Mine! [Two Against the End] lurched internally for Xera not to let Harmony leave. The initiation and rejection of at first sight bonding had been embarrassing enough that she wasn't going to disrespect Harmony's request to keep an eye on the others while at The Warden’s Rest.
The evolved bloodline skill wouldn’t let go of its focus. Xera had allowed herself to look at Kevin Azim during the school ranking spell when he got quartus. But the man's visible disappointment at her ranking of sixteenth made the skill lose any desire to link with him, not that he stayed long, as he went to hunt for properly strong teammates.
That has been a social and verbal rejection. Healer White slapped [Two Against] away, and yet the skill wanted Harmony more? It nudged her memories towards stories of rituals and magic to ensure a solid link, finding attractive ones that the family had dismissed as too harsh.
What about anyone else? The Warden's Rest was filled with the top prospects according to The Academy rankings. The primus and secondus were here, arm wrestling. Both activated a domain skill, sending a yellow glow flashing as they battled for dominance in that sliver of altered reality and with their muscles.
Ha. The skill acted like that was the most ridiculous question ever.
“Is something wrong?” Tun-Knee asked. Nearly causing her to jump at the silent way he'd approached to get into her line of sight.
Those wide, kitten-like eyes were hard to ignore when they asked a question. “I was thinking about our healer. She seems different.”
“You could say that. I noticed you trying to tie a string around her. Are you always so intimate with strangers?” the tiger asked.
"You must think of me as impulsive, immature, even? Part of what I'm doing is trusting my instincts." Her family knew the demands of her bloodline to find a link while everyone was quickening to their evolutions. The Academy was the perfect location with thousands of students, where their home village might only have a handful, or you'd have to arrange a pairing during the crucial time. They’d agreed to send her here despite her age.
"You misunderstand my interest. Most of us are far from home, and White is farther than most. The Chase family is known even among the beast kin, so it warms my heart that you show interest in one such as Lady White, a stranger to you. It's very adult of you to do so." Tun-Knee said with a soft pat of his paw on her cheek.
He called her an adult! She’d evolved, and that was the marker more than age, but some of her family’s needling burned. Between this and Harmony’s assignment to look after the team, well, that’s what she was. Xera gave Tun-Knee a bow. "Thank you.”
The party continued.
Kevin's arrival was less warming. “I see you've attached yourself to the tertiary. That does not make them better than me. The initial rankings are merely temporary.”
“I never assumed such, Sixth Prince. It was the other teammates who brought me in and introduced me to Miss White.” Xera informed her golden-skinned peer.
“And quite the spread there. It's like you drew lots to form the team. What I hope they do is not bring you down to their level. You understand how it would look if my betrothed fell outside of the top hundred. This is only out of concern for you and the golden empire.”
“Our future relationship is still in family discussions. And you need not worry.”
Off to the side of the room. Alex threw up, to the loud exasperated sigh of the host, Gabriel.
“Yes, silly of me,” Kevin responded dryly.
Xera bowed. “Apologies, I shall ensure a safe departure of my team for this night, which is at an end.”
[Two Against] Didn't consider the night over, as it knew they had a ritual to plan. The Academy house kept the most complete records on forming strong bonds. Yet, the bloodline skill hasn't even settled on what endings it would face– all the ends–every end– with a person intimately familiar with so many ends in every way; how could they be wrong?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter