Chapter 33

Rhi

In the end,we come to a decision that no one is particularly happy with but no one openly hates, and we all bundle into Winnie's car; me sandwiched uncomfortably between Stone and Renzo. Being physically squeezed between the two of them is not even the most uncomfortable part, it's the way they glare at each other over my head.

Am I stupid for bringing Renzo along? Is there really any hope of us all getting along in one big happy family? Then again, do I have a choice? Fate seems determined and fate is one stubborn bitch.

"What's wrong with Pip?" Winnie asks as we start our journey. My pet is laid out across my lap, still unresponsive and still ill-looking.

"He got struck by magic when we were attacked in the forest," I tell Winnie, resting my hand on Pip's quivering body.

"Oh my goodness!" Winnie shrieks, spinning around in her seat and causing the rest of us to yelp, Azlan diving for the steering wheel.

"Eyes on the road," he says sternly.

"Ooops, sorry," Winnie says with some awkwardness. She focuses forward, peering at me in the rearview mirror. "It doesn't look like he has any obvious injuries."

"He doesn't," I say. "And we've both tried to heal him," I add, glancing towards Renzo. "But he's been like this since he got hit."

Stone scoffs. "You tried to heal him?"

"Yes," I scowl at him. "There's nothing obvious to fix. Just some lingering magic in his body that won't shift."

Stone shakes his head with his usual level of disappointment and gingerly lays his hand on Pip's stomach. "When was the last time this thing took a bath?"

"This ‘thing'," I snap, "smells a lot better than you do, Professor."

The professor sniffs his shoulder. "You may have a point. It's been a few days since I've had the pleasure of a bathroom." He leans and sniffs me too. "Seems you haven't either." I sniff myself and grimace. "Let's hope there's a bathroom at our destination."

He closes his eyes and pretty soon his brow furrows. I don't have to be a mind reader to know he's having about as much luck curing Pip as I did.

"What do you think?" Winnie asks him after a few minutes.

"No injuries but some residual magic that's making him sick."

"That's exactly what I said," I say, pushing his hand off Pip.

"Can you remove it?"

"Errr," the professor turns to stare out of the window, "no."

I sigh. Although, it's nice to be proved right for once when it comes to Stone, it would be far nicer to have Pip back to full health. I don't like seeing him like this and I miss his company.

As Winnie drives us, she fills me in on everything that has happened since the academy attack – Stone and Azlan butting in occasionally to add some details. I audibly gasp when she tells me what happened to Spencer at the academy and lean forward to rest my hand on her shoulder when she tells me about Rosa.

"I'm sorry, Winnie," I tell her later when we finally arrive at our destination. It's a deserted mansion in the heart of the prairie lands, somewhere Azlan was sent to apprehend unregistereds several years back. He's confident it's well hidden and almost certainly unoccupied. Still, he has Winnie park under the boughs of a willow tree and sets off on foot by himself to be sure. "This is all my fault."

Winnie shakes her head and takes my hands in hers. "Don't say that, Rhianna Blackwaters. It's not your fault at all. Did you attack the academy and the city? Did you place a wanted reward on our heads?"

"No, but if it wasn't for me, you would be at home with your family and your boyfriend–"

"Rhi, if it wasn't for you, yes, I'd be at home, cowering and afraid. But you give me hope."

I give her a quizzical look, unsure what she can mean by that, but before I can ask her, Azlan has returned and, leaving the car hidden under the willow, we walk on foot to the mansion.

It stands smack in the center of the land, prairie fields falling away all around it, and looks like the type of house a child would draw. Perfect rectangle, triangular roof with chimney pots, large door right in the middle, neat windows all around. However, it has the look of a house that hasn't been lived in for sometime. In the early morning light, I can see the windows are covered in grime, a creeper has grown out of control, curling right up into the roof tiles and the door hangs crooked.

"You take us to all the best places, Az," Stone mutters as we enter into the main hallway, coughing and spluttering because of all the dust spiraling in the air. It smells too, of damp and creatures.

"Renting a room at a five-star hotel in Los Magicos wasn't exactly an option," Azlan says. He swings open a door, behind which lies a dining room with a long table and many chairs, some toppled to the floor. "Let's sit down and formulate a better plan. We can't stay here forever."

