Shock stole my ability to respond before she punched me in the face so hard, I passed out.
Lucent
I drummed my fingers on the desk glancing from the door of the classroom to the clock on the wall. Anxiety made me edgy. Where the fuck was Ember?
The twins walked in just as the bell rang in their true fuck-off fashion. They met my stare and frowned, both of them wearing the same confused expression as I felt. Zelphar was the first to let out a low growl while Karn worked his jaw.
When they reached my desk, Zelphar asked, “Where is she?”
Like he needed to know. I jumped up and got in his face, my initial reaction was to tell him it was none of his business and punch him. However, the amount of fear and overprotectiveness rolling off him and his twin gave me pause. It mirrored my own. “I don’t know. I thought she might have gotten intercepted by you two.”
“I don’t have time for this shit,” Zelphar turned and stopped abruptly.
Mr. Foster stood nose to nose with Zelphar, then the oddest thing happened. Everyone in the classroom froze except for the twins, Foster, and me. Glancing around I realized the mage had slowed time. I didn’t even know that mages could do that.
Narrowing my gaze at the three males, I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, “What’s going on?”
Foster ignored me and spoke to Zelphar. “You said you were watching her.”
A growl rumbled from Zelphar. “I was. She went to the rest room. That is only a few yards down the hall.”
“We don’t have time to argue right now,” Karn said, then sighed. “I’ll go look for her.”
“I’m coming with you.” When I moved to leave, Foster placed a hand on my chest, stopping me. I growled and slapped it away. “I need to find her.”
The silver in the mage’s violet eyes swirled with his magic. “You and Zelphar will stay in class. Karn will find her. We don’t need to gain the attention of the staff and other faculty.”
Ember was right. The twins were sent here, and it appeared so was the teacher. But by whom? “Why are the three of you here?”
“To protect her.”
I snarled and my phoenix was going crazy. Ember was mine to protect. “Who sent you?”
“Her father,” Foster said and Zelphar let out a warning growl.
“Why. That bastard has nothing to do with her.” And the other gods would rather see her dead. Well, all except for Hera for some strange reason that Ember doesn’t talk about. I didn’t dare say that out loud I wasn’t sure how much they knew. But I did add, “How do I know her father doesn’t want her dead?”
“Believe me, I wondered the same thing. But right now he wants her alive and to graduate this hellhole of a school.” Foster pulled the band from his black hair and put it back in, tightening his low ponytail. The act seemed like a nervous tick. “My priority to ensure she lives through it also, then I’ll figure out why Boreas is so focused on her.”
I stilled. The mage, and apparently the twins, knew what Ember was. She suspected as much. “Why do you care?”
“Caleb,” Zelphar warned.
Caleb shook his head and met my stare. “Because she’s my mate. I wasn’t sure until I saw her yesterday, but there is no denying it.”
I jerked back as if the asshole slapped me. Then jealous anger filled me. “That’s tough. She’s mine.”
“We can discuss this later.” Caleb dismissed my anger. “Right now, you need to stay in class and act like nothing is wrong. Karn will go search for her.”
Not leaving me any room to argue further, Caleb waved a hand, making time snap back and move at regular speed. Just like nothing happened. With a low growl I lowered myself into my seat and glared at Karn as he left the room.
Zelphar sat in the desk behind me and leaned forward. “Get used to the idea of sharing because I’m not going anywhere. The mage is more stubborn than I am.”
“We’ll see what Ember has to say about this.” I wasn’t happy about the news that she had three other mates besides myself. That didn’t mean I’d leave just because she wanted to form a harem. It wasn’t unheard of, especially among clan leaders to take multiple mates. I just didn’t think Ember would consider it.
But seeing how she reacted to the twins and Caleb the day before, I guessed I could be wrong.
Which fucking sucked.
8
Karn
After leaving the classroom, I went straight to the girls’ restroom. As I approached it, I caught Ember’s scent and her blood. Fuck. Fear gripped my heart and squeezed. Bursting through the door, I scanned the bathroom. A mix of scents filled the space as well as magic and herbs. Whoever she fought with had used a potion of some kind.
I checked each of the stalls and cursed when finding each one empty.
Out in the hallway, I closed my eyes and sent out my empathy to find her. If she was dead, I wouldn’t be able to track her, but if she was alive, even unconscious, I would pick up on her emotions. But I could also pick up on the emotional signatures left behind by her attackers.
Moments later I found a flow of four different sets of emotions leading down the hall to a cleaning closet. I rushed to it and opened the door. My heart fell to my feet and I stepped inside, closing the door behind me in case any of the school’s staff was walking the halls, spying.
“Ember,” I breathed out, hovering my hand over her unsure where to touch her.
She was bruised and bloody all over. One side of her face was swollen and turning purple. I fisted my hands while fighting the urge to track down the owners of the scents and emotions all over her and making them pay for harming my mate.
I reached out to touch her forehead, but she shrank away from me. Then her eyes cracked opened as much as they could around the swelling. Creases formed on her forehead and she tried to speak. Her mouth moving as if she was telling me to go. Not happening.
“Shh,” I cooed, carefully scooping her up in my arms, I cradled her to me “I got you. You’re safe.”
Then I teleported us to Zel’s and my dorm. The space was small compared to our home in California, but it was much bigger than most dorms I’ve seen. I wasn’t sure if this was originally meant to house staff. Knowing Caleb, he would had done his mojo to get my brother and I the space we needed.
It was still one room with two twin-size beds and two desks on either side of the room with about five feet of space in the center. We’d deal with it for the time we were here.
I laid Ember on my bed and removed her shoes. Then I conjured a bowl of water and a wash cloth. After wetting the cloth, I cleaned her face while sending my brother a telepathic message. “I have her. She’s safe in our dorm. I’ll be staying with her.”
Ember let out a soft moan, then mumbled something I couldn’t make out before she fell into a deeper sleep.
I tried to slow my breathing, to calm my temper. Flash backs of the years of abuse at the hands of mine and my brother’s kidnappers filled my mind. So many times I watched while they beat Zelphar for something I did. My stubborn overprotective brother would redirect Clark’s or Bruce’s—the two bastards who killed our mother and kidnapped us—attention to himself.