Page 110 of Savage Sacrifice
“Is she going to be okay with him?” Polaris questions, aiming it directly at me, and I cock a brow at her.
“I thought you said he wasn’t dangerous?”
“To me? No. To someone else? I don’t know,” she answers honestly, and I try my best to plaster a reassuring smile on my face.
“I get all of my sass from my mother and all of my humor from my father. She can handle him.”
“You have humor?” Minnie blurts, jaw slack as her eyes twinkle with amusement, and I glare at her.
“Ha ha,” I gripe, and she unlinks her arm from Polaris’s and bounces on the balls of her feet.
“No, but for real, I’ve never seen it.” The truth is in her eyes, but I simply shrug.
“Maybe because I’m not comfortable enough to let my guard down with you,” I retort, and her lips pinch as her eyebrows gather, searching for something to snap back with, but nothing seems to come to mind.
“I haven’t seen your humor either,” Polaris whispers, rubbing her lips together nervously, and I smirk. Cutting the two steps between us, I tap her chin up, forcing her to look me in the eyes as I tower over her.
“If you haven’t, you weren’t paying close enough attention,” I mutter with a wink before pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“This is all cute and everything, but we need to move,” Lincoln grunts, breaking the moment and reminding me what we are supposed to be doing.
Nodding, I drape my arm over Polaris’s shoulders in a meager attempt at comfort as I address the rest of the group. “I think Wylder needs to track Sian, if that’s where The Crow said to begin. Polaris needs to look for Bryony instead because she already knows Polaris is on campus. I don’t think alerting her to Sian is going to work in our favor. Other than that, we can split up however we feel is going to be most effective.”
“That’s a good point,” Wylder states, scrubbing the back of his head. “Want to team up, blood-sucker? I feel like a vampire might be able to help find another vampire.”
I ignore his colorful choice of nickname for me, which seems to be a running joke at this stage, and nod. “I’m in. Minnie, are you with us? A girl's touch might help.”
“Might help what?” she asks, and I shrug.
“I don’t know, but I’d rather be over prepared than not,” I answer, and she nods.
“So we will hunt for Bryony with Polaris then,” Tatum offers, waving a hand between him and Lincoln, who nods in agreement.
Wylder takes a moment to pepper Polaris with kisses before he steps toward me, Minnie right along with him, and with one final salute, we’re out of there. I already have an idea in mind, and I would rather go with my gut first than turn every stone just for the sake of it.
Minnie and Wylder quickly seem to catch on when I carry on down the path instead of turning into the vampire dorms.
“Where are we going?” Minnie asks, and I nod toward the central area.
“She’s been obsessed with Terence. Let’s start there,” I offer, and she hums her agreement.
The three of us make it most of the way in silence, but just as we’re about to enter the academy building, where students are now gathered in groups, confirming the start to today’s classes, Minnie clears her throat.
“How did your mother help Polaris get here?”
My eyebrows furrow in confusion at first as I peer at her, unsure what she’s referring to, but then it dawns on me.
“Oh, they own the grounds the academy is built on. They can travel here at any time, bringing whoever they please with them, but it doesn’t work the other way around, which is why it was easier to bring Polaris here,” I explain, making Minnie’s eyes widen even more.
“How do they own the land?”
I shrug. “I think it’s something to do with territorial gains through family generations. An agreement was signed to allow the academy to exist out here, shielded by magic and free for the wolves to roam. Like a win-win for everyone,” I offer, certain it doesn’t make sense, since it doesn’t to my own ears, but it seems to satisfy her curiosity as the medical center comes into view.
A familiar screeching registers in my ears before I even open the double doors, and the second I do, the girl we’re looking for comes into view, just as I anticipated.
“Just let me see him, please. I love him. You can’t keep doing this to me,” Sian pleads, swiping at crocodile tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry, Miss, as I’ve told you before, you don’t have access to him at this time. If you want to see him, you’re going to have to speak to his guardian to get access granted.”
