Page 10 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

His eyes were black. I shivered as I recalled the way they had skewered through me, as though I was a bug to be squashed. That same electric pulse I’d felt when our gazes locked came through me again, and I tucked my hands into the hem of my tunic, trying to hide their shaking.

I’d thought that Kili was cruel and dangerous. But just like his aura couldn’t compare with a full-blooded fae, neither could his cruelty. I was certain of that. The question of whether Sebastienne had killed anyone seemed to be moot now. Whether he had or not, those were eyes that wouldn’t hesitate. My skin wouldn’t warm up. Had I landed on his list?

“I can’t wait to see all this new meat in the binding trials,” a tall fae with long braids said somewhere ahead of me. Their voice boomed over the crowds. “You can tell just by looking at the first-years which ones aren’t going to last the year.”

A brown-haired girl just behind me pushed past me to join the braided fae. “Ha! You’re just lucky that fifth-years aren’t in the same trials as first-years. We both know my beast is stronger than yours. I’d kill you.”

The first one whirled on the girl, and I quickly skirted around them and got to the next floor, where I left the stairs entirely to walk swiftly down the hallway. The noise of their threats and fighting increased, so I ducked into a classroom. All my limbs were shaking now. I found the nearest desk and slumped into it.

If I survived this year, I’d have at least four more to get through. What the hell had happened? I replayed the events at the orphanage. God, I wished I could have asked questions. Said no. Demanded why they were picking a human to come here. Had the paperwork gotten mixed up? Maybe they had been really after Kili, and I was here by mistake.

I stared at the wood grain pattern on the desk, trying to stop my spiral. There wasn’t anything I could do about that tonight. What I needed to do was find my room, memorize the map, and try to get a good sleep. With how much I’d tossed and turned last night—

My head jerked up again and I stared out the now-dark window. The classroom was dimly lit by a few torches on the wall, ones with blue flames that gave off no smoke.

It had been morning when I came here. First thing in the morning, in fact. Then we’d had the welcome speech and ate. When I left the great hall, it was already starting to get dark. Had that much time really gone by?

Or are the gates portals, too? That had to be it. Without realizing it, I’d been transported to a whole other part of the realm. Even if I knew where the gates were, I couldn’t just escape. Where would I go? I wasn’t in the human realm anymore.

I stared for a long moment as reality sank in. Part of me was hoping that I could run away. But that didn’t seem like it was going to be possible. Maybe I could see the headmaster and tell him what was going on? Yeah, I’d probably end up dead in that case.

I stayed in the empty classroom until my heart had stopped racing, and then I dragged myself out. My footsteps were heavy, but the stairs were empty. Using the torchlight, I kept an eye on the map until I reached the first-year dormitory.

The common room was crowded. I spied a flash of red hair and crept along the wall to avoid Flora. The girls’ dorms were the first break-off hallway. More stairs. Each flight led to a narrow hallway, on which were three doors. From the map, I guessed that there were two bedrooms on either side, then a shared bathroom.

It was better than sharing the bathroom with the entire orphanage, I supposed.

Finally, I reached my dorm. All the excitement of the day had left me exhausted, but I still braced myself as I entered, dreading what I would find.

“There you are! I thought you’d gotten lost,” Freta exclaimed.

I jumped as she bounced to me and pulled me into the room. A quick glance around showed a comfortable space. Two narrow beds were placed on opposite sides of the room, each with a desk at the foot of them. Each of us had a tall, ornate wardrobe next, then a shelf on which sat various books. One bed had a plain, if comfortable-looking quilt on it. The other was a soft pink color.

“This one’s mine,” Flora said, gesturing to the pink bed. “I hope you don’t mind. I spoke with the dormitory faculty and changed my room so we could be roommates.”

“Why?” I asked, startled.

Freta’s smile faltered. “You do mind?”

“Well … no,” I admitted as I sat on the edge of my bed. “I’m just surprised is all.”

“Because all fae are cold as ice and violent, waiting for you to lower your guard so they can trick you?” she asked with a wry smile.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I—” I cut myself off as I realized what I had done. I scrambled to recover. “Well, you know what the courts are like.”

Freta folded her arms. “I do. But you don’t. Isn’t that right? You weren’t raised in the fae realm. I wondered why you seemed to be so confused and why you had that look on your face.”

I clenched my hands. “What look?”

“Like you were trying to commit everything you heard to memory. So, then. Who is your fae parent? Mother or father?”

It took a moment to realize she thought I was half-fae. Her expression was curious, not hostile, and not surprised, either. So maybe it wasn’t that unusual to have a roommate that was only part fae. “My mother,” I finally said. “But she didn’t raise me.”

Freta nodded as though she expected that. “Let me guess. You have no idea why you’re here, what’s happening, or what the binding even is.”

I shook my head slowly.

“I thought as much. In the simplest terms, each fae has a beast form. The binding is when a fae is able to fully inhabit that form, and shift into that skin with ease. Usually, a fae’s bound form is going to be similar to that of the rest of their court, hence court beasts. It doesn’t always work that way, though.” Here she paused and a dark look crossed her face, but she shook her head and gave me another bright smile.