19. Baelfire

When I waseleven years old, my older brother Aidan was accidentally hit by a silverblend spell while serving at the Divide. He got an emergency magical transport back home, and I couldn"t even recognize him under all the gore.

I"d asked my caster dad if Aidan was going to die, and he had quietly admitted it was very possible. All night long, I"d heard my brother"s bloodcurdling screaming as they had to dig tiny pieces of silver shrapnel out of his entire body.

Turns out, he was handling it like a fucking champ. Kudos to him.

Because holy motherfucking hell, this hurts.

I"m starting to lose consciousness, probably because I"m leaking blood like a faucet. But I fight against blacking out because, as far as I know, we"re still under attack, and that means I need to make sure Maven is safe. I just have to get through this searing agony and ignore my inner dragon, who"s throwing a fit inside my head with no possible way of getting out to get revenge.

I guess I should be grateful that Silas is some kind of prodigy because suddenly, all the silver puncturing my skin starts vibrating. I blink my eyes open and vaguely make out that he"s crouched beside me, his brow beading with sweat as he chants some shit I can"t understand and makes a weird-ass shape with his hand.

There"s a moment where, against all possibility, the agony gets even worse, as if the metal is reshaping itself inside my skin—and then hundreds of silver needles slide out of my skin and drop to the forest floor.

The moment the silver is out, I gasp with relief as my body starts to mend. Thanks to my weakened state, it"s far slower than usual, but I"ll take it. After several seconds, I prop myself up on one arm, wiping blood off my face and panting as I try to get over that traumatizing little brush with death I just had.

Everett is also next to us. What the fuck? Why isn"t he fighting? Then I realize that both of their gazes are glued to something nearby.

When I crane my neck to see what"s going on, I nearly have a heart attack.

Maven is dancing.

I mean, she"s actually slaughtering our enemies—but every deadly move she makes is so lithe and graceful that it looks like a macabre, perfectly choreographed dance.

The earth elemental launches at her, but she does a back handspring to land directly behind the vampire. He whirls, trying to grab at her, but she breaks both of his arms in one brutal movement before dropping down and breaking both of his knees, too. He screams and collapses, and my mouth drops open when she…pulls out his heart.

Plucks it right out and tosses it aside without batting an eye.

"Oh…shit. Dear gods above," Everett breathes as we continue to watch Maven run circles around the fuckers we were collectively just barely staving off. "She"s…"

"A badass," I declare.

"The telum." His eyes track her movements. He starts fidgeting nervously with his sleeves on repeat. "She's…the scourge."

Silas shoots him a suspicious look. "We know. She told us. But how do you know about that?"

"There was a prophecy about the Entity's weapon a long time ago, and some legacies never forgot about it," he mutters. "I just caught wind of the rumors stirring. That"s it."

He"s definitely hiding something, but I don"t bother trying to get the honest answer out of him as I watch my mate move with deadly speed, cracking one of the caster"s skulls on her knee before rolling out of the way of another attack. She moves faster than a human can—maybe even as fast as a shifter. Reacts faster, too.

It"s like seeing her in her true element for the first time, and I can"t look away.

The earth elemental sends a barrage of sharpened stones flying toward her. Maven uses the vampire"s corpse as a shield before taking off into a dead run at the elemental. I tense, worried she"s about to need help, but Maven leaps up, twisting midair to wrap her legs around the neck of the elemental. There"s a loud snap, and he drops dead before she lands and rolls back to her feet.

"Did…did she just snap that guy"s neck with her thighs?" I manage.

Silas is just as mesmerized. "That she did."

"Fuck."

I wouldn"t complain if her thighs did me in. What a way to go.

Finally, Maven faces the final rival—the caster who hit me with the silverblend spell. I can practically smell the fear rolling off of him as he sends attack after attack at her, all of which she deflects with swirling blasts of dark magic. I don"t know what Silas meant about our keeper"s magic being different, but it does seem to shatter anything in its path.

When the caster gives up and turns to run, Maven catches up and quickly pins him to the ground from behind, one knee on his back. She"s far enough away that even I can"t hear what she bends down to say in his ear before shadow-like magic flares out from around them.