I shake my head. I'm shattered, barely managing to stay upright, and swaying on my feet. "Not now," I say, yawning. "I've been awake for more than 24 hours and I need sleep."

Azlan looks like he might argue, but Winnie hooks her arm through mine and leads us towards the grand staircase, swirling her hand in the air to remove all the dust and the grime as we walk.

"Me too," she says. "I'm whacked. Let's all get some sleep. The plan we form will be a better one if we all have fully functioning brains."

We all peer at Renzo, who's fiddling with the ancient-looking light switch on the wall. "What?" he says, sensing us all staring at him.

"Nothing," I say with a smile.

If my mates were hoping they'd get to sleep with me, they're beaten to the punch by Winnie. She drags me up the stairs and into the nearest bedroom, one with a huge four-poster bed that could definitely fit me, Stone and Azlan on the mattress.

"I know you're probably biting at the bit to bang those boys," Winnie says, as we hover in the doorway. "But do you think just for tonight, we could be together?"

"Winnie," I say, hugging her. "I am not some nymphomaniac–"

"Debatable," she murmurs.

I elbow her. "I can go one night without …" I lift an eyebrow. "Besides, sometimes a bit of anticipation is a good thing, right?"

"Definitely," Winnie says, flopping herself down on the mattress.

"And anyway, I am way too tired for any banging." Which isn't quite true. I'd be more than happy for either of my mates to throw me down onto the nearest horizontal surface. But Winnie has already sacrificed an awful lot for me and has been by my side from the beginning. I owe her my time and attention.

I go to lay Pip out on the floor of the bedroom, but Winnie snatches him off me and settles him at the end of the bed.

"I thought you were a strict enforcer of the no pigs on the bed rule," I say to her.

"He's sick!" she protests, although I think she's missed him as much as she's missed me. Let's be honest. Probably more.

I head to the door to say goodnight to the others and find Azlan lurking in the doorway.

"You're sleeping in here?" he asks.

"Yes, with Winnie."

He looks mighty disappointed, and I almost feel sorry for him, my own resolve fading. His eyes travel over my face and he grabs my hand, pulls me out of the room and slams the door behind me. Then he pushes me up against the closed door and kisses me, his hands tangled in my hair, his mouth hungry and incessant. His kiss makes me even more unstable on my feet. In fact, my knees begin to buckle and my head swims. I don't know if I can be the good friend I want to be and keep my promise to Winnie.

However, the sound of footsteps on the stairs has him pulling away, my bond mighty unhappy about it.

"I'll sleep in the room next to yours and Phoenix will take the room on the other side. Any problems," he eyes Renzo as he comes to join us on the landing, "you yell for us. Even if it's just a feeling of unease. Okay?" I nod and he kisses me again, this time more briefly. "Go get some sleep." He opens the door behind me. "You can take one of the bedrooms down the hall," he tells Renzo.

"Nah, I'm going to sleep outside her door."

I roll my eyes, placing a hand on Azlan's arm because I can tell he's steaming again. "You can't sleep outside my door. It's a hard floor."

He shrugs. "Doesn't bother me."

"There are beds down the hall," Azlan says firmly.

"And I don't want to be down the hall," Renzo says, as firmly. "I need to be near little rabbit, in case something happens."

"Little rabbit?" Azlan says, his face distorting with disgust.

I sigh and decide to leave them to it, stepping back inside the bedroom and shutting the door behind me.

Winnie's lying on the bed next to Pip, her hand resting on his stomach.

"When are you going to tell Stone and the ma– Azlan?"

"Tell them what?" I ask, tugging off my jeans and my sweater. Winnie's conjured new covers for the bed and a smokeless fire in the fireplace. It's pretty toasty in the room.

"About Barone?"

I frown. "What do you mean?"

She beckons me over and I slide under the covers, Winnie coming to curl up beside me. "About him being one of your fated mates," she whispers.

I jolt and stare at her.

"Wh … I … how did you know?"

She taps the side of her head. "Not just a pretty face, you know."

"Well, duh, I've been telling you that for months. But seriously, Winnie, is it that obvious?"

