Page 54 of Drama Queen

The city is fucking huge, but even worse, it’s a maze. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I walk around the same area, but it’s enough that things begin to look familiar. It’s not until I take a moment to focus on the bond that I get my ass going in what I can only hope is the right direction. Pixie wakes up after a while, and while I hear her whines and grumbles from my bag, I ignore her. I’d brought her in case I needed her help, and right now, I don’t. I might not know much about the mortals, but I can’t imagine walking around talking to a jar will do me any favors.

I keep walking as the sun rises higher and higher, and then I walk some more, following the pull in my chest as it becomes increasingly harder to ignore. Worry takes over my thoughts as I imagine just how far away my mate could be. According to what Pixie said yesterday, this is one city in just one part of the state, and there are a lot of them. What if the veil took me to the wrong part of the realm, and I’m hundreds of miles from where I need to be?

Getting to them isn’t the hard part; I can walk or run for much longer than the average mortal, but going that far and coming back with them to the portal would add days to this trip. Days I don’t have. A huge building comes into view at the heightof my panic, and with it, I feel the bond as it tugs at my chest hard enough that it damn near pulls me physically toward it.

My feet carry me faster until I’m sprinting, uncaring of the people in my way as I weave between them.

“Miss? Can I help you?” Someone shouts from my left, startling me, and I stop, turning toward the sound. An older man stands a few feet away from me, heading in my direction with a serious look on his wrinkled face. His outfit is strange—nothing like the rest of the people around us. Instead, it all matches, reminding me of Zephyr’s guard uniform but with less metal.

“Oh, um, I–” I stumble over my words, unsure of what to say. I can’t exactly say I’m looking for my mates; mortals don’t have mates.

“Tell him it’s your first day, and you’re looking for the office,” Pixie whispers from my bag, and not for the first time, I’m thankful I have her.

I tell him as much, and a small smile turns his lips. “Follow me. Let’s get you to the office. There’s no need to run. You still have plenty of time before class starts.”

He turns and walks into the building, and with no idea what else to do, I follow him. The bond pulls tight as we go, and I know I’m in the right place.

Too bad there are easily hundreds of mortals here.

Why can’t shit ever be easy?

Thomas, the guard who helped me find the office, was nice enough. He got me to the office, and with a bit of convincing and the help of Pixie, I was able to get a schedule for class at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Whatever the fuck that means.

Pixie said it's a school, kind of like Ironcrest, but without the magic, the fighting, and all things fae. So, I guess it's just the book part. No wonder mortals are miserable all the time. Everything fun or helpful was stripped away. Oh well, it’s not like I’m here for this, anyway. I just need to find a way to sift through hundreds of people to figure out who my damn mates are or if there are even both here.

No big deal, right?

Wrong, as always.

It’s not just as simple as the bond leading me right to them. Since I entered the school, the bond hasn’t fluctuated at all, simply remaining a constant pull that doesn’t lead me anywhere. For all I know, only one of them could be here, with the other off who knows where, but the only way to know for sure is to find one of them. It would be much easier if I didn’t have to touch them to do it…

This is going to take so much longer than I thought it would.

Five

EMORY

Whoever madethis stupid ass skin to skin contact rule is a fucking asshole.

Holding my glamour all day is annoying enough, but banishing it on just my hand would require more magic than I can access here. My only real option is to drop it completely and put it back as fast as possible.

It sounds easy enough, but touching someone tends to make them pay attention to you. Which is bad when I’m sporting pointy ears, eyes so pink they rival my hair and fucking fangs. The ears are usually pretty easy to keep hidden if my hair is down. My fangs I can hide so long as I keep my mouth shut, but my eyes, not so much. At least in this particular situation, it shouldn’t be so hard since we’re meant to be studying.

I’ve been here for over a month now, and I’ve maybe made it through seventy people—all because of the stupid need for skin-to-skin contact.

That was when I thought this would be simple, though. I hadn’t understood how this actually worked. Bonding with Zephyr was simple because we naturally touched one another and didn’t hide behind our glamours. When the pull started, I’dalready been with him. I didn’t even have a chance to feel it out before our bond snapped into place. Everyone always says you can sense your mates, but really, it’s just a feeling you get when you’re near them, like an itch under your skin. With at least nine hundred other people at this school, it’s been a fucking nightmare.

Slowly, I begin pulling back the layers of magic I’d carefully woven around myself this morning. With every strand, I feel like it’s easier to breathe. It’s stupid, really. I know the magic isn’t actually binding me, but somehow, it still feels like it is.

I don’t enjoy hiding. I suppose a life full of it will have that effect, though.

I’m careful to keep my eyes on the textbook in front of me, just in case Silas should look my way. He rarely ever does, too focused on his work, but I can’t take any chances.

I can’t hold back the sigh of relief that leaves my lips when I’ve finished. Silas' eyes drift to me, but with my head in my book, he shouldn’t notice anything amiss…hopefully. His gaze weighs on me for a moment before it’s gone again. I can’t blame him for being curious. We're studying the mortal's history, not exactly something to be sighing about.

Silas is one of the few mortals I’ve found whose company I enjoy. He’s soft-spoken and shy, but intelligent and really freaking sweet. I’d told myself I would find my mates and leave. It sounded easy. Mortals never interested me before, so why would they now? Most still don’t, but Silas is different, not at all what I expected, and I find myself hoping he is my mate despite myself.

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