Page 53 of Savage Sacrifice
“She is my home,” I grunt, my heart rate spiking at the thought of being apart from her again.
“Wylder,” Polaris breathes, clenching my hand tightly as my heart aches. I can’t look at her, though. That might break me more. Instead, I continue to glare at Minnie, even though I know she isn’t the enemy here.
“I know, but I think the element of surprise that we have can work in our favor. An illusion, if you will.”
“How?” Tatum asks, the same weariness in his tone that I feel in my gut.
“The longer they don’t know that we know, the better, right?” Minnie glances around the room, and I hate to see a few nods in agreement.
Fuck.
I know she’s right, but I don’t like it. Not one bit.
“If you say so,” I grunt, looking down at my feet to try and hide the disappointment, but I can feel Polaris’s eyes on me anyway.
Movement from the corner of my eye gains my attention, and I quickly realize Ben and Bianca are coming to.
“Damn it. You guys probably shouldn’t be here when they wake up,” Polaris mutters, sadness thick in her voice, and my chest tightens.
“Fuck, I want more time with you,” I rush out, turning us so we’re face to face.
The sadness in her eyes bleeds into my soul.
“Go. It’s not forever. It’s just for now,” she promises, and despite the ache consuming me, I nod.
“Go about your life like it was before we got here.”
She nods, a tight smile on her lips as my pulse thunders in my ears. “I will. I’ll be here or at college,” she states with a nod, and my nose crinkles in distaste.
“No boys.” She balks before rolling her eyes at me. “I mean it,” I warn, and she gives me a pointed look before twirling her finger.
“I think I have enough to handle already, don’t you?”
I grin, the lightness finding root inside of me again as I nod. “Fuck yeah, you do.”
The second Bryony’smagic wears off and we’re back at Trinity Falls Academy, my heart sinks. I hate leaving her, but Minnie’s right. We need to play this carefully and close to our chest, even if we don’t actually have a clue what’s happening.
Before anyone else can say a word, Minnie steps forward, squeezing Lincoln’s arm in comfort. “You guys head over to the wolf dorms, I’m going to go and relax with Bryony for a bit,” she states, but Bryony quickly shakes her head.
“No, it’s fine. We can go with them.”
Minnie turns a tired smile her way. “I’ve had enough testosterone to last a lifetime these past few days. I need to decompress with ice cream and a movie. I do my best thinking then.”
She’s not wrong, she really does think best then, but something isn’t sitting right with me.
“If you’re sure,” Bryony murmurs, eyeing her with caution, and Minnie beams, linking her arm through hers before heading toward the witches’ dorms.
The five of us watch them leaving, waiting for them to turn the corner before Blaze grunts. “I don’t know her as well as you guys do, but something tells me she wouldn’t usually step away from an important situation like this without reason.”
“You’re right,” Lincoln murmurs, frowning as he scrubs the back of his neck. “Especially when Belladora mentioned something about coins. She would be all over that shit to see what she might have meant.”
“But she didn’t bring it up then,” Tatum adds, and I nod as Asher plants his hands on his hips.
“Do you think she’s as suspicious of Bryony as I am?”
“Fuck, right?” Blaze grunts, eyes wide, but their color quickly darkens with anger.
“I think maybe Minnie was telling us to go check the coins out for ourselves, and she’ll entertain Bryony so she doesn’t see what we see?” Lincoln thinks out loud, and Asher scoffs.