He screams.

She beams.

Fucking gods above. My stunning little mate is kind of a sadist, isn"t she?

I try to sit up more, grimacing at the pain. "Crypt was right. We"ve been underestimating her."

"She wanted us to." Silas shakes his head, a gruesome smile playing on his lips. "Our vicious little minx has been far underplaying her own abilities so she could escape all attention here at Everbound. Clever, but it makes me curious how strong she really is."

I hear a garbled cry and realize Maven killed off the last of Brooks" quintet. When she stands, she scans her surroundings in a trance-like state, almost like she"s hoping to find another target to take down. There aren"t any.

After a moment, she shakes her head to clear it and stalks back to us, splattered in the blood of our enemies with a smile on her beautiful face.

Terrifying.

But in a really hot way.

Mate,my inner dragon growls hungrily. Mine.

I clear my throat, which is still hoarse from all the screaming. "Is anyone else turned on right now, or is that just me?"

Everett looks at me like I disgust him while Silas hums in agreement.

Maven stops in front of us, and for a moment, she observes us warily with her hauntingly beautiful eyes as if expecting us to attack her next. A few days ago, I would have been frustrated that she still doesn"t believe me about wanting her no matter what.

But now, knowing about some of her past…I don"t blame her. It"ll take time to earn her trust. Especially because we fucked up with that stupid bet.

I notice Silas hardcore staring at the small, lightly bleeding scratch on our keeper"s cheek. Maven seems to notice, too, because her lips twitch.

"Fang me later. Now isn"t the time."

The blood fae swallows hard before snapping out of it. "Here, allow me to—" Then he pauses and swears. "I forgot. My magic won"t heal you because you use necromancy."

Everett"s eyes get hilariously round. "What?"

"Necromancy and other magics mix like oil and water. They refuse to interact. Common and blood magic will not mingle with necromancy, which in turn will not?—"

"Who the hell cares? That"s not what I meant," the elemental snaps, turning to our keeper with a furrowed brow. "You"re a necromancer?"

Ignoring him, Maven kneels beside me, lips pressed together unhappily as she studies my skin that"s still healing each puncture wound slowly. Some of them are still bleeding. When she reaches out to gently test a couple of areas, I pretend it doesn"t hurt.

Even though it absolutely fucking does. Now that I"m not distracted with seeing my keeper take names and kick ass, everything fucking hurts. Silver injuries heal slowly and sting for days.

But I want to soothe my mate. "I"m fine, Mayflower. All good here."

Come to think of it…she"s right. Now that I"ve seen her in action, she doesn"t strike me as a Mayflower. I"ll have to find a better nickname for her.

"You could have died," she mutters. "I should have killed him slower."

"Awe. You do care," I grin.

Maven"s gaze arrests me. "More than you know. Now apologize for letting yourself get hurt like that."

My heart starts pounding. I swallow and nod like a good boy because that"s what I"ll always be for her.

"I"m really sorry, baby."

She glances at Silas and Everett like she"s looking for any more signs of damage to our quintet. The lucky fuckers are both roughed up but fine, so she tells them to check this area for signs of any other threats before we leave the forest. It"s an excuse to talk to me alone, and we all know it, but they still give us space.

I have no idea what she wants to say to me alone, so I"m shocked when Maven uses one of her oversized sleeves to try wiping some of the blood off my face.

"For the record, I"m sorry too."

I"m getting distracted by her scent and nearness. "What…uh, what for?"

"As I understand it, shifters look forward to the day they get matched to a mate with even more excitement than any of the other Four Houses. You didn"t deserve to get matched to a bitch."

A snarl rips from my throat. "Don"t call yourself that. You"re not a bitch."

"I punched you," she points out.

"So what? I probably deserved it."

"I mistreated you on purpose, which you didn"t deserve. Also…" She meets my eye, her expression softening. "I liked those flowers you got me. I just couldn"t let you know that, or you"d think I was encouraging you."

My heart is soaring. Seriously, I"m too lightheaded for this. Is she actually saying all of this, or is my head just fucked up from losing so much blood?

