Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6) Lan Chan (uplifting novels .TXT) 📖

As I watched, red flickered in the depths of his eyes. When he spoke again, it sounded as though his mouth was filled with cotton. His sharp teeth had descended. “There are a million things I would love to go back and change. But I can’t. So I’ve made my peace with it. Otherwise, it would have destroyed me.”

Swallowing, I placed my hand on his. “I wish I could go back and change things for you too.”

He peered at me for a moment, his gaze unwavering. I didn’t take my eyes off him. Now wasn’t the time to be skittish. After a few more beats, he sighed. “Sometimes I think it would be easier if you were the spitting image of him. Then I could just kill you and be done with it.”

“Isn’t this cozy,” Anastasia’s voice cut through the dim of the library.

Realising that I was still holding his hand, I pulled away and picked up the Book of Beasts.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asked her. The boots and military cargos told me that she had probably just come off a guard shift.

“Am I not allowed to leave the Reserve?” she drawled, coming up to us. “Or am I disturbing a private moment?” I badly wanted to scoop up all the books before she could read the titles, but shifter eyesight was impeccable. She’d probably already spotted them from a mile away. The way her top lip curled said she’d be memorising the titles for later use.

Noah gripped the edge of the table. “A straight answer would be nice.”

She wagged a finger at him. “You need to get a sense of humour. You’re supposed to be with Max at the border, remember? He’s meeting with the lone wolves tonight to settle the territory disputes. Or did she flash her doe eyes and scramble your brain?”

Noah swore. He glanced over at me. “I told you that you don’t need to be here,” I said.

Hesitation gripped him. Anastasia gave him an out that displeased both of us. “I can stay if you need to run off.”

She rested her cheek on her fist and gave him a lazy grin.

“Come back with me, Sophie,” Noah said. “You can finish this up another time.”

“What’s the problem?” A dangerous edge slipped into Anastasia’s tone. “You don’t trust me?”

“No.” Brutal honesty. “You’re not thinking straight at the moment. Come, Sophie.”

His hand closed around my wrist. “Are you serious?” I asked. “I really need to do this!”

Anastasia’s lips pulled back. I stopped struggling and moved closer to Noah. “What are you saying?” she said.

“I’m saying that you feel slighted that Max is choosing Sophie, and you’re not able to separate duty from personal feelings.”

She reeled back as though he’d slapped her. Even I knew they were harsh words. Duty and honour were everything to the shifters. “You...” she started but couldn’t finish. Her eyes flashed in my direction. They went wolf at the sight of me. Her canines elongated.

Noah slammed his fist on the table. Her focus didn’t waver. “This is a perfect example. She hasn’t done anything and you’re ready to rip out her throat. What’s wrong with you, Stacey?”

Her tone was full of loathing. “What’s wrong with me? You’re the one who has forgotten who you are. Her great-grandfather murdered your entire pack and all you’re doing is following her around like some lapdog.”

“Watch it.”

She stood up. “Whatever. I came here to help you out. Not to be insulted. You’re already twenty minutes late.”

I bit my lip. “I didn’t know you had something else to do. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Instead of answering, he just stood there growling silently while I shoved all the books onto the returns trolley, grabbed my things, and followed him out. The awkwardness as we trailed behind Anastasia to the portal field was monumental.

She wouldn’t acknowledge him at all. But when we arrived, she snapped at him. “Do you want to port right to the meeting site?” Her teeth were gritted so hard I could barely understand what she was saying.

Noah looked to me. “I don’t mind,” I said. He’d waited forever for me. I could return the favour. My tongue felt too big in my mouth at the thought of being so close to Max, but I’d figure something out.

A shadow darker than the night itself drew up on my left. I flinched as I recognised Agatha’s coat. She didn’t say a word, but her pinched lips said she hadn’t gotten over my announcement.

Noah gave the portal mage the new coordinates. I braced myself to come face-to-face with Max on the other side. Just as I stepped forward to follow Noah into the mouth of the portal, Anastasia moved in front of me and blocked my way. She pressed her hand back and shoved me into Agatha before disappearing through the portal.

Agatha’s bony hands caught me around the upper arm. Something warm but abrasive snaked up my shoulder. “Shifters,” she spat. “Worthless creatures enslaved to their emotions.”

When she let me go, I turned around and glared at her. Hugh stood just behind her back. Not wanting to be in their presence any longer than I had to, I walked through the portal. Expecting to come through the other side in the border of the Reserve, my stomach dropped out when the first hint of brimstone and stagnant water hit my nose.

27

A cold breeze swept across my cheeks but did nothing to dispel the repulsive stench of the fens. Unlike at Ravenhall where the smell was constant but not debilitating, here it was like sludge in the air that drew into my lungs. It coated my throat and made me cough.

“Noah?”

I blinked and the world fluctuated around me. The solid earth of the portal field suddenly sank a few inches. I glanced down and my sneaker was wedged in sand. Voices murmured above me. Before my eyes, a solid brick wall enclosed around me, leaving space the size of a basketball court. The wall flowed higher into tiered