Thornhill Academy. Chapter 98

They close in on me like a tide, Evander first, all coiled and lethal, eyes sharpening until I can practically see the scales under his skin. Kael comes in from the other side after reclaiming my pillow. He's slower, quieter, but the way his fingers twitch by his hips says he’s waiting for a reason to move. Between them and Rhazeil, my chest feels like a crowded room.

“Where have you been?” Evander’s voice is low enough to rumble through the floor.

Kael doesn’t speak, just narrows his eyes and scents the air like he’s trying to read my weekend off my skin. He’s holding my pillow under one arm like it’s precious evidence, and like that hadn’t been the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. He looks ridiculous and ferocious at once, and it almost makes me laugh, which would be a terrible idea.

Rhazeil watches them with that unreadable tilt to his head, then chuckles. The sound is warm and amused and somehow ten feet deep. “She was safe,” he says, simply. “She will always be safe in my realm.”

“And where is your realm?” Evander snaps. “How do I—how do any of us—get to her if she’s there?”

Rhazeil’s smile is small, indulgent. “You cannot. You are not a demon. The shadows do not open for those who are not of them.”

Evander’s face tightens, but he’s not finished. “She’s not a demon.”

“No,” Rhazeil agrees. “But she is mated to one. That status… elevates her. In my realm, she is Queen in name and in right. She may come and go as she pleases. She may bring light where light is scarce.”

For a sliver of a second, Kael and Evander both just stare at me. Kael’s mouth is open like he’s going to protest something, but no words form. Evander’s fingers twitch at his sides, a tiny, furious staccato movement that makes my heart misbehave. The look on his face is so raw. Equal parts fear and a kind of aching protective claim, that if I let it, I’d fall at his feet and beg him to breathe.

Instead, I raise my hands in that “I got this” way.

“All right,” I say, light and loud enough to slice through the air. “Everybody, breathe.”

They both make ugly, sceptical faces, but neither moves away. Rhazeil’s hand at my waist is steady and possessive; the warmth of him anchors me in a way nothing else does.

“There’s more than enough of me to go around,” I tell them, grinning because I can’t help myself and because the thought of them fighting over me, the two enormous, ridiculous protectors I apparently have, is so absurd it almost makes me dizzy. “I am a big girl. I can look after myself.”

Evander’s jaw works. Kael’s fingers flex. Rhazeil’s expression softens into something that might pass for pride.

“If I’d wanted to,” I add, leaning into the joke, “I could have made him bring me back the second I asked. But we had a lovely weekend.”

“Weekend?” Evander’s voice is small, incredulous.

Rhazeil lifts one shoulder, as if time were an easy thing to fold. “Time behaves differently there. Days are long, and nights longer. We shared hours that felt like a hundred heartbeats but for you, just an hour.”

Evander swallows. The dragon within him chisels grief and relief, and a thread of guilt, into his features. “I was worried about you,” he says, blunt and simple.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Rhazeil murmurs, and there’s steel under the velvet promise. “She will always be safe with me.”

It’s the kind of thing that could have set them off, sparked something ugly and territorial. Instead, the tension in the room shifts and softens. Evander’s shoulders lose a fraction of their hard line. Kael lowers the pillow and sets it on the bed like a small truce. Rhazeil loosens his hold on my waist just enough so I know it’s voluntary, not enforced. They trade a long look—predatory and weary and, somehow, respectful—and I see it settle between them: an understanding as old and stubborn as the moon. No competition. No ill will. Different shapes of protection, same fierce intent. They are all bonded to me. They will all guard me. They all, in whatever combustible ways their natures allow, will keep me. I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear and let myself believe that for a second.

“Good,” I say, soft but certain. “Then we can all work together. I like the idea of teamwork.”

Kael snorts. Evander gives me a half-smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. Rhazeil hums, pleased.

Evander steps forward, unable to hold himself back any longer. He leans down and kisses me. The taste of smoke and heat, along with something sweet, fills my mouth, grounding me. When he finally pulls back, his forehead rests against mine, and his breath ghosts across my lips as he whispers, “I missed you, pet.”

A giggle escapes me before I can stop it. “It’s only been an hour,” I tease, even though the warmth in my chest says I missed him, too.

Evander grins and glances over at Rhazeil with a spark of humour in his eyes. “No,” he says, mock-serious. “You heard the Demon King. It was many heartbeats.”

The line is so perfectly ridiculous that even Rhazeil laughs, low and amused, his dark eyes crinkling in a way that makes my stomach flutter. Kael snorts, shaking his head, muttering something about sentimental idiots, but there’s the ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth too. When I turn to Kael, he’s already watching me, his expression caught somewhere between guilt and longing. I give him a small smile, hoping it’ll help. “So,” I say softly, “would this be the reason you’ve been avoiding me?”

He blinks, caught off guard, and for a moment, the big, scary hellhound looks more like a boy caught stealing cookies. His throat works before he clears it and shifts his weight, suddenly unsure of where to put his hands. “I…” He trails off, shakes his head, and finally steps closer. His hands find mine, rough palms curling around my fingers like he’s afraid I’ll pull away. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I’m sorry, Ally. I—”

He doesn’t finish. The words just crumble in his mouth, lost to something too big to say out loud. I squeeze his hands, my heart twisting at the rawness in his voice. Slowly, I lift one hand and rest it against his cheek. His eyes flutter shut, and he leans into my touch like he’s been starving for it.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “We’ve got plenty of time to work on it.”

Kael exhales, something easing in his posture as he opens his eyes again. For a second, I see that spark, that fierce, protective hound beneath the guilt. He nods once, a silent promise in the gesture. Evander’s hand finds the small of my back, grounding me between them, and even Rhazeil seems content to watch, the faintest trace of a smile playing on his lips.

"Does this make you happy, hummingbird?"

"It does."