"Are you saying you"re encouraging me from now on?" I ask, praying to all six gods that I"m reading this situation right.

Because I think my spooky little mate is trying to express her feelings but doesn"t know how.

"I"m saying…" She hesitates, studying my eyes, and then peels off one bloodied glove to place her hand on my jaw. "The gods are cruel, but I can"t resist anymore. So fuck it all. You"re stuck with me until the tragic end."

The moment her soft lips press against mine, I can"t think straight. Desire and desperation for my mate burn through my veins alongside the residual pain. I groan, deepening the kiss so I can stroke her tongue with mine.

I want to push further and explore her mouth until she crawls into my lap. I need to feel her perfect body all over mine. I just fucking need her.

But Maven pulls away far too quickly, leaving me panting.

"Come back."

She shakes her head, but her lips twitch.

"I"ll beg if I have to," I try again.

"I"m not going to make you beg right now."

She sounds a little breathless, which makes me fucking proud. I pout as playfully as I can while looking like a bloody mess.

"Why not? I"ll beg so fucking good for you."

Maven"s gaze heats, and for a moment, I"m sure she"s going to indulge my raging newfound kink. But then her attention lowers to the rest of my body, and her lips press together. "You"re still healing, Baelfire."

"Your magical pussy would heal me faster."

"My pussy is not magical."

I smirk. "You"re a caster. So it totally is."

"Am I?" she arches a brow quizzically.

I hesitate, thinking about it. She uses magic. She was once a human, and then she lost her heart, so that makes her…I have no idea.

Mine, though. Always mine.

Everett rejoins us. His face is stormy, and one cheek is noticeably red like he"s been scratching at it.

"We should get going. I froze Silas."

"Seriously?" I scowl at him. "You"re like a godsdamned toddler. Why the fuck would you do that? He"s going to be so pissed when you thaw him out."

"Maybe, but let"s hope he"s pissed and sane. He was trying to claw my eyes out."

Maven stands, slipping her glove back on. "His curse is eating his mind."

"Oh." Everett looks away. "I guess graduation will break him out of that. Until then, I"m going to freeze his ass if he goes for my face again."

I roll my eyes and try to get to my feet despite how the world spins around me. "Protecting your one and only asset, huh?"

To my complete shock, Snowflake moves to support me on one side so I don"t topple over, even though he looks like he wants to gag, touching all this sticky blood.

"Shut the fuck up, dragon."

"Shrimp dick."

"Asshole."

Maven snorts, which makes our attention snap to her. She"s smiling as she turns to walk away in the direction Everett returned from.

Gods above, I love her smile.

I follow her, ignoring Everett"s grumblings about how heavy I am and how I smell like a terrarium. We find Silas frozen in a thick cluster of trees, his face a mask of mindless anger and his hands stretched like talons. Everett unfreezes him, and the blood fae sags against the nearest tree, shaking his head until he"s coherent again.

"Damn it," he grits. "I"m sorry, sangfluir."

Everett scowls. "Hello? I"m the one whose face you wanted to rip off."

"That hasn"t changed. But I hate that I"m becoming such a liability. Had that happened during the fight earlier…"

"I still would have handed you your asses," Maven says so matter-of-factly that it makes me bark out a laugh. She regards the three of us like she analyzes chessboard pieces. "Speaking of which, you three need some serious training before they reschedule First Placement."

That wipes the smile off my face. "My mom"s trained me since I was twelve."

"I had private combat tutors," Everett tacks on.

Silas stops leaning on the tree. "The Garnet Wizard handled my training. I could defeat his most seasoned acolytes by the time I turned eighteen."

"Then his acolytes must have been invertebrates because while your magic is decent, your physical combat needs help."

Shots fired. I barely smother a laugh as Silas"s mouth drops open.

"Decent? Decent? I"m far more than?—"

Maven cuts him off, glancing at Everett. "You"re the opposite. Your skill with a blade is passable, but there are elemental children who can control their power with ten times the accuracy you have."

His face flushes.

"And Baelfire?"

