Page 117 of A Dusk Of Stars

I move for the door, more determined about having my first shift than ever before.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

I stop to throw her a look over my shoulder. “To find Bane.”

“Bane?” she echoes, something flashing through her eyes.

I squint at her, all my focus suddenly on her face. “My mentor. Yeah.”

I see her hesitate, shaking her head and making this dread start flooding me. I turn to face her, holding my breath.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” she finally starts, “this might turn out to be a bad idea, but I really can’t keep quiet any longer.”

I walk up to her, staring her down. “Yeah,” I say forcefully, “I’m not into the suspense right now.”

“Jericho Bane… You’re the reason he’s here.”

For a second, I just blink at her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“You’re the reason the Academy hired him,” she says with hesitation as I keep staring at her in silence. “That is… It was Lorcan, to be honest.”

“No,” I reply with a frown, my breathing turning shallow. “It’s Finn Brennan. Finn Brennan’s the reason.”

She shakes her head. “That was just a rumor Lorcan never dispelled because it suited him. Because he didn’t justhireBane. He blackmailed him into coming here and becoming your professor. Now, I can’t be sure why, but… Well, I suspect it has something to do with the fact that you never did end up learning how to shift.”

It takes me a second to truly understand what she’s saying. But when I do, it hits me hard and all at once, like a tornado breaking me into a million pieces and leaving only dead silence.

I should’ve known.

I see Serra’s eyes dart to my hands and it’s only then that I realize I’m vibrating with rage, sparks shooting off my fingers.

It’s with a lot of hesitation and definitely a heavy dose of pity that she starts, “Anna—”

“It’s no big deal,” I cut her off, coldly. I force my fingers to obey before I add, “No big deal. People lie, cheat and hurt you all the time. I’m used to it.”

Now, now I’m going to make him suffer. “Now,” I start as it all becomes so clear to me — what I need to do, “I need to speed things up like it’s the end of the world.” I take a step closer to her, noticing something like fear flash through her eyes before I ask, “Is there anythingyoucan do to help me with my wolf?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

She glances around helplessly. “I could try to use Divine Magic to jumpstart your connection, but—”

“How?” I mercilessly cut her off. “Whatever time I had for fucking around, it’sovernow.”

She looks at me for a second, then walks over to a chest of drawers in the far right corner. She takes something out and turns to look at me, lifting a large stone nail for me to inspect.

“I enchanted this for a friend who never needed to use it. It’s moon rock, and normally, it wouldn’t do anything to help you, but I’ve made it so the moon’s energy is magnified tenfold. It should take you straight to your wolf so you can work things out.”

I frown at her. “Why are you only showing this to me now?”

“This much moon energy…” She lowers her voice. “You coulddieusing this, Anna.”

I shake my head. “I don’t care. Just do it.”

“Right now?” she asks with a frown.

“You have something more important to do?” I snap at her.

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