34. Tez

34

Tez

I left the library just after dawn.

Over the course of the long night spent there, I'd squirreled away three references that would continue to help me once I'd blown this place. They weighed heavily in my pack as I stood on the beach in front of the fucking academy and watched the sun rise above the distant mountains.

It was early, so early that few students were out and about. I should have been long gone by now. The academy would soon be nothing but a distant and mildly interesting memory.

Yet here I was, dragging my heels. Even Nemi seemed reluctant to leave. She kept hovering in front of me, hampering my progress.

Or maybe it wasn't Nemi at all. If I believed Cara, my grandmother glared out at me from those beady little eyes.

Was she hoping to stop me from leaving? What purpose would it serve? If I warned Bree of what was to come, it wouldn't only destroy my hopes of being influential in Victor's circle.

It would result in me being dead.

I couldn't believe my grandmother would have wanted that. So maybe Nemi was just a hummingbird, reluctant to leave the nectar sources provided by the meadow wildflowers.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye—and froze. Bree was walking out of the forest. And she wasn't alone. She was with Frankenbrawn.

Who, from what I'd heard, had been exiled from his people for screwing the wrong woman. He wasn't good enough for her. Not that my opinion mattered.

She still carried the sword strapped to her back. And they walked in each other's shadows, so close they touched with every stride.

Something had clearly changed between them, and I had a pretty good idea as to what. My heart twisted, and I suddenly had a hard time breathing.

My automatic response annoyed me. I'd sensed what lay between them. Why did it bother me that they'd finally got down and dirty? And what did it matter, considering what was to come?

Yet, dammit, it did. And then I realized why I hadn't already left. It had nothing to do with the fucking library.

It was because what happened to Bree mattered.

I didn't need my grandmother, alive and standing next to me, to tell me I was in deep trouble. Slade had everything set up for tonight.

I could warn Bree.

Follow your heart, my son.

The words made no sense. My heart would just get me killed. There was only one way through this, and I was taking it.

If I warned Bree, Slade would not stop until I was dead. I had zero doubts about that. Betrayal would not be tolerated. I would be lucky to die by knife. Dying by Victor's fire would be far more likely.

Riggs and Bree walked out across the meadow, heading for the building, and breakfast. Then she turned and saw me.

My heart flipped right over. It took everything I had to rip my gaze from hers—to turn and walk away.

The damned hummingbird hovered right in my face. Squeaking at me.

"She will never be mine," I hissed at her. "She belongs to another."

Nemi didn't budge. As I batted her away, my eyes were drawn to movement out on the water.

A sleek, scaled head rose from the depths. Triangular in shape, its long muzzle lined with sharp teeth connected to a graceful, curved neck. The dawn's golden rays outlined every contour, and my breath caught.

I was staring at the fucking Loch Ness Monster.

It reminded me that the lines between myth and reality blurred in my new life. And that Riggs carried a sword touched by destiny.

The books in the library here had only backed up the fascinated readings of my adolescent self—that fucking sword apparently only appeared when calamitous things were about to happen.

Fate had its teeth firmly embedded in Riggs, and now that they were linked, Bree, too. I'd felt it in the sword's energy when we'd practiced together.

But tonight, Slade would come. And I had no doubt that Riggs would die protecting her.

I didn't know why that also twisted my gut in a knot, but it did.

Since when did I start giving a damn?

I really needed to leave. Events were in motion. I had played my part in it. There was nothing more I could do.

It was time to go.

Riggs and Bree passed through the front entrance of the building. I raised my hand, and Nemi reluctantly flitted to it. She scolded me and repeatedly pecked my cheek as I tucked her beneath my hood and headed for the gate.

The same Bellati as before watched me come. As I had the crystal, I didn't need him to pass through. But if I didn't want to raise suspicion, I had to play this right.

He quirked a brow at me. "You aren't shopping at this hour. Won't be much open."

I met his gaze head on. "I'm meeting my brother at the market. My family has agreed to take me back."

The Bellati's eyes bored right into me. "Have you notified the headmaster?"

I shook my head. "I wanted to talk to my brother first. In case I need to come back here instead."

The Bellati seemed to weigh my words. Could he sense the deceit in them? Likely, but any situation regarding family would be rife with emotion. And I wasn't a prisoner here. They couldn't keep me if I wished to go.

Finally, he nodded. "Very well. I will notify the headmaster if you do not return within the hour."

That was perfect. The fucking portal crackled, and I stepped through to Richin.

I let it swirl shut and then approached the gatekeeper. I had one last trip, to get back to Slade and Victor.

Nemi had fallen still against my neck. Did I imagine that she radiated disapproval? I couldn't shake the ridiculous impression that where I belonged was behind me, and not ahead of me in stinking swampland.

The memory of the sword taunted me. The way I'd pulled it free from the scabbard, and lifted it as though I knew what I was doing. Of how the energy had coursed through me. Connected me to Riggs and Bree, as if I belonged .

But as I gave the gatekeeper the destination, I pushed the thoughts aside. I did not belong with them. And that sword most definitely did not belong with me.

That particular weapon had a history of carrying out Fate's twisted plans. That it had done so across the realms, and not just in the human one, had been a surprise. The books had stated it was old, far older than Earth's legends.

It had plans for both Bree and Riggs.

And who was I to interfere with any future involving Excalibur…