up pricking my finger on one of the sharp points. There were six of them, apparently one for every main race within our two worlds, past and current: Fae, Arvaytans, Shifters, Witches, Vampires, and Demons.
When demons were mentioned, I instantly pictured grotesque beings with leathery skin and horns, but apparently most of them were just descendants from demons and kept a human form like succubus, incubus, djinn, and more I really didn’t care to ever meet.
“Yeah, well, shove it. You might know more about your magic than me, but I could still kick your ass,” I said as I dabbed my finger against my jeans.
“You think so? Tonight, after your final test, let’s see just how true that statement is.” She smirked, and something told me I was going to regret agreeing, but I did anyway.
“You’re on.”
“I need to run to town. Do you need anything?” she asked as she stood back up.
I waved my book at her. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”
Her eyes rolled. “Get a life, nerd.”
Ignoring her, I waited until the door shut to begin reading again. It was a section on past fae with water affinities, and I was mentally taking note of several things I wanted to try that evening. Maybe even against Jordan.
The door opened just a few minutes later, and I let out a sigh. “You ready for your ass-whooping now instead?” I said before looking up to see who was walking through.
Ryland raised a brow at me. “Bestie problems?”
His use of “bestie” had me snort-laughing. “Not exactly. What are you doing here?”
His feet shuffled side-to-side before he finally grabbed one of the two chairs at the table and brought it over to sit in front of me. He was visibly sweating, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so nervous.
“Is everything okay? Did something happen to my parents?” He was still technically their assigned guardian, but they’d been so busy communicating with the higher-ups in the Otherworld, and he was so busy helping me train that Ryland hadn’t spent much time with them.
“Sorry. Yes, your parents are fine. So is everyone else for that matter,” he answered gruffly.
“Then, I’ll ask again. What are you doing here?” I wasn’t trying to be rude, but we weren’t exactly friends. Even though we had formed a sort of truce we never talked about, any communication we’d had over the last week was strictly related to my training.
Irritation flashed on his face, but he managed to rein it in quickly before answering. “I wanted to speak with you privately if you were willing.”
“About what?” I asked. I was definitely willing, because ever since the day he’d carried me to the falls, my body hummed whenever he was close. As much as I hated it, I also loved it, which made me hate it even more. My emotions were putting me through a vicious cycle I hoped would end sooner rather than later.
“Well, as awkward as it is, we need to speak about us and the bond.”
Taking a deep breath, I sighed. “It’s only awkward for you. I mean, does it bother me that you’ve shunned me and been a jerk a majority of the time? Of course. But I won’t let it stop me from moving forward and doing what needs to be done.”
He ignored me and began speaking again. “When we’re young, our parents tell us about what it means to find a Meraki, how special it is and how it should be cherished for life. As a boy, I laughed at that stuff. As a teen, I did my best to stay away from new women, afraid my life would be forever changed in the worst ways.
“After a couple decades? Well, you start to look for that special bond, and when I did, I found it. Not with you, but with another. Someone who stole my breath away the moment I saw her and changed my world for the better when I needed it most after losing my parents and everything I ever owned in a house fire. Her name was Sara, and I loved her more than anything in all the worlds.”
This was not at all going how I thought it would. I really wanted to interrupt him, but he seemed to be lost in his own story as he stared past me and out the window, so I let him continue.
“She was mine for only a few years, and then she was killed. I found her body, and it