Shit. My turn to be roasted.

I duck my head. "Yeah, I know. I got hit by a motherfucking silverblend spell because I was too focused on my target. My bad."

"No. You lack strategy completely."

Ouch.

I forgot that she doesn"t pull punches. I guess that"s a good trait for a keeper, but it makes my inner dragon downright petulant. I huff and fold my arms like a toddler. I want to impress my mate and make her happy, not hear this.

"My point is, you"re all sloppy. I"ll have to fix that, so we need to find somewhere to train for additional hours, away from other legacies."

Silas looks as disgruntled as I feel, but he looks away and sighs. "There are large rooms in the lowest level of Everbound Castle that can be reserved. They used to be dungeons, but they"ve been refurbished for exercise and training. If you really think it"s so necessary," he tacks on.

"Very necessary. We"ll start tomorrow."

"Because you"re worried about me and want me to have time to heal?" I guess. I"m shamelessly milking this injury to get more of Maven"s sweet attention.

"And because I"m leaving Everbound"s wards to get Kenzie back after midnight."

She says it so nonchalantly, like she"s announcing she"s going to take a nap.

Everett immediately scowls. "No. Even if you can somehow get through the wards, anyone meddling with them will be sensed by the casters who the Immortal Quintet hired to put them up. They"ll go looking for you. What if they figure out where you came from? It"s way too dangerous, Oakley. You"re staying."

I don"t envy him the ball-shriveling look Maven sends his way.

"Oh, really? Make me."

He looks exasperated, turning to us for backup. I can"t stand the idea of Maven putting herself in danger or getting anywhere close to the Immortal Quintet"s radar. But I"m starting to understand my mate better, and it"s pretty damn obvious that whatever she sets her mind to, she accomplishes.

Silas, on the other hand, starts to back up the ice elemental. But he"s interrupted by the whistle blowing outside of Everbound Forest, signaling the end of combat training. That means we only have a small window for dinner before we"re cooped up in our apartment until morning while the stupid-ass henchmen of the Immortal Quintet patrol the castle to look for anyone breaking curfew.

Maven makes her way toward the forest exit. We follow, with Everett right behind her and Silas and I bringing up the back. I grit my teeth when I notice that Snowflake can"t keep his eyes off Maven when she can"t see him.

It"s not that I"m jealous. I totally get wanting to stare at her deliciously round ass.

But if he catches feelings for her and his curse hurts her, my dragon has full permission to eat him. Or roast him. I"m good with whatever.

"You still owe me scales," Silas mutters beside me, low enough that only I"ll hear.

I do a double-take. Is he fucking serious?

He is. This asshole really thinks he"s entitled to my dragon scales. As if that"s even important—I know he wants them for fancy spells or some shit, but how the fuck is he even still thinking about that bet when we all saw how it hurt Maven?

"Not happening, dickhead."

"So, you"re openly admitting that the word of a Decimus means nothing?" Silas snarks.

Irritation prickles over me. I can take a lot of shit, but not jabs at my family. My family is anything but dishonest. I bare my teeth at him.

"I said it"s not. Fucking. Happening. You should have already groveled your ass off for Maven"s forgiveness for ever suggesting that bet in the first place, you insensitive prick."

"I did." He pins me with scarlet eyes. "Fine. If you refuse to honor the first agreement, name another price."

Name my price?

Wow. He must be really desperate.

That gets my attention, and I glance ahead to check that Everett and Maven are still out of earshot. We"re almost out of the woods as we pass a smoldering, charred section where a fire elemental or fire spell got out of hand. We skirt a couple of lumps of charcoal that might"ve been legacies at one point.

"Why the hell do you want them so bad?" I demand.

"That"s my business."

"Does it have something to do with your curse? Maven? Some random spells you want to try? Just spit it out."

Silas clenches his jaw and looks forward. "I can"t."

"Because you"re a shady little prick," I huff.

"Because I swore I wouldn"t, and I can"t tell a lie."

I flip him the bird. "My scales, my rules. I"m not giving you jack shit until I know what it"s for."

"I hate you," he mutters.

"Right back at you."