Page 117 of The Stone Secret
“It is when you have no control over it and your fated mate is a sigma.”
“Ah…good point.”
“And feeding off blood? Am I a monster?”
He set his cup down with a sigh. “You’re not a monster. You’re not even Baobhan sidhe, you simply have one in your family tree somewhere.” He leaned back in his seat. “It may not even be a Baobhan. My contact said it could be a lunar fae type. Honestly, I think we should speak to Mirrorwind about it. She’s on a short sabbatical but will be back in a week.”
“So my episodes are related to these fae genes coming out?”
“It seems so.”
“And that’s it? Did she say anything else?”
He yawned again. “She said there was something else that she couldn’t identify, but it was probably related to developmental changes.” He indicated my hand. “Your partial shift is a prime example. You’re obviously hitting goyle puberty late.” His gaze dropped to the mug in my hand. “Are you going to drink that?”
“Why? Do you want it?”
“I won’t say no. The herbs are rejuvenating, and I’m exhausted.”
Guilt gripped me by the throat. He’d traveled goodness knew how far just to get me answers, and I was picking at him, demanding more. “Here.” I passed him my mug. “Thank you for going to see your contact. I appreciate it.”
He took the mug and waved off my gratitude. “It’s fine. I enjoyed the trip. Aside from the stretches outside of magic.” He drained the cup.
“You went as far as the pockets?”
He nodded. “It’s always a little draining passing through a world without magic. I’ll be fine. I’m glad I made it back in time for the exams. Derek’s tincture will be ready in a couple more hours. I’ll take it over to him when it’s done.”
Willowman had wasted no time in preparing a stronger remedy for Derek once I’d filled him in on what happened on the field trip. The man was a gem.
He yawned so widely his jaw clicked.
A tired gem.
This was my cue to leave. “I should go. I have training.” My stomach dipped because it was an elite session, which meant that Serath would probably be there. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since our conversation in the observatory last night. That interaction had left me feeling hollow, and now I wasn’t sure what I was most afraid of—having to train with him watching me or getting to the session to find out he wasn’t coming.
There was a knock on the door, and I answered it for Willowman.
Prasan blinked in surprise. “I was looking for Willowman. I assume he’s back?”
“I am,” Willowman said from behind me.
“I was hoping for a private word,” Prasan said.
A sudden wave of protectiveness toward my witch tutor washed over me. “He’s exhausted from his trip so don’t stay long.”
I stepped back to let Prasan into the room, and Varsa shuffled in after him, his gaze vacant. How could he go from being so filled with life to this…this shell of a being?
Prasan sidestepped as Varsa brushed past him.
“It’s fine,” Willowman said. “We can talk with Varsa here.”
I stepped outside. “Don’t forget the tincture.”
“Wait!” Willowman hurried over and pressed a vial into my hand.
“What’s this?”
“A memory spell. For Melanie.”
