ВойтиVessa's POVThe luxury shop was small and warm. It smelled of expensive fragrance and sat on the main street in the nearest small town to the campus. It had everything in stock. From jewelry to training accessories to overpriced skincare.I moved along the display shelves slowly, picking things up and setting them down. My eyes caught a gold bracelet. I picked it up.Kayla closed the distance between us. Her eyes moved over everything with excitement . "I'm impressed. This place has all the designers."I gestured to the items on the shelves. "Pick whatever you want."I returned my gaze to the bracelet I was examining. She picked up a designer bag."Vessa, I can't just..." She pointed to the prize tag. "It's too expensive.""I said pick whatever you want." I set the bracelet down and moved to the next shelf. "You did well. You earned it."Kayla was quiet for a moment, then I heard her drop the bag in the trolley.She earned it. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to make all the mov
Veron's POVAs soon as the call with Lord Crest ended, I set the phone down on my desk.I sat silently for a moment, staring straight ahead of me.~The Sentinels Accord induction needs to happen sooner than scheduled.He wanted the competition accelerated. He wanted the top candidates identified and pushed harder than the current format allowed.~Why the urgency? What does he know that he's not telling me?~There was only one answer that made sense. Lord Crest knew the Dracthari were close. He'd always had his own sources, his own seers and informants running parallel to mine. He'd spent years preparing for exactly this. The Sentinel Accord wasn't a ceremonial thing to him.I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. Lord Crest accelerating the competition meant more scrutiny on the campus, more eyes on everything happening within these walls. That made my arrangement with the Dracthari harder to maintain without exposure.I thought for a moment about my arrangement with Lord
Aldric's POVA knock sounded on my door and a familiar voice asked. "Orven, the seer, is here, My Lord?"Orven. I'd been waiting to see him for weeks. We agreed he would hasten up with his work because no one could predict when the Dractharis would be back, but I didn't hear from him until now. "Let him in."I pushed the bowl of grapes on my table away and waited for him to step in. Orven entered in his flowing white robe. He bowed his head right away. "My Lord.""Orven," I said. "Sit down. Why did you take so long?""Remember I told you it would take some time to find all the spiritual ingredients needed to make the potions.""Yes. Did you find them?""Yes, My Lord."He eased into a seat opposite mine. Right away, he pulled out a small leather case from under his robe and set it on the edge of my table. It was old. The leather was cracked with age. He unclipped the fastening and opened it.Inside were seven vials. Each one no wider than two fingers. The liquid inside was deep amber
Tyrell's POVI sat at the desk in my office, holding a pen in my hand. There were lots of prescriptions to write, lots of patient's files to go through. I had left my work behind to help Mira look for her friend. Too bad we ended up getting treated like criminals by the guards.I leaned forward and opened one of the files. Just then the clinic door opened. I looked up. Mira came through first, and then Serena stepped in, with Josh beside her.My eyes widened. That's the girl we were looking for!I'd heard noise from somewhere on the campus minutes earlier, but I didn't bother about it. I had too much work on my hands to worry about anything else.I looked at Serena now and understood immediately that she wasn't okay.She was upright, was breathing and her eyes were open. But something was off in the way she carried herself. Too stiff. There was also this confused look on her face. It looked like she had never been anywhere on this campus before."Where did you find her?" I asked Mira.
Josh's POVShe was breathing.That was the first thing I checked. My fingers went straight to her neck the moment I dropped beside her and I held them there until I felt it. Faint and uneven but present. She was on the grassy ground, breathing slowly."Serena." I called. "Serena, look at me."Her eyes were open. That was the confusing thing. She wasn't unconscious. She was looking up at the night sky with her eyes open and her chest heaving. Nothing on her face that suggested she recognised where she was or how she'd got there."Hey." I moved into her line of sight. "Hey, I'm right here. Look at me."Her eyes moved to my face.She looked at me the way one looked at a stranger on a bus. No flicker of recognition. ~This is crazy.~My chest tightened."It's me. It's Josh."She blinked and her lips moved."Where am I?" Her voice was weak."You're at the campus for the Joint Shift Contest," I took her hand carefully. Her fingers were cold. "Do you know who I am?"She looked at my face ag
Caden's POV The guards led us into Parker's office and positioned themselves at the door like they expected us to try and escape. None of us tried to get away. There was no point doing that when we were already cornered. Parker sat behind his desk with his arms crossed. His eyes burned with rage. "Anyone wants to explain what the hell just happened?" he growled. Nobody spoke for a moment. I stepped forward to take responsibility, but Josh cleared his throat and spoke up. "We went looking for Serena." Parker's eyes moved to him. "Outside the campus perimeter? Past curfew? Without authorisation? Do you understand what you're saying?" "Why do we need authorisation from people who haven't done anything useful since we reported her missing?" Josh's nose flared as he spoke. "Josh. . ." Mira tried to calm him down. "Let me talk," he fired back. "We gave you the evidence we found. You said you'd mobilise a search team. You said you'd search the perimeter and beyond. You promised to ma
Caden's POVI headed back to the male hostel with my mind circling back to those precious moments when I locked lips with Mira. Her mouth was against mine, moving slowly. Then she went rigid and pulled back. I thought she was repulsed by the idea of kissing me.But it was something else. Fire.I co
Mira's POVCaden's breath was still warm against my ear.I stayed very still for a moment. His hand hadn't moved from my wrist. He really wanted me to tell Tyrell to leave. I swallowed, aware of both men looking at me. As much as I liked Tyrell and owed him for taking care of me, it was hard to s
Mira's POVThe tournament fixture went up right after the orientation ended. Students pushed in from every angle, craning necks, standing on their toes.I joined the back of the crowd and worked my way through. Nobody moved for me. I squeezed between shoulders and elbows until I was close enough to
Caden's POVI sat on my bed and raised a mug of tea to my lips. Riven was in the bed opposite mine. He had one leg thrown over the bunk, flipping a knife and catching it by the handle. His brown hair had fallen into his eyes again. He hadn't pushed it back. Yesterday had been eventful. I had gott







