Page 77 of Laid Bare

“The only way we know our true mates is if our own individual brand of magic doesn’t affect them. That day in Bailey’s kitchen, it wasn’t my intention to leak pheromones. It happened because of her proximity. And when they didn’t affect her, not like how it would anyone else, that’s when I knew. My brother, on the other hand, is a crossroad demon. He’d have to make a deal with her in exchange for her soul to find out if she is or not.”

“Well, fuck.” I brush my hand back and forth over my scalp. “That’s…damn. Okay, so what happens if you try it to find out, and she’s not. Is there a way out of the contract on her end? Or is Bailey’s soul forfeit?”

“Wait.” Bane holds his arms up, palms out. “You’re okay with this?”

“Ehhh…” I nod my head side to side. “Yes and no. If you’ll release her from the contract if she’s not, then yes. And that’sonlybecause I won’t stop her from finding her mates. She has more. Axel and I both know and understand that, but if any of these so-called mates put her in harm's way, I have no problem removing them from the equation. Get my drift?”

“Yep. Drift totally gotten,” Zane snickers, while Bane gapes at me.

I don’t know why he’s so surprised. Bailey is my goddess, my soul mate, and I’d do anything for her. Even put up with two damn demons if she accepts them.

“Yeah, yes, yes,” Bane stutters, tripping over his words. “I’d let her out of the contract if she’s not, but I won’t stop pursuing her if she doesn’t turn out to be my fated.”

“Good.” My hands clap down on my thighs before I stand. “Glad we talked this out. Just remember,” I make eye contact with both of them, so they know I’m serious, “you hurt her, you die.” My finger slices over my throat, imitating what I’ll do if they don’t heed my words. “Night.”

Neither Zane nor Bane bothers with pleasantries as I leave their side of the dorm for my mate’s. The talk was more informative than I thought it would be, but there’s still a little part of me that’s unsettled about them.

I don’t know what it is, but secrets don’t stay secret for long, and when they trip up—because they will, everyone always does—I’ll be there to call their asses out on it.

And rip their heads off in the process.

“Alright,Miss Matthews, it’s your turn.”

Today is my evaluation in basic elements class, and I’m so here for it.

Knowing this was coming up, Thaddeus has been working me through my elements fluidly in preparation to move on to my next class. But this is the last hurdle between basic and advanced, and if I bomb this test, I’ll be stuck in this class until the next evaluation date. And no one wants that.

Me most of all.

“Now, I’m going to be honest here,” Mrs. Talons says as I join her in the middle of the room. “I’m ignorant when it comes to curiomancers. I know you have three of the four elements. Fire, air, and water, and you weren’t sure the last time we worked on the earth element if you had it. Has that changed?”

“It has.” I nod my head, proud that I can say that.

“Fabulous!” she cheers, clapping her hands, her bangles jingling together. “Let’s get started then. I’ll call out which element I want you to use, and you showcase that for us. When I’ve seen all four, I’ll randomly call them out, testing you on the speed at which you bring them forth and if you do so correctly without messing up. And just like the other students, you’re also subjected to the three strikes and you’re out rule. If you mess up three times, you’ll stay in basics until you can test again. Any questions?”

“No. I’m ready.”

“I like your confidence, Bailey.” She gives me an encouraging smile as she backs up to her podium, leaving me alone in the center of the room. “Let’s start with fire.”

Gods, I love that she’s starting easy with me.

A pink fireball explodes in my outstretched palm the very second I nudge my magic toward the rune. Mrs. Talons’ face lights up in awe just like it does every time I bring forth my flames. And it’s not because I do it correctly. I know that because she told me. It’s because she’s never seen pink fire before, and pink is her favorite color.

“Very good, Bailey. Air next, please.”

A light wind slowly flows through the classroom as my fire cuts off and my belly heats with my magic lighting up my rune. I give it an extra nudge to pick up the pace, turning it into a soft breeze. Just enough to float loose paper without going Gael force on my unsuspecting classmates.

“Perfect. Water.”

An errant piece of paper falls onto my head the moment I cut off my air rune, making the students laugh, but I don’t pay any mind to them. A couple of them that are laughing at my expense are already being held back until the next examination, and I refuse to be one of them.

And just to get the little shits back, instead of creating a puddle of water in my hand, I send all the little drops into the air, letting them rain down specifically on those who thought it was funny.

“Well played, Bailey.” Mrs. Talon throws me a wink, not at all mad that I soaked some of her students. “Now show me earth.”

This one is a little harder for me to work with, not that I’d be honest with her about it. I only discovered the rune myself when I was going through the book Cassian sent over. I mean, who would have thought the little flower-shaped rune on the outside of my pinky would be my earth element. Not me, that’s for sure.

When I told Thaddeus what I discovered, he said that it made sense since there are many different things that you can do with earth. Create a sand sculpture without the sand getting in places sand shouldn’t be. Grow flowers from a seed into one in full bloom without waiting for the season to be right. And if I was feeling particularly confident in my abilities, I could shake the very foundation beneath my feet.

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