Black is staring at the side of my face as my cheeks heat, but I keep my eyes on the headmaster. “The council won’t like it. It’s not always best to start off with an argument. But please go in.”
I can tell he doesn’t want me going in there with Black, but I do, anyway. We head in together through the large door that’s easily big enough to fit both of us, and the council are all seated in chairs around the back of the desk. All five of them. Each one is meant to represent one of the first spells. Lock’s mother is lovely. I don’t know the others. All the colors of their cloaks that hang over them are different, lined with black underneath. Their hoods are pulled up over their heads to hide most of their faces.
I think Lock’s mom is the only female on the council, based on the way they look. They are imposing, and immediately my knees feel weak. Black’s gloved hand rests on the middle of my back and nudges me forward before he yanks it back like he’s afraid I’ll burn him. We sit in the chairs on the other side of the desk, and Black is clearly in the one the headmaster planned tosit on, because Mentor Parker looks pissed as he moves to lean on the wall.
“A pleasure to see you, and may the goddess bless our meeting. We fall in her honor.” Lock’s mother begins. What is her name? I’m stuck with the knowledge, or lack of it, that I don’t know. Lock and Wini never mentioned her first name and for some reason, it bothers me. What are all their names?
“We fall in her honor,” they all repeat. They stare at us long enough that I repeat it, as does Black.
“We’ve already met, Juniper, but not everybody else has,” she begins. “I do not know your name, dragon.”
“This is Black Ashveil. I rarely go anywhere without one of them now,” I explain. A total lie. They would go anywhere happily without me.
Each of them lowers their hood, and for a moment, I am overwhelmed with how familiar they look. Like I know them all and I can’t put my finger on why. I’ve never read a book on them or seen a picture. It’s considered too dangerous to have things like that when our enemies could steal them. I stare at the group for a long moment, and a taste of fear settles on my tongue. All five sitting in their chairs, so still it’s unnerving.
“I’m Bael.” His name feels wrong. “We’ve had a long discussion about you, about how you apparently accidentally managed to bond with four dragons. Lies,” a stern man in the middle begins. “Tell us about the bonding.”
I’m so tired of being called a liar about this. I did not plan to go to that forest and bond with four dragons. “It was an accident and I’m not a liar.” Except for hexing Vale. “I have no interest in lying to you, and I wouldn’t because I’m not brave enough. You’re in control of our world. At the end of the day, I signed up to Bloodstone because I want to end the war. It took my parents from me. You have it in your records what happened to me, and that horror keeps me up at night sometimes.” Black looksat me with questioning eyes. “Often enough that I wish it never happened. I can’t change the past, but I can change the future, and that’s why I learned as many spells as I could. Sometimes, I think my brain is full of a million spells even though I’ve not had a million years to learn them. I believe that the war can be won, and I did not bank on having dragon shifters to help me in the war, but now they’re here, and they would help with the war, right? I think everybody at Bloodstone and everybody on our war front wants the war to stop. I want the end of the war.”
“Dragons would help, but their extinction would be awful for us. We never wished for them to be bonded with just one,” Bael counters. “It is a bad omen from our holy goddess.”
“The entire witch world is watching you, Juniper. So, learn at the academy, and become the best. I expect to hear from your tutors that you’re doing everything in your power to make this bond work. It can be volatile, make you do unspeakable acts. When it’s this intense, I expect you to be on your best behavior,” Lock’s mother demands.
“Of course. I’m dedicated to—” I begin, but she cuts me off.
“I’ve seen enough. You can leave.” I nod, going to stand. “Please tell your fiancé hello.”
I tense. “Of course. I’m dedicated to the academy.” Not him. The fucker.
Black looks frigid as we go outside with the headmaster leading us. He shuts his door and points a finger at me. “Next time they call an Umbral Authority meeting, you come with none of the dragons. Shifters are not welcome in here. They are not witches.”
“Our bonded makes that choice, not you,” Black responds coldly. There’s a warning in his tone. Mentor Parker doesn’t give an answer, his shoulders tight as he goes back in and shuts the door behind him with a slam.
“Wow, that was tense. Thank you for coming with me.” I rub my arm.
“Are you really engaged?” he asks, stepping closer.
His eyes are nearly silver. “No, well, yes, but it’s an arranged thing. I’m never going through with it, and I didn’t ask or want it. Him.” Black looks so relieved, and I don’t know why I like it. “Do you want to come to a party? I’m going now. I haven’t been to a party before. I didn’t really have a lot of friends back in the town I was in, so I would like to go.”
“You ask, I say yes,” Black grunts. I can tell a party is the last thing he wants to do, and I like that he is doing it for me. Although a party involves socializing, that’s not something I admit to being a huge fan of.
I pull the piece of paper out of my pocket, the one Rue gave me with the instructions on how to get to the party, and I say the words out loud in the academy. When I do, a new door appears in the corridor out of nowhere. I open it up, and on the other side, it’s almost like a nightclub. Music blaring, strobe lights flickering in different directions, drunk people dancing around. It’s a mix of all three years. Most are in their uniforms, but others are in short dresses and shirts. We go in and the door shuts, disappearing altogether. I look around for Rue, but I don’t see her anywhere because there are so many people in here.
My eyes do meet with someone else in the crowd, and I groan. He comes over and stops in front of me. Far too close in front of me, and he outright ignores Black, which is rude. But thinking back, Lock was always rude. I just didn’t see it.
“My Juni, I never had you down as a party girl.” He charms.
I cross my arms tight. “You don’t know me anymore. Stop pretending to.”
“You’re avoiding me.” He figures it out. No shit, Sherlock.
“Well, yes,” I deadpan. “I have zero interest in any kind of future or anything with you.”
A low growl echoes from Black. “In other words, my bonded told you to fuck off.”
Lock frowns at Black, and my chest warms. No one ever sticks up for me, and I think Black might just be the first person. “And you’re just a shifter. Your opinion doesn’t matter. She’s a witch. You can’t have her, right? She’s not yours.”
“She. Is. Mine.” He steps into Lock’s space, and Lock takes a big step back, a flash of fear in his eyes. They stare each other down.