Page 110 of Forged in Blood

“Hi,” I croak. “You’re beautiful.” Wow. I am such a moron.

Sienna’s eyes sparkle with amusement. “Thank you. You’re pretty cute yourself.”

Why are you feeling all warm and fuzzy, Cupcake?Xavier asks.

I press my lips together and try to tune him out while Sienna rummages in her backpack for a highlighter.

Ophelia! Do I have to come over there and bite somebody?Xavier’s warning growl has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

No! I’m just talking to someone. Her name is Sienna. It’s just that she’s so… captivating.

That will be Sienna Brackenwolf, Malachi says.Commander of the Amalthea Society.

So she’s a wolf. That makes sense.

Why?Axl joins the conversation now.

I think she growled at me.

All of their voices fill my head at once.I will tear out her heart. You’re ours, sweet girl. I’m coming over there.

Relax!I admonish them.It’s nothing like that, you possessive Neanderthals. She’s just… I don’t know. I feel like I want to be her best friend.

Never trust a wolf, baby,Malachi growls.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes.Noted. Now please get out of my head or I’m going to start looking like a girl who has voices in her head.

Xavier’s laugh booms through my mind.You are a girl who has voices in her head.Then they all fall silent.

“So?” Sienna’s voice cuts through the internal noise as she stares at me with curiosity.

I press my lips together and nod with no idea as to what she’s asking me. A musical laugh falls from her lips before she speaks again. “A highlighter?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” I spin around and blow out a breath before rifling through my pencil case and pulling out a bright-yellow highlighter and handing it over.

“Ophelia, you are a lifesaver, girl. I’ll hand it back as soon as I’m done.”

I dismiss her suggestion with a wave of my hand. “You can keep it. I have plenty.”

She tilts her head, her dark eyes raking over me. And I’m sure I hear that growl again, but Cadence doesn’t seem to notice. “Thanks. Hopefully I’ll be able to return the favor sometime.” She winks at me, and I feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Or maybe it’s happiness. At this point, I don’t know what I’m feeling from one second to the next.

Sienna says goodbye to both of us and heads back through the shelves of books to the other side of the library.

Cadence nudges me in the arm. “Is that the first time you’ve met a werewolf?”

I shrug. “I dunno. I think so. Who knows at this school?”

That makes her laugh, and she bumps her shoulder against mine. “She was right… you are cute.” I shake my head dismissively. Her eyes narrow, homing in on mine. “Smart, too, if you know about elementai.”

My mouth dries up like someone poured a cup of sand in there. “I think I read about them in a book.” My heart is racing, but I force my voice to remain calm. “Are they legend too?”

She takes a few seconds to answer. “No, they were very real. Elementai were closely related to witches.”

My curiosity is too strong now to let me stop asking questions. I will gladly risk the professor’s wrath to know a little more about what I supposedly am. “What happened to them?”

Her eyes fill with sorrow. “They were wiped out.”

I blink. “Wiped out?”

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