Page 19 of Savage Sacrifice
“Hey,” Minnie murmurs, rising to her feet, and Bryony offers her a hug as she nervously looks around at the rest of us.
“Whitmore said I might find you here,” she states, and I frown.
“Where is he?” I ask, and she points over her shoulder with a shrug.
“I saw him near the dining hall,” she explains, but her nose wrinkles just a touch. “What’s going on?” she asks, redirecting the conversation as her eyebrows rise in question.
Is she acting a little strange or am I beyond tired?
Maybe it’s both.
“We’re waiting to leave,” Minnie offers, lacing her fingers with Bryony’s, and we all nod in agreement.
“Is everything okay?”
It’s clearly not, but I opt to keep my mouth shut.
“Yes, Whitmore is just making it a little difficult,” Minnie answers, and Bryony frowns.
“How come?”
“We’re just waiting to gain authorization to leave,” I interject, answering before Minnie can. I don’t say why, and I can’t stop anyone else from explaining without drawing attention to it, but something feels off with her.
I don’t know what, maybe it really is the sleep. Fuck if I know.
Minnie eyes me with a hint of uncertainty but she turns to Bryony with a tired smile. “Is everything okay with you?”
Bryony hums, a defeated sigh making her shoulders slump with defeat.
“Yeah, the coven is crumbling, and it’s just… a mess, but it’s fine,” she insists, waving her off.
She’s not going into much detail either.
Is she keeping something from us?
I’m definitely overthinking.
I need Polaris, then sleep, then sex, then food.
All in that order, and it all depends on getting off this fucking campus because without her, none of the rest of it matters.
“What are you guys doing anyway? Where are you going?” Bryony asks, and I look away. I can’t watch as someone gives her an answer when my overbearing brain is in hypervigilant mode questioning every breath she takes.
“Trying to find Polaris,” Tatum states, seemingly not getting the same vibe as me, and I try to brush it off.
“I don’t know, you guys, I think we need to accept what happened yesterday,” she breathes, and Lincoln scoffs.
“Are you looking with us or not?” he snaps, the anger instantly coming off him in waves, and I jerk my attention in his direction to find the same hint of curiosity in his gaze that I feel deep in my soul.
“Lincoln,” Minnie says with a gasp, glaring at her brother in irritation before she turns to Bryony with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, he’s hot-headed,” she mutters, trying to ease the tension rippling around us.
“And you’re forgetting that she’s also his blood kin,” Blaze grunts, calling out the elephant in the room. “She’s either on board or not. If there’s any inkling that she’s not here to work with us, to help us, your brother is going to snap. It’s only natural when your own life hangs in the balance too. Look at Bianca. I snapped her like a fucking twig because that’s what needed to be done. Ben did what his heart told him to, just like Polaris did. If Bryony doesn’t want to get on board then that seems odd to me because it wasn’t one of us she spoke her final words to, it was you, Minnie. I can’t help but wonder why Bryony wouldn’t support her girlfriend after something like that.”
Well, fuck.
Maybe having the vampire around isn’t so bad after all.
Both girls gape at him before Minnie turns to cautiously face Bryony. The latter glares at the vampire, tightening her hold on Minnie’s hand as she bites out her response. “I’m on board, I'm just dealing with a lot.”
