Page 55 of Midwinter Night's Prince

Seth sat up, Blair still pressed against him, wrapping his arms around her. She could only hide against his chest. “Kill me now,” she whispered.

Seth just chuckled indifferently. “You’re ready for the spell?” he asked Greer casually.

“Almost. I came to fetch you, Blair, as you said you wanted to do the supply run—but I can do it.”

“No, no, I can do it.” She pushed to her feet, feeling her entire face turn beet red. She couldn’t bear to look at Seth, or Alexius, or Greer, for that matter, so her eyes remained on the floor.

Seth suffered no such reserve. He got up, lowered his mouth to her cheek, and kissed it. “Later, then,” he whispered.

A terrifying promise.

She practically ran out of the room.

“Not so fast, missy, I need another blood sample!” Alexius called after her.

“Fuck off!”

The scholar was persistent enough to follow Blair and Greer up the stairs, to the large supply rooms next to the school’s armory. Once her heart had stopped thundering in her chest and the shame had somewhat diminished, Blair let him draw another sample.

“How do you feel?” he asked. “Any different? Electrified, energized?”

“Doesn’t everyone feel that way after making out with a hottie?” Greer put in. “Leave her alone. She’s freaking out.”

Alexius generally listened to Greer; he conceded both points. “Let me know if there’s any difference.” With this, the ancient finally made his exit.

He’d barely left the supply room before Greer glared at Blair. “Okay, now it’s just us. Spill.”

Blair didn’t know where to start. There wasn’t much to say, but she did her best to explain the mess with Aphrodite and Seth, guilt and self-disgust sipping back in.

“So wait. He said wanted you before, and that he just hadn’t made a move because he wasn’t sure you were into him, right?”

“It’s Seth we’re talking about. Does he seem like the kind of guy who’d wait for a girl to make the first move?” Blair rolled her eyes. “He was just making me feel better.”

“Does he seem like the kind of guy who’d bother to make anyone feel better?” Greer countered with a snort. “And he made it blatantly obvious he wanted to get to know you better for months, girlfriend,” she added. “You’re the one who kept running.”

“Hey, I wasn’t running!” she protested. “I just walked really fast in the opposite direction.”

Greer stared incredulously before joining her in a fit of giggles.

She’d missed this so much. “I don’t want to have to leave again,” she admitted. “I know I’ll have to, if we don’t nail Aveka this time, but gods, Greer. I can’t tell you what it’s like to be utterly alone. I’m sure backpacking could be fun if you can video chat with your friends…” She sighed. “It got a little depressing, you know?”

More than a little, but she didn’t want to dwell on it too much.

Part of the issue had been using her mind control powers on a daily basis. Taking away other people’s free will was despicable.

The thought that she could also be controlling other people’s desire for her was just too much. But Greer had a point. Seth had sniffed around her before. She’d just figured he was curious about how she’d managed to push past his defenses in his sleep.

Truth was, she wasn’t entirely certain. Well, she knew the spells, of course, but after everything she’d discovered about Seth, she knew she shouldn’t have been able to reach him.

Yet she had. Getting to him in his dreams was like walking through an open door for her.

“You won’t be alone if you have to run this time,” Greer promised, rubbing her arm. “The spell I’m working on means you can summon us to you. You’re doing this for all of us, and this time, whatever happens, we’re in this together.”

Blair pulled her into a tight hug, blinking tears away.

“I love you, Greer.”

“Right back at you, sweet.”

---