So yeah, I’d choose this fate over her as a sister-in-law any day. She’d put Ryan to shame.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Tray drawled, overhearing my thoughts. “I think they’d pair well locked in a closet. We could add Carmen in for fun, give them all some knives, and watch the bloodshed.”
“For once, I might be on board with your lethal idea.” While I’d essentially taken everything from Ryan and Carmen, they’d yet to acquire an ounce of humanity.
The only good thing that came of it was that they held little influence over others, leaving them to drive each other—and Clarissa—mad. It seemed the general public was safe from them. For now. But I’d continue to watch, and now that I’d mastered most of my talents, I’d use them as needed to keep those bitches in line.
Fortunately, Dash had grown into a rather pleasant guy, his studies at Harvard going well while he held on to a steady girlfriend of over a year now. We didn’t keep in touch, but Tray had kept up with him, prepared to intervene if necessary. But it seemed he’d meant it when he claimed to want to change.
And Charlie, well, he was obsolete now that Anderson Motors filed for bankruptcy.
No one had heard from him in over a year.
And I didn’t care enough to look for him.
Tray caught the zipper at my back to help me out of my dress and kissed my nape. “We’ll be returning to the Academy soon, dove,” he whispered, replying to my complaint about all the gowns.
“Where I’ll be stuck in uniforms,” I drawled, glancing at him over my shoulder. He’d failed to mention that little requirement when telling me about the Academy. It seemed my entire life would be about wearing the same clothes as everyone else.
He smirked. “One more year. Then we’re done.”
The thought of being finished with our studies improved my mo
od immensely. While I still didn’t know where I fit into this world, I was excited to learn my place with Tray by my side. He would join the Council because of his birthright, serving as a second-in-command to his brother—the future king.
Which reminded me… “How was the meeting?” He’d just returned from some sort of urgent discussion. His annoyance flickered through our bond, causing my eyebrows to sail upward. “That bad, huh?”
Tray helped me out of my dress and handed me one of his shirts—which was my chosen sleep attire. “Yeah. It’s bad.”
He pulled off his tie and started unbuttoning his dress shirt before switching to his cuff links. I slid under the sheets as he removed his jacket, and waited for him to take off the rest of his clothes.
Warily, he joined me in just his boxers, his shoulders sagging on a sigh. “Shade bit an Elemental Fae.”
My eyes widened. “What?” I knew a little about their kind. They were divided into sects based on their affinity for earth, air, water, fire, or spirit. And they didn’t need human blood to survive.
“Yeah. And she’s not just any Elemental Fae, but a Royal Earth Fae,” Tray said, running his fingers through his thick hair. “My father is livid.”
“Of course he is.” It was illegal to mate outside of our race. My being a Halfling was the only exception. “What are they going to do?”
“They’re sending her to the Academy.” He glanced at me, and I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever he said next. “And they’ve assigned her to our suite on Elite Quad. Specifically, they want you to share a room with her.”
I blinked. “What? Why?”
“To keep an eye on her until they figure out how to handle the situation,” he muttered. “Look, I’m not thrilled about it, but I prefer it to killing her. Which was the other option on the table.”
“Kill a royal?”
“They’re afraid of how Shade’s bite will influence her powers.” He collapsed beside me on the bed, shaking his head. “That fucking prick. And of course, they’re letting him remain at the Academy, too. He’s under strict orders not to bite her again, but we both know that’s not going to stop him.”
“Have they lost their minds? He should be locked up for doing that to her.”
“They’re giving him the benefit of the doubt for reporting the crime.” Tray’s expression told me how he felt about that. “I suspect he did it on purpose.”
“Why? Why would he do that?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” He blew out a breath. “So I suppose our final year is going to be an interesting one. They’re moving her to the Academy tonight.”
I frowned. “But classes don’t start for another week.”