away. “Let’s get to Solomon’s office before someone ends up losing their head.”
Clenching my jaw tight, I follow after her, trying my hardest to keep a healthy distance. When we finally arrive at the headmaster’s office, he doesn’t look too pleased to see us. He doesn’t even allow us to walk in, stepping into the hallway instead.
“What do you want?” he asks, annoyed.
“I need siren’s tears to finish making the potion for Saxon.”
“I can’t look for it now. Come back tomorrow.”
“We can’t wait until tomorrow. Saxon is in agony.”
I take a deep breath, noticing immediately a different scent in the air. I’ll be damned. “He doesn’t want to look for it now because he’s not alone. We’ve interrupted his date.”
Solomon’s bushy eyebrows shoot to the heavens, giving him a comical look. Keeping my laughter bottled up is almost impossible, but I try. He’s already embarrassed. I don’t need to make him angrier on top of that.
“Please, Solomon. Can you just check to see if you have the ingredient?” Aurora pleads.
“Fine. Wait here.” He shuts the door in our faces, and then, I hear whispering. I don’t recognize the female voice.
“Who do you think is in there with him?” Aurora asks.
“I don’t have the faintest idea.”
Two minutes later, the headmaster opens the door again, only sticking his head out this time. “Sorry, lovebirds. I’m out of siren’s tears. I guess you’ll have to make a trip to the Nightshade Market.”
“Balls.” Aurora turns on her heels, striding away.
“So we go to the Nightshade Market. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that we’re both on the verge of doing something stupid. I almost blew your head off by accident.” She points at the damaged wall as we walk by it.
“There’s nothing for it. We need the ingredient. I say let’s make a trip out of it.”
“This is not a date, Saxon. As a matter of fact, I think you should stay behind.”
“Hell to the no. With the way the bond’s magic is increasing exponentially, I can’t stay away from you without going insane. I’m coming.”
“Coming where?” Lucca asks, appearing in the hallway out of thin air. It’s probably not true, but I was so distracted by Aurora that I didn’t notice his approach.
He’s not alone, Vivienne and Rikkon are with him.
“Shit, man. Where did you come from?” I say.
“I didn’t spring up on you. What’s going on here?” He alternates between looking at Aurora and me, suspicious.
“Nothing is going on,” Aurora grits out.
“Bullshit. There’s something strange happening between you. I can sense … Holy fucking shit! You’re bonded.”
“Shh! No one is supposed to know that,” Aurora retorts, glancing around to make sure no one is nearby.
“How did you guess?” I ask, surprised. Ronan would never share my secret with anyone, not even Lucca.
“I just felt it. When did this happen?”
He just felt it? Fuck. Then there’s no keeping a lid on this anymore. By tomorrow, the entire institute will know about Aurora and me.
“We don’t have time for this,” she interrupts. “We’re going to the Nightshade Market.”
“What’s the Nightshade Market? The name sounds familiar,” Rikkon chimes in.
“I’ve never heard of it before, but again, I’m recently awakened,” Lucca adds.
“It’s a market that caters to the magical community,” Aurora replies.
“Can I come too?” Rikkon asks eagerly. “I have this feeling that I’ve been there before. Maybe I got my memory spell there.”
“Really?” Vivienne arches her eyebrows. “Then we should all go.”
I can tell Aurora is not happy with this new development without even looking at her. Man, with the bond getting stronger, it’s like our minds are connected. But honestly, I don’t see the harm. “Sure, the more the merrier.”
Her irritation level rises up to the point it feels like she smacked me upside the head. She doesn’t offer a verbal retort, though. She growls like a feral cat before stomping away. I’m about to follow her when Lucca steps next to me. “Seriously, when did this happen?”
“About a month ago. We hooked up, I fed from her, and the next thing I knew, we were bonded.”
“But I saw you with another girl at Havoc on the night of my awakening party. Bonded males can’t—”
“I know!” I snap, then regret my outburst. “Sorry. This situation has me on edge. Nothing happened that night. I couldn’t do more than kiss the human before guilt and self-loathing kicked in. But I had to pretend because…” I pull my bangs back. “Well, I was trying to find a way to break the bond then and I