Page 73 of Ava: Part Two

No, she didn’t know that. She had seen what he could do to other students. What more a mere human?

“I should rest,” she said, changing the subject.

Zeke remained silent for a moment before he nodded.

“Tonight, I want to take you somewhere. We have things to discuss that I can’t risk being overheard.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. Escape? Was he finally going to help her get out of this place? She nodded eagerly, feeling lighter than she had felt in a while.

Zeke looked like he wanted to say much more, but he stood and headed for the door.

“Get some sleep,” he said.

When she went to his bed and hugged his pillow, taking in the spicy scent of his cologne, she felt completely disgusted with herself that all it had taken were a few words, and she was right back where she started. It was like she hadn’t seen Jared with her own eyes, and Claire wasn’t dead.

But once she left this place, everything would be fine. She could forget all about Zeke and the academy.

Chapter 48

“Whereexactlyarewegoing?”

Zeke looked back at Ava and squeezed her hand in reassurance. He’d still sensed her fear when she woke up, which increased when she realised they were heading into the woods.

“You’ll see.”

It would have been quicker if he’d shifted and carried her there or even run with her on his back, but she didn’t seem to want any contact with him at all. Understandable. It had been torture having her rub her body all over him earlier when he could sense how hot for him she’d been. And now she’d only allowed him to hold her hand once they had come deeper into the woods. It was a lot darker under the canopy of the trees, but he knew it wasn’t the darkness that was making her so scared. The woods blended into the cursed forest surrounding the academy, so few people ventured this far. There wasn’t even a path for them to follow, so Ava was relying on his sight to lead the way.

“I think we can talk here. We’re far enough away from anybody else.”

“Just be patient a little longer,” he said gently.

He helped her step over fallen tree trunks and branches until they came to a small clearing. And through here, the sun shone and bathed everything in its glow.

“Here?” Ava asked.

He let go of her hand to walk over to a thick tree trunk and picked up a picnic basket he had put behind it when she had been sleeping.

“Almost. You sound like a child asking if we’re there yet,” he grinned as he took her hand again.

He led her just over the ridge at the edge of the clearing and then stopped to watch her reaction. Ava let out a soft gasp as she looked around. He had discovered this lake during his first week at the academy in his first year, and his reaction had been the same. The lake was so deep that it was startlingly blue, and on one end was a small waterfall where a stream fed it. On the other side of the large lake, the stream disappeared into the cursed forest. He’d ventured too close to it once and had felt the dark magic that reminded him every time what this academy was all about.

But on this side, with the grassy bank, the ivy and blooming flowers growing over fallen tree trunks and rocky outcrops, it looked like a fairytale. With nothing but the sound of chirping birds and wildlife all around them, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. This was the perfect spot to be alone with his little virgin mate.

It wasn’t as beautiful as the place she had shown him while she’d been in Isolation, but it came pretty close.

“I made a picnic.”

Ava pulled her gaze away from the scenery to look at him.

“Like... Is this a date?” Ava asked.

He couldn’t tell if that was something she wanted. He still felt only fear from her, and it had him and Shadow messed up.

“Yes.”

“I thought we came here to talk,” she stated, looking away from his gaze.

“Among other things,” he said, letting go of her hand to walk over to the bank.

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