yards from his cabin, my body started to rebel against me.