14. NINE

NINE

Damien

“Stop,”Rowansnarledat me, and I growled back.

“We know you didn’t mean to hurt her,” Kian murmured.

“But I still did.” I forced my hands through my hair as I paced back and forth.

All of her other mates sat beside her as she lay prone in the bed sleeping.

The darkness of her veins in that arm was terrifying, and I wanted nothing more than to rip it all out.

But the only color that seeped out of her when I cut into her arm was red. The dark magic had fused with her, and we had no idea the effect it would have when she woke up.

Kian had to be wrong. There had to be another way to kill that son of a bitch. I would try everything possible. Maybe we had to do something dramatic to the goo. We could set it alight with drake fire. Wait, no Rowan tried that, and it didn’t work. There had to be something, though.

“If there is, we’ll find it,” Thorn told me, and I gave a sharp nod. I didn’t even mind the fae in my thoughts anymore.

The door opened, and Trixie, Blair, and Jan rushed inside the bedroom.

“What happened?” Trixie’s voice was hysterical.

Rhett filled them in on what happened.

“Cutting it out of her didn’t work?” Jan raised an eyebrow.

“No, it didn’t work,” Alister answered. “It actually made it worse.”

I shoved another tendril through my shoulder to feel the pain explode within it. My blood dripped down, soaking into the carpet beneath my feet, leaving a trail as I paced.

“Damien…” Kian stepped over as the witches and Rowan started to discuss ways to purge the dark magic from her, but everything suggested we’d already tried.

I paused, staring at Kian with what I knew were wild eyes flashing from silver to gray. My pain reserves were fueled up, but I wasn’t letting out enough magical energy.

“She wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“She didn’t want me to cut her arm up and hurt her, but I did anyway,” I growled out bitterly.

Kian pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. “When your head was cut off, things happened to your brain. Your impulse control is lacking due to that. She understands it. So do we.”

“How do you know about that?” I snarled.

“There were journals from the human facilities that ended up in the academy library. I’ve found there was extensive research on shadow demons and decapitation.”

“It doesn’t matter. I still hurt our mate.”

“And then you hurt yourself, something she wouldn’t want. You hurt her trying to save her, and she’s going to understand that.”

“Maybe, but I don’t understand it.”

Kian’s hand planted on my shoulder. His magic battled against mine until it somehow soothed mine. “She’s going to be okay, we’re gonna make sure of that.”

“You better be right, necromancer.”

“Wren, how’re you feeling?” Rowan asked, and both of our heads snapped toward the bed where Wren sat up.

“I’m fine.” No concern laced her voice, just… annoyance.

Irritation buzzed down the bond, and my brows furrowed.

“Little bird, are you pissed at me?”

Her gaze locked on mine, and my chest throbbed. She tilted her head, and white hair flowed down the side of her head like silk. “Am I pissed at you for cutting my arm and wiggling your tendrils within my veins? A little bit.”

I flinched, and the room went silent.

She tossed the covers off of her and wiggled out of the bed.

“Baby, maybe you shouldn’t be getting up right now,” Rhett murmured.

“I’m pretty sure I’m fine. I just want to get up and go to class.” Her feet hit the ground, and she swung her hair behind her.

“You’re not going to class, fledgling. Not after what just happened.” Rowan crossed his arms and stared at her.

She snorted, meeting Rowan’s gaze with a fiery look of her own. “You might be the headmaster, but you can’t just excuse me from going to class all the time. How else am I going to learn to be able to be a part of this war?”

“You will be a part of it,” Blair murmured. “But forcing yourself to go to class right now may not be the answer.”

Wren shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. She glanced down, realizing that she was still in her pajamas and moved toward the dresser before starting to undress in front of everybody.

I tilted my head, prowling forward and caging her in against the dresser with both arms. She turned around fully naked and stared into my eyes with a very sultry expression.

Kian mentioned it would change her personality, but did that mean this was still Wren? The bond was effectively in place.

I leaned down and inhaled her scent. She still smelled of all of us, but with a hint of sulfur. She still looked as beautiful as she always did, and there was familiarity in her eyes. I could still see pink in her aura as she looked at us. She definitely still loved us, but the way she acted was very not Wren.

Her pheromones slipped up my chest before moving down straight to my cock, and I groaned.

“If you’re a good little bird and stay back from class, I’ll make it worth your while.”

My lip ring caught her gaze, and she moved her hand up my chest before cupping the back of my neck and pulling me closer until her teeth clamped around the ring.

She let out a moan and pushed her body tight against mine.

The witches coughed.

“Yeah, we’re gonna leave,” Trixie murmured. “We’ll be back, babe!”

Their footsteps left the room, and I stared down at my sneaky little bird who had turned me on so damn much, my cock ached.

“Sorry, Damien, but I don’t think you’re up for what I want right now.” She pulled away and grabbed her uniform from the dresser before flickering into her incorporeal form.

“Where did she go?” I growled.

‘She’s getting dressed right in front of you,’ Nightshade answered. ‘She said don’t bother trying to stop her from going to class because she’s going.’

“The fuck she is!” A shadow tendril that was not mine pierced through my shoulder, reopening the almost healed wound from earlier, and pain erupted from it.

The shadow tendril circled, expanding the wound and sending another bout of pain through me.

“Fuck,” I growled, and the tendril disappeared.

‘She also said that now you’re even, Damien. And she’s dressed now and walking right through the door,’ Nightshade narrated for us before he winced.

“What the fuck just happened?” I asked, blinking at the spot she’d just been.

“The influence of dark magic,” Kian answered.

“What can we do to help her?” Lachlan asked.

“I don’t know,” Kian croaked.

“Well, we have to try something,” Alister snapped. “I have to teach a class, but something needs to happen.”

“And I have a fucking session,” Rhett seethed.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on her,” Rowan stated, rubbing his hand over his face.

“Damien,” Thorn’s gaze met mine and softened as he realized the turmoil battling inside of me. “She’ll need you. Plus, Kian and I have this class with her.”

I needed to rip out Grayson’s bones for relief, but being as I wasn’t sure he had any bones anymore, I should probably figure out something else.

My shadows clung around me until I shadow-traveled to where her class was and waited on her, hoping that she didn’t go rogue and disappear on us.

Despair stabbed my heart at the thought. She couldn’t leave us—she couldn’t leave me.