Page 20 of Fortune Academy: Year Three
“Who the fuck is Cole?” Dante demanded.
“Uh…”
“That’s not an answer,” Orion snapped, backing up Dante with a glare that said I’d better give them answers and I’d better give them now.
Where did I even start?
After reaching new heights together, the mate-bond should have been stronger than ever, and it was, but maybe not in a way that benefitedmeright now.
All my mates were on the same page about one thing: They were pissed.
I scrubbed my hair with a towel as the weight of their glares made me grind my teeth. Even Kaito looked disappointed, but really, of all my Virtues couldn’t he cut a girl some slack? It wasn’t my fault that there was another Virtue out there.
Even so, a part of me felt guilty. Water dripped as I toweled down, giving myself time to think. Because, yeah, after diving headfirst into the most incredible night of my life, I definitely needed another bath.
Once I sufficiently dried off, Hendrik watched me with a peculiar look on his face.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Nothing,” he snapped, then summoned me a new outfit to wear and shoved it at me.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing,” I grumbled before slipping the blouse over my head.
The Hunter still glared at me, patiently waiting for me to answer his question as I pulled up my skirt. “Dante,” I began and rested a hand on his arm. He jerked away from me.
“Don’t ‘Dante’ me with those blushing cheeks and swollen lips.” He paused, looking at the evidence of what we’d all done together. He’d been the one to bite me and I ran my tongue over the delicious hurt, which only made him frown.
“I can explain,” I whispered.
All my Virtues stared at me expectantly, but it was Hendrik who seemed to put it together first. “You don’t have everything you need to fight Calamity. Is that it?”
I slapped my hands against my thighs. “I don’t know. I guess? I mean, all of you have shared… everything with me.” I glanced down, unable to meet their gazes. “It should be enough.”
Kaito slipped his arm around my waist and brought me to his chest. He’d put on a pair of pants and I tucked my hands into the back pockets. “But it’s not,” he confirmed.
I nodded against him, both humiliated and frustrated that I couldn’t just enjoy the moment. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said, shushing me as he tucked my head against his shoulder. “You’re a Champion, Lily, and of one of the more powerful Echoes of Calamity. They only get stronger and more violent as the waves progress. It’s never been like this before. Your achievements are unprecedented and we shouldn’t be so hard on you.”
Orion’s warmth spread across my back as he rested a claiming hand on my neck, then gave the back of my head a kiss. “We support you, little star. I think we’ve proven that.”
Logan snorted. “Sure, but you have to admit, it did kind of ruin the moment.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his brilliant blue eyes at me as I snuggled closer into Kaito’s warmth. “So, what does this mean, Princess? Are we going to have to go get him? Where is he?”
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. All I knew was that he was in pain, he suffered, and we had to get to him as soon as we could.
But he felt far away. Not in Hell, maybe, which presented a problem. I didn’t exactly know how to get out of here yet. The plan had been to trap Calamity. Escape was just a luxury.
But, I felt incomplete. I didn’t just see my Virtues as a means of survival or tools to be used. They were all pieces of my heart and when we came together, I felt whole.
I needed to figure something out… and fast.
When I released a small sound of frustration, Kaito kissed my forehead before brushing away my hair, giving me a smile. “We’ll figure it out,Koneko-chan. First, let’s stick to the plan and find your mother. Whatever we decide to do next, we’ll have a better shot if we have the Queen of Hell on our side.”
I sure hoped so, because if Calamity found us before we knew how to contain it, we were all dead meat.
“Look at this spread!” Logan barked as he jumped into one of the massive chairs lined up against a dining table. After we’d all managed to get a few hours of sleep, Luc’s underlings had knocked at our door and guided us to the dining hall.
And wow, this was one hell of a breakfast.