Winnie adjusts the pillow under her head. "I always suspected there'd be a fifth fated mate. Five all together."

"Why?"

"Because of the fairy tale. The tale about Queen ?eelfl?d." I haven't been able to stop thinking about that tale as well. It seems so relevant, like it must mean something. "Five seems to be the most powerful number of mates. I think you were destined for that number, Rhi."

"That doesn't mean Renzo is my mate, Winnie," I point out, even though the sensation in my gut is undeniable.

"True." Winnie hesitates, clearly debating whether to plow on. "Renzo Barone is a psychopath–" I go to argue, but she raises her hand to silence me. "I'm sorry, Rhi, but he is." I shift on the bed. I was convinced he was too – utterly convinced. Now I wonder if he truly is. Or is that just wishful thinking on my part? "He doesn't care about anyone but himself. But he seems to have formed an attachment to you. I mean, he's sleeping outside your door."

"Still doesn't confirm anything, Winnie."

"I also don't think you'd let him tag along if he wasn't a fated mate. He did try to kill you." My best friend looks deep into my eyes. "So is he, Rhi?"

I flip onto my back and stare up at the canopy of the bed. Strange symbols have been carved into the wood and the drapes are embroidered with golden threads.

"Yes," I say. "Yes, he is." Winnie is quiet and her silence makes me anxious. I turn my head back towards her. "Winnie? This is fucked up. What am I going to do?"

"Have you, you know, sealed the bond yet?"

I shake my head, although I can't help my cheeks heating – something my eagle-eyed friend spots. She prods my cheek. "Can I assume you've come close?"

"Not that close." I cover my face with my hands. "Do you think I'm a deranged slut?"

Winnie giggles. "Not at all. He is kind of hot, in an unstable, totally insane kind of way."

"I'm beginning to find the instability and insanity sort of endearing," I confess.

"Hmmm," Winnie says. "Maybe Stone is right. Maybe you did bang your head."

"Winnie!" I cry. "Seriously, what am I going to do? Five mates? Most of whom hate each other. This is a disaster!"

Winnie shakes her head. "I don't think so." I give her a dubious look. "Okay, it isn't … ideal. But if fate chose Renzo Barone for your mate, fate has a reason."

"Maybe fate just has a thing for hot assholes," I mutter.

"Lucky you have similar tastes, then." I pinch her and she grabs my hand. "But, honestly, Rhi, I think he's your mate for a reason. I think they all are. I can't tell you what that reason is. I think it's something we have to figure out."

"I'm going to have to tell them, aren't I?"

"Uh huh, preferably before they kill each other," she says, peering towards the door behind which we can hear a kerfuffle. "Besides, Stone and Azlan already know about Tristan and Spencer."

"They do?" I say, my eyebrows leaping up my forehead. I swallow. "How did they take the news?"

Winnie shrugs and I groan.

"Okay," I say, resolutely, "I'll tell them. Only not tonight. Tonight, I need sleep." I bunch the cover up around my body and fall promptly asleep before Winnie has even extinguished the lights.

I wake with a jolt,bolt upright in the bed, my body caked in sweat and shaking, the world spinning and Winnie shaking my arm. A second later three men, in various states of undress, come crashing through the door.

"What's wrong?" Azlan says, arms raised and ready. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Winnie says, stroking damp hair back from my face. "Just a bad dream."

"A dream?" Stone says, his jaw tightening. "What kind of dream?"

I peer at Renzo, lingering by the door. "The same one as before. I'm running to save a beast. An injured beast. One I have to save. Only I wasn't running up the mountain this time. I was somewhere else. Somewhere dark and," I shiver, "sinister."

"A beast? What beast?" Winnie says.

"I don't know. I can't see it. I don't know what it is. I just know it's hurt, injured, and I have to save it." I stare round at Stone and Azlan. "I had the same dream last time I slept. And it's like … it's like my dreams used to be."

"A premonition," Stone whispers.

"Yes, but why has this dream come again? I healed the dragon. We watched her fly away."

"Maybe that wasn't the beast you were meant to heal," Winnie suggests.

"Then what beast am I meant to heal?"

"Spencer Moreau," Azlan says, and my eyes leap to meet his.

Spencer!