Page 40 of Feral Born

My heart lurched, and I started to push through the crowd, ordering people to move. I rushed forward until I spotted Shan toward the front, his hand over his mouth as he stared down at a petite body.

The young woman’s blonde hair was dark with blood, her face almost unrecognizable beneath the gashes. Her lifeblood coated the floor around her, body twisted and completely mangled. I knew her. Tabitha, my star alchemy pupil.

The air was punched from my lungs. I stepped back, trying to catch my breath, to think through the searing panic wrapping around my mind and through my chest. The authorities were questioning the sentries, others taking samples from the body—blood and hair—and checking for evidence that could help determine what occurred here.

“What the hells happened?” I whispered to Shan.

“A student said they saw a figure with clawed hands escaping the grounds.” I knew the next words that were going to leave his lips. “Suspected lycan involvement.”

“How did this happen with sentries present?” I asked.

He shrugged, though the tremor in his body was evident. I couldn’t separate his emotions from the surging terror of the rest, and the sentries were urging everyone to step away to let the authorities handle things.

Classes were dismissed for the rest of the day and the following as well. I returned home, reminding myself again and again it couldn’t have possibly been me.

22

THE GREENHOUSE

SYLVAN

Days later, the lushness of the university garden beneath the late afternoon sun rivaled that of ours in Sublune Creek. The aroma of flowering plants and bitter medicinal herbs mingled together, vibrant colors painting a picture in the fenced space. The gate swung shut behind us before Aura latched it into place. We trekked across the garden, approaching a greenhouse toward the back.

“We keep the plants that don’t generally grow year-round in there,” Aura said, pointing to the winding path through the garden.

We walked past rose bushes, the perfume of them potent, but nothing compared to Aura’s. That thought alone had me nearly tripping over my feet.

There was a permanent scowl on Aura’s face, her red eyes narrowed in the bright summer rays. My gaze slipped to the daylight ring on her finger. The ring she hadn’t been wearing the day she arrived at Sublune Creek. I’d assumed then she didn’t have one. “Do you actually need that ring?” I asked her.

The scowl on her face deepened. “No, but it would be suspicious if I wasn’t wearing one, wouldn’t it?” she asked. She didn’t say anything else, but I practically heard the sarcastic genius in the sting of her glare.

“Smart,” I said.

Something faltered in her gaze. As if she couldn’t believe that I’d complimented her. She pulled a key from her alchemy belt, the light jingle like that of wind chimes.

“How many keys do you have?” I asked.

“How many questions do you have?” she countered.

“Well, damn. Who pissed in your blood or whatever the hells you have for breakfast? Do you eat anything aside from blood?”

“Rarely,” she said with a shrug. “I’m partial to chocolate cake, however.”

My snort echoed in the greenhouse as I followed her inside. “Of all things …chocolate cake?”

“What’s wrong with chocolate cake?”

“Nothing. It’s just not very nutritious?”

She lifted a dark brow at me, a lock of her hair slipping over her forehead. My hand started to lift on its own, fingers itching to tuck that strand behind her pointed ear. Instead, I turned my attention to what lay in front of me. There were neat rows of plants, ivy twining up the glass walls of the greenhouse, and one long bench against one side with built in shelves.

“Nutritious?” Her voice drew me back to her golden-flecked eyes. “You’re concerned about my nutrition when there is so much more to worry about? You know, like me ripping your tongue out of your mouth if you keep asking these ridiculous questions?”

I shrugged. “Well, there is that. I suppose you’re allowed chocolate cake with a side of blood.”

Her cheek twitched slightly. I thought she was about to shout at me, to insult me, but instead she turned away quickly, clearing her throat. Still, I caught the slightest smile on her perfect lips. I wanted to turn her face back to me. To see more of that smile. To taste it.

I pulled in a breath and asked, “So, what are we looking for?”