Page 3 of Dark Embers

“Oh, yeah, I remember that assignment from last year,” Niko said. “I thought it was fun.”

“Psh, you would,” Brett snarked.

Niko shrugged. “What? It’s interesting. Who doesn’t find the science behind mating bonds interesting?”

“I do,” Ashlyn interjected, wearing her own goofy grin.

I couldn’t help but wonder when she would get up the courage to ask him out. They were both phoenixes, and it was so painfully obvious that she liked him, yet he didn’t seem to have a clue.

Men are stupid sometimes.

“What famous shifter couple did you write about?” I asked. “I’ve been studying the history books, but I feel lost; I don’t know where to start.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I interviewed Mrs. Sharp and her husband. You know he imprinted on her, right? They were happy to share their story with me.”

“Oh. That’s a great idea. I would have never thought of that!” I exclaimed, my excitement building.

He smiled, and I could see why Ashlyn liked him so much. “I don’t think many students ever do. Just don’t tell her you got the idea from me.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

The bell rang for first period, and having realized I hadn’t even touched my food yet, I started shoving eggs and bacon into my mouth in a less-than-ladylike fashion. Ashlyn, Niko, and Brett joined the other students in exiting the dining hall, but Tobias stayed behind, not seeming to mind that I was gobbling my food like a fat kid at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Are you okay after…everything?” he asked, folding his arms on top of the table and leaning closer.

A lump formed in my throat, which made it hard to swallow my mouthful of food.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I lied, and the dubious arch of his eyebrow told me he saw right through it.

But he didn’t push the issue.

“Are we still on for tonight?” The index finger of his closest hand reached out from under his elbow to brush against my arm, sending shivers racing up my spine.

My grin returned in full force. “Definitely.”

“Good. Meet me on the platform at six?”

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

He rose to stand, then bent over to plant a soft kiss on my forehead before joining the last wave of students into the Great Hall, leaving me feeling frozen in his absence.

How was I going to survive this dark and dangerous boy? He was either going to be the warmth that sustained me or the funeral pyre that destroyed me. And I was helpless not to be a moth to his flame.

Chapter 2

Arya

I had to run across campus to make it to Shifter Biology in time, barely making it through the classroom door as the final bell rang. Of course, all the other students were already seated and had their full attention on me. Panting and mouth dry, I did my best to compose myself and act like I hadn’t just sprinted the length of two football fields as I walked to my desk.

As I crossed the room, I forced my glance not to stray in Adina’s direction in the back row, but I could feel her heated gaze on me like the laser target of a sniper’s rifle. I kept an airy, devil-may-care expression on my face, reminding myself with each step that she hadn’t defeated me, and that she was never going to.

So far, she and her horrible friends had treated me like garbage unworthy of them. Well, I was going to do the same to them, but instead of giving them negative attention, I wouldn’t give them any at all. From this point on, they’d be invisible to me, and I wouldn’t so much as acknowledge any of them even if they were on fire.

I settled into my desk, and Mrs. Sharp started her lecture. She gave a few examples of known couples that had an imprint between them, displaying outward signs and behaviors of the imprinted shifter.

“The most widely agreed-upon behavior present in an imprint is overprotectiveness on the part of the imprinted,” Mrs. Sharp said. “The imprinted partner will have a heightened sensitivityto their mate’s safety and well-being and tend to put their own safety at risk to ensure the safety of their mate. There have even been cases of ESP, where the imprinted partner senses their mate is in danger when the two are apart and feels compelled to come to their aid.”

She tapped a button on her keyboard, and the slideshow flipped to the next PowerPoint page, which was a black and white photograph of a half-naked man in shredded clothing pulling a woman up over the edge of a cliff.

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