Thornhill Academy. Chapter 107

The walk back to my home is a blur of torchlight and noise that doesn’t quite reach my ears. She’s alive. She’s safe. I should be relieved, and part of me is—so relieved that my knees almost gave out when I heard her voice through that door. But relief doesn’t drown the rest of it. Jealousy burns low in my gut, a slow, bitter ember. I saw Kael’s grin, the water still beading down his shoulders, the towel barely hanging on his hips. I heard her voice, soft and wrecked, calling for me. It shouldn’t mean anything—she’s free to be with her mates—but it cuts deeper than it should.

I shouldn’t have gone there. I shouldn’t have wanted to stay. The bond hums faintly under my skin, a quiet throb in time with my heartbeat. I press a hand to my chest, trying to quiet it, but it doesn’t stop. It never does. For a moment, I actually think it. *To hell with the rules.* To walk back there, open that door, and damn the consequences. To touch her the way I’m not allowed to. Instead, I turn down another corridor. I have a meeting to arrange. Scorched will know if the council’s finally responded. If they haven’t, I’ll make them. I can’t keep waiting while they decide what she is. She’s mine—whether they acknowledge it or not.

**Cage**

The bond’s been tugging at me all morning. Not gentle either, it’s a ruthless, irritating pull that digs right under my ribs, sharp enough to make me snarl under my breath. I throw another blast of magic into the target dummy. It explodes in a puff of ash, and for a second, the silence after feels good. Then the bond flares again.

“She’s fine,” I mutter to myself. “She’s happy. Probably curled up with her precious mates.”

My stomach twists. I grit my teeth, dragging a hand through my hair. “I don’t care,” I growl, as if saying it out loud will make it true.

My phone rings. The name flashing across the screen makes me want to throw it, but I swipe to answer anyway. “Father.”

“Cage.” His voice is clipped, too calm. “The council’s taken an interest in the girl.”

My grip tightens. “Allison?”

“Yes. Her… situation has drawn attention. Multiple mates are rare. Five is unheard of. They suspect there’s more to her than what she’s shown.”

“Like what?”

“That’s what you’re going to find out.”

I laugh once, sharp and humourless. “You want me to play spy for you now? She barely tolerates me.”

“Then make her.” His voice hardens. “Get close to her. Find out who she really is, and what she’s hiding. If you help the council, you’ll be protected, whatever happens to her.”

There’s a pause. My throat feels dry. “She’s not hiding anything,” I say finally. “She’s just a filthy stray who—”

The words taste wrong now. They're bitter on my tongue.

“Good,” my father says, misreading my silence. “Then you won’t have any trouble doing what must be done.”

The call ends before I can reply. I stand there for a long moment, staring at the scorched ground, magic still simmering under my skin. The bond hums again, soft this time, as if mocking me.

“Fine,” I mutter, pocketing my phone. “I’ll get close.”

I blast the next target to ash, my jaw tight.

“But don’t expect me to like it.”

**Allison**

Kael is sprawled on the couch beside me, hair damp from a shower, eyes half-lidded but sharp enough to catch every emotion bleeding through the bond. Evander’s by the window, pacing like he’s trying to burn off the frustration we all feel but can’t name. And me? I’m angry. I’m hurt.

“He was here,” I say, for the third time. My voice cracks on the last word. “Cassian was right here.”

Kael’s jaw tightens. “We know, Trouble.”

“No, you don’t.” I push off the couch and start pacing, fingers digging into my palms. “He left the festival. He disappeared when everything happened, when the bond—when we—” I gesture between the three of us helplessly. “And now he just shows up again, looks right at me, and walks away?”

Evander stops pacing, his golden eyes softening. “Maybe he didn’t know what to say.”

“That’s not good enough,” I snap. “He’s my mate. He doesn’t get to just ignore me. He felt that bond as much as I did. He knew what it meant.”

Kael exhales slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe he’s scared. You know what this kind of connection does to people. Not everyone handles it the same.”

“Then he should’ve said that!” I shout, and the sound startles even me. The bonds flare, magic pulsing in the air, and I feel both of them reacting instantly—Kael’s steady, grounding calm pressing into me through the bond; Evander’s quiet warmth wrapping around my anger like a blanket trying to smother a flame. But it doesn’t smother. Not completely.

“He came all this way,” I whisper, sinking back onto the couch. “All the way up here, just to turn around? Why? To shove it in my face that he can walk away? To remind me that I’m not worth staying for?”

Kael shifts closer, his thigh brushing mine. “Don’t say that. You know that’s not true.”

I shake my head. “Everyone leaves me...eventually.”

The silence that follows feels heavy. I can feel the ache of their sympathy through our bonds, and it makes me want to scream.

I drag my hands over my face, trying to breathe past the ache in my chest. “Maybe the Fates gave me multiple mates so it wouldn’t matter if some of them rejected me. Maybe that’s the trick—spread the risk around.”

Neither of them argues. They just sit with me, silent and still, letting me unravel. The quiet stretches until it’s heavy enough to choke on. And then—

**Knock. Knock.**

The sound is soft, almost hesitant, but it cuts through the air like lightning. All three of us freeze. Kael’s head lifts first, nostrils flaring. Evander’s golden eyes flash, his body going still as stone.

My heart stumbles. The bonds hum, restless and alert.

I stand, my legs moving before my brain catches up. “I’ll get it,” I whisper, though neither of them says anything to stop me.

The walk to the door feels longer than it should. My fingers tremble as I reach for the handle, pulse hammering in my throat. I open it and there he is. Cage. Standing in the doorway, eyes shadowed, jaw tight, magic coiled around him like a storm barely held back.

Then he says, voice low and rough, “We need to talk.”

And I know, whatever this is, it’s about to change everything.