Page 53 of Of Bone and Ash

“And a Demon would?” Hawkins asks in confusion, his words making me stop and think for a moment. No… no, a Demon wouldn’t. If it had been an Asphyx, Serafina would be dead, not here glaring at me like she wishes she could tear my soul from my body. Dammit! Why hadn't I thought of that before now?

“No, they wouldn’t. Not unless there was a reason for it,” I hedge, looking at my Tether and stepping closer to the desk, my words clipped as they come out. “Have you done anything recently that would attract the notice of a Demon?”

Serafina blinks at me a few times and shrugs. “Not that I’m aware of. But this is the second time it happened, and it didn't happen until I came here. Didn't you say it was a Demon you suspected of killing the girls? Maybe the one I interrupted last night is mad at me,” she offers, and I shake my head.

“That wouldn't be enough. Whoever it is would need to be strong enough to pull you into a new reality. An alternate dimension where you were able to get injured. They would have needed to have a vested interest in you, or else you would be dead right now,” I tell her, my hands balling into fists at the thought of her death. The moment she dies, my magic will crumble.

Hawkins pales at my words, but Serafina doesn't look too shaken up over the fact that she could have died.

“Hmm. Well, I’m not dead, so obviously there’s something else going on,” she says simply, infuriating me and the professor. Even the Dragon looks shocked at her lack of fear for her life.

“The Demonic activity is high enough that they could be looking for a way into the school to get more girls,” Boris suggests, and I nod, the idea holding some merit.

“It's a possibility, but odds are they wouldn't have left her alive,” I mutter, trying to figure everything out.

“They need to shut the damn school down. I told that woman it's too dangerous for people to be here,” Boris growls, eyes flashing gold as he shakes his head.

“Can't we go over her head?” Hawkins asks, strumming his fingers on the desk in front of him.

“The school board is the one pressing to keep the university open,” Boris mutters, sighing in exasperation. I ignore them, my attention falling back on the purple bruises around Serafina’s throat.

“Are you going to sit there like a child or let me heal you?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level so she doesn't go on the defensive. Sure, I could force her to let me near her, but it would be easier if she agreed. Boris sits back down but keeps his attention on me.

“That's the second time you’ve called me a child in the last twenty-four hours,” she responds, standing up to her full height and letting her hair go.

“Maybe that's a sign to stop acting like one,” I suggest, then mentally kick myself. So much for trying to keep her off the defensive.

“Fina, let him heal you. There’s no reason to sit there in pain when he can fix it,” Hawkins mutters without looking her way. And this time, I really know I’m losing my mind because, even though he’s telling her to do what I want, it pisses me off that he thinks he can tell her what to do. Serafina is my Tether, and Hawkins has no right to butt in.

“Whatever,” she grumbles as she walks around the desk and steps toward me. I hold out my hand, waiting for her to come to me, just as Boris’ phone starts to ring. “Make it fast, would you?” she demands, arching a perfectly curved black brow as she eyes my hand stretched out between us.

“What!?” Boris bellows, jumping from his chair and startling Serafina, turning so fast toward the giant Dragon that her hip bumps the side of the desk, and she sways dangerously on her heels.

“Oh shit,” she whispers, her voice so soft I barely hear her as I lunge forward, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist and tugging her protectively against me before she topples to the ground. I glare at the big bastard for scaring her as I tuck her into my side, hating how fucking good she feels pressed against me. “Let go!” she hisses, her body tensing as she claws at the arm I have wrapped around her.

“Put away your claws, kitten, and let me heal you,” I grind out, releasing my magic and beginning the healing process while I still have her under control. The damn girl has proven more challenging to contain than I initially thought, and I know the moment I look away, she’s going to try and break free. Since my damn magic is currently having a field day with the bruises around her neck, I focus on healing her as fast as possible.

For just a moment, I feel Serafina’s too small body relax, the tiniest of moans breathing past her lips as my magic floods her, wrapping her in its embrace and searching out every injury it can find. She’s underweight, I realize, anger and frustration filling me as I support her against me. And as my magic moves through her, finding all the injuries that need to be healed, my anger only grows.

“What the hell happened to your back?” I whisper into her ear when I realize the bruises continue over her shoulders and down to her waist. I wince when I feel her pain echoing in our incomplete Tether bond and curse.

Shit, she has a broken rib! How the hell was she standing here this whole time, acting as if nothing was wrong?

“He got a lucky hit in,” she admits with a breathy sigh. I watch, entranced, as Serafina’s eyelids flutter shut, a relieved breath of air escaping her as she slumps in my arms. I’m unsure if I’m more surprised that she answered me or that she’s letting me hold her without a fight. In the next moment her eyes spring open and by the sudden shock I see there, she also surprised herself.

“Don’t,” I warn, knowing she’s about to fight me again. There are a few more injuries that need to be healed, and I don’t want to cause any more harm.

She ignores me, her body tensing like a damn snake ready to strike. I look down at her angry face, ready to give her a tongue-lashing for her silly behavior. But my words catch in my throat when I see her gray eyes darkening, glowing with magic that beckons my own to respond. There is something more there—something I’m not sure I understand—that mingles in the depths of her gaze that excites and terrifies me.

“What the hell?” I rasp, leaning closer, relishing the sweet scent of berries and spice lingering around her.

“What’s happened?” I hear Hawkins ask Boris as he continues to rant at whoever is on the call, but I ignore him, concentrating on the girl in my arms. A sudden pain at my side makes me jerk, and I look down at the small blade my Tether has pressed firmly against my side. The gleaming silver metal glows with death magic, and I eye it in amazement, watching as blood slowly spills across its smooth surface.

Grinning, I look at my young Tether, tightening my grip around her waist while ignoring the sting of pain the move brings as her blade sinks deeper into my side.

“Want to tell me how you possess the magic to cut an Angel, kitten?” I whisper, winding my magic around hers and coaxing it to come out. I thought I had been imagining the odd swirl in her magic last night, but now I know better.

“Why would I do that?” she asks, shocking the hell out of me when she leans closer to me instead of away like I assumed she would.

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