Page 115 of The Reign of Blood

Lowering myself, I take a deep breath as I land on top of the wolf building, desperate to calm the panic growing inside of me so I can focus on finding her. Blinking my eyes open, I exhale slowly as a thread of her scent lingers in my nose.

It grows stronger, and when I peer toward the fountain and its surrounding pathways, I’m left speechless. I watch in surprise as she drapes a black cloak around her body, her head tipped down. To anyone else, nothing is out of the ordinary, but to me, it’s the opposite.

She’s not on the fae pathway to my right, although I’m sure that’s where she’s heading.

No.

She’s hurrying down the path from the wolf building.

Cassian.

I watch her the entire time, all the way until she slips into the fae building, and the second she does, Cassian steps out of the building beneath me. Disbelief courses through me, but it’s not the kind that’s laced with disappointment. It feels more like hope.

Not wanting to be caught, I take off for the main academy building, landing on the patch of grass just off the pathway so I can shift back. Thankfully, I put my uniform on before I set off this morning, so I ruffle my fingers through my hair and head inside without missing a beat.

Brody is already at the table in the dining hall and I take my seat across from him with a yawn. He manages a wave butfocuses on his food, and a moment later, my plate is placed in front of me, too.

I mumble my thanks, but my attention is on the wolf in question as he saunters toward the table with an extra bounce to his step.

“What’s got you so happy?” Brody asks, assessing the same detail as me, and Cassian grunts in response.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What are we talking about?” Raiden asks, dragging out his seat and sitting with a huff. It doesn’t help that he’s so dramatic with the damn red cloak. He flicks and whips it everywhere like he’s royalty. It’s irritating as hell.

“We’re not talking about anything,” Cassian grumbles as the servers bring both his and Raiden’s food.

“He seems chipper,” Brody explains, wagging his fork at him.

“Are you sure?” Raiden retorts with a confused look, and I snicker.

“I would actually have to agree,” I add, which gets Raiden’s attention because usually, I would keep the hell out of this kind of stuff.

“I don’t know what any of you are talking about, and you’re giving me a fucking headache, so can we just eat in silence?” Cassian snaps, nostrils flaring with irritation, and I grin.

He clocks it, his jaw ticking ever so slightly as I lean back in my seat.

“I think it has something to do with a fae princess leaving the wolf building this morning.”

Cassian curses me out under his breath as Brody and Raiden kick into action, peppering him with questions he definitely doesn’t want to answer. I wink at him as he glares daggers at me, but I’m up on my feet before it goes any further.

“I’ll meet you all at combat. I need to speak to my brother,” I holler, but they wave me off without a backward glance, too busy interrogating the lucky wolf.

I’ll miss sitting beside Addi this morning, but I really do need to chat with my brother. I need someone to vent to about her, someone who might understand, so I can make sense of it all.

I keep my head down and trudge across the grounds, finding him already at the combat setup.

“Hey,” he hollers, spotting me immediately and waving me over. “You’re early.”

“Yeah,” I breathe, speechless now that I’m actually here.

My brother frowns at me, inching closer as he wipes his hands over his combat pants. “What’s going on?” he asks, and I shrug, earning a pointed look from him. “Well, I can’t help you if you can’t give me anything to go on,” he states, folding his arms over his chest, and I sigh.

“I kissed her.Kissedher, and I can barely contain myself,” I blurt, turning away from him as I scrub a hand over the back of my neck.

“Who?”

“That part doesn’t matter,” I grumble, huffing in irritation at myself. I’m making it worse and I just need to spit it out. Settling my gaze back on him, I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly before I find the words. “I think she’s the one.”

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