My whole body lightened with relief and I squeezed Sin. “Yes! Did you just take it? Let’s call that druid lady back right now!”
“Ah, not so quick, my dear,” Kelvin cut in. “I’m administering the potion to Sin in three doses, as some ingredients are toxic in high quantities.” He indicated the sideboard, where a vial of pink liquid waited. “She can take the next one tomorrow morning, and I’ll have the final dose ready that night. The lupine spirit will be ready for removal by the time the druidess arrives.”
“I’m so relieved.” Sin backed out of our hug and dropped onto the sofa, her admiring eyes on the master alchemist. “Thank you, Kelvin.”
Valerie brought her hands together in a single sharp clap. “Let’s celebrate with a late dinner. Tori and the boys have been working hard too. Kelvin, will you and your apprentice join us?”
“We’d be happy to.”
As she bustled off, I sat beside Sin. After a cold, frustrating, exhausting day traipsing through the woods and accomplishing nothing, I felt buoyed by this victory. The black wolf might be playing games, but Sin would be okay. Not a complete victory, but I’d take it.
Kai and Ezra joined us, filling out the sofa. Sin asked how the hunt went and Kai answered. Half listening, I slumped back, daydreaming about my bed. So damn tired.
Ezra was beside me, our arms touching. The memory of his demon controlling him lingered in the back of my thoughts, but Ezra had been his usual self all day. It was surprisingly easy to ignore Eterran when I was happy to spend time with Ezra after so many weeks of distance.
He stifled a yawn—which triggered my jaw to pop open. Sin caught it next. Kai resisted for a long moment, then clapped his hand over his mouth.
“If seeing other people yawn doesn’t make you yawn,” I told him, “it means you’re a psychopath.”
He snorted, then paused as a quiet voice drifted over from the other end of the room.
“So you found no sign of the alpha wolf?” Tobias asked.
“We found plenty of signs,” Aaron answered. “Fur, scat, tracks everywhere. But locating a single shifter, especially one that’s taunting us, in over a thousand acres of forest is worse than finding a needle in a haystack.”
Tobias was quiet for a moment. “And do you feel your efforts today were the best you could contribute? Did you accomplish as much with only Kai and Ezra to help you as you could have leading a team of alumni—as I suggested this morning?”
Aaron lowered his voice but his words reached us anyway. “And as I told you this morning, I’m not a member of the Sinclair guild and I won’t lead them.”
“You may not be a guild member, but you’re still a Sinclair—”
“I already have a team,” Aaron interrupted. “And I work best with them. With the alumni, I would’ve spent my afternoon shutting down complaints instead of searching.”
“I have no doubt you could have directed them in an efficient search had you tried.” A stiff pause. “Regardless, the alpha wolf will have to wait until Saturday. There will be no time to search tomorrow.”
“My morning is free to—”
“You’re meeting with the Olympus guild master at ten. He’s flown in specially to see you, and I will not permit you to insult yet another valued colleague with your truancy.”
I gritted my teeth at Tobias’s stern tone. Footsteps and rustling clothes moved across the room, and when I dared to look, both the headmaster and his son had left.
“So,” I drawled, “tomorrow is the party.”
“The party,” Ezra echoed, his expression disconcertingly grave. “If we survive it, then we’re home free.”
“Survive?” Sin sounded alarmed. “What does that mean?”
He fixed his poker stare on her. “You’ve clearly never been to a party like this before.”
“Like what?”
Leaning close, he whispered in a grim monotone, “A staff Christmas party.”
I snorted in amusement. Ezra’s deadpan humor aside, I suspected he wasn’t joking that survival would be our goal tomorrow evening. From everything I’d seen of Sinclair Academy so far, a gathering of its most elite members and all their extra-elite friends would be anything but fun.
The sound of my bedroom door opening woke me in an instant.
I went rigid under the blankets, ears straining. The door snicked shut, the noise muffled. Adrenaline flooded my bloodstream and I reached for the leather cord hanging around my neck. I slid my fingers down to the crystal resting on my tank top.
Eterran, the demonic scum, couldn’t keep his promise for one night. Had he changed his mind about our “deal”? Was he here to kill me before I could reveal his new trick to Ezra?
Gripping the fall-spell artifact in one hand, I drew in a silent, steadying breath. The element of surprise was my only chance. I threw my blankets aside and lunged off the bed, the incantation’s first syllable already on my lips.
My room was empty.
I paused, confused, then rushed barefoot to the door. Cracking it open, I peered into the hall, expecting to see Ezra/Eterran sneaking back to his room. Maybe Eterran hadn’t come to kill me? He could have been checking that I was asleep before taking Ezra’s body for a joyride around the manor.
The hall was empty too, but Ezra’s room was right next to mine. Had he ducked back inside? If the demon had broken his promise, I needed to know. Heedless of the chill air on my bare arms and legs, I darted to Ezra’s door, but building terror froze my hand on the knob. Eterran could be right on the other side, his powerful fists and even more powerful magic able to silence me in an instant.
Shoving down my fear, I pushed the door open with more force than intended.
The hall light flooded the room, revealing a complete lack of demons standing inside. From the bed, Ezra raised his head off his pillow and squinted blearily at me. Confused. Half asleep. No sign of glowing crimson eyes.
Uh. Oops.
I cringed. If Eterran hadn’t been sneaking around, then I’d barged into Ezra’s room for no reason.
“Tori?” His drowsy stare drifted down my torso to my legs. “What …”
When his gaze didn’t immediately return to my face, I realized why he was staring. I’d barged into his room for no reason in my underwear.
“Uh …” I stammered. “I, um …”
Refocusing on my face, he pushed himself up on one elbow. “What’s wrong?”
“I—I thought I heard a noise. I was just checking on you. Sorry to wake you up.” I forced a laugh but it came out too high-pitched. “Maybe there was no noise. I probably dreamed it. Nightmare or something. No big deal.”
Shit, was I babbling?
He sat up, the blankets sliding down his torso. The hall light cut across his bare chest, the warm glow illuminating the dips and planes of his muscles. My mouth went dry.
“Tori?”
I zoned back in and jerked my eyes to his face. If he’d noticed me checking him out … well, he’d checked me out first. Unless he’d merely been assessing me for injuries or something. That was a possibility.
Had he asked me something? Crap. “Um … what?”