Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6), Lan Chan [free ebook reader for android TXT] 📗

the well-groomed grass of the Thompsons’ front lawn towards the closest perimeter, where the vegetation became less civilised. Knowing that my vision would be impaired, Max kept us away from the actual tree line.

He didn’t try to touch me again. Not physically. But his presence beside me was a visceral, warm stroke that kept the chill at bay.

“You needed to speak to me?” he asked as we wound around the path that would eventually lead to the homes of the civilians. My dull human nose caught the heady scent of gardenias and night-blooming jasmine in the air.

“I’m going crazy with nothing to do,” I told him.

“It’s been two days.”

Out loud, it sounded ridiculous. But after six months of near exhaustive activity, a moment to breathe felt like a moment I was drowning. If I allowed myself to stop, I was afraid I would never move again. “I’d prefer to keep busy if I can.”

The weighted brush of his gaze swept over me. I clenched the fist not in his field of vision and bore his scrutiny. “What did you have in mind? Don’t say you want to patrol.”

Ah. I see there was a limit to the leash. A part of me wanted to push to see just how far I could bait him towards the edge. Bad ideas were being left unprodded tonight, though.

“I was thinking of asking Doctor Thorne if he needs help in the infirmary. They were making potions this afternoon.”

Head turned towards the quiet stillness of the family homes, Max paused a step. He was moving again before I lost my pacing, but that fraction of hesitation was too telling. “You want to spend more time away from the Reserve?”

“I want to be useful.”

“You’re useful here.”

To a human’s perception, the darkness would have eaten up the sneer on my face. His shifter senses caught it clearly. “I’m tolerated here. Potion making is in my blood as much as alchemy is.”

“I can have Noah supervise if you want to make potions here.”

Smothering the urge to scream, I negotiated the point. “If I can make potions here, I wouldn’t say no. But I’d like to help the Academy too.”

The amusement in his voice was unmistakable this time. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Do you hear an echo?”

Seizing the opportunity, I went on. “I know I’m not supposed to go near the Cabin–”

“You’re not.” The finality in it was absolute.

“But–”

“No, Sophie.” And then, even though I wasn’t owed an explanation, “There’s too much going on. Your presence is agitating enough for the pack. For your own safety and my sanity, stay away from the Cabin.”

“Some of my potions might help Durin.”

He looked off into the distance without saying anything more.

I huffed, not liking it one bit. “Fine. I’d also like to do some gardening.”

This piqued his interest. “Got a hankering for Herbology? I hear it’s off the syllabus at the Academy. Kai and I used to catch up on sleep during the classes in our first year. And then Lex–”

His teeth snapped audibly like he’d tried to bite back the words. It was as though he’d forgotten. I’d done the same thing for weeks after she left. The body blow never got easier when I opened my eyes to sunlight and wondered why she hadn’t already snuck out of the room for her chores.

“She’s okay,” I said. It was the same thing I told myself every time. “Wherever she is, she’s okay.”

“I know.” Cold, cold words of absolute conviction. The mating link became still. For the first time, it really hit me that while Charles was angry, Max’s pain was far more corrosive. It lashed at the protective heart of him, making him confront something he’d thought he should have outgrown by now: fear. He was terrified for her.

I couldn’t stand seeing him hurting. “Remember that time the fair came to Rivia and we took her to the House of Supernatural Horrors?” I asked.

The barked-out laugh was fractured but genuine. “Whose idea was it not to tell her it wasn’t real?”

“I think that honour falls on Sasha.”

“She didn’t even hesitate. A griffon went right for her and her first instinct was to wave that stick of hers in its face.”

“Sasha’s still paying off the fines. He had to get a part-time job over the school breaks.”

“Serves him right.” A heavily weighted pause. “Kai will never stop fighting. Wherever he is. We just need to find him.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, my face pinching so tight I thought I might have burst a blood vessel. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

Why don’t you tell him, Sophie? That ugly voice said in my mind. That’s a sure-fire way to make him stop stalking you. Isn’t that what you want? And when I kept my mouth firmly closed, it whispered: coward.

We rounded the perimeter of the living quarters and through the path leading to the conference rooms. Cut out of the very canopy of the trees, the forest here was thicker. Too dense to allow the faint moonlight to penetrate enough that I could see.

Max turned as though to take the long way around lighter paths. The ache in my chest made me reckless. I took hold of his hand. He held on even though he shouldn’t. For a second everything became silent like all the night creatures stopped moving.

“Max?” Anastasia’s voice cut through the fairy tale. “Something’s going down with the wards in the northern sector. Harris is worried it could be a warning.”

She melted from between the trunks of a huddle of fir trees. Her eyes were a reflective, translucent green. Night-glow. Even I knew warding problems weren’t an issue that warranted the attention of the alpha. She knew we were here and had done it on purpose.

Trying to disengage made him cling even tighter. His jaw was granite when he drew me close so that if I took in too deep a breath, my chest would be flush against his. Knowing he held me out of faithfulness didn’t make me like her any better.

Leaning down,