

# Prophecy (Lughnasadh Elite Academy 1)

Copyright © 2019 LAYLA HEART

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of the copyright holder.

This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

Edition: 20190531

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# Blurb

One clueless queen-to-be, four princes to change her world forever.

Before her vital first cup of coffee in the morning, Litha finds out she's a witch and is suddenly transported to a magical world she didn't know existed. As if that wasn't strange enough, it turns out that she's prophesied to be queen and her parents only took her to the human world to protect her from those who want her dead. But now she's at Lughnasadh Elite Academy and face to face with her four potential... kings?

It doesn't help that all four princes are sexy and hot and make her insides squirm when she catches sight of them. There is Bane, the werewolf prince, all broody and with hair sticking up like he just got out of bed. Kit, the incubus prince, whose wicked smile melts anyone's unmentionables. Rune, the dragon prince, protective and with muscles like he's a moving mountain. And last, but definitely not least, Finn, the fae prince, quiet but intense, with eyes like a summer forest.

According to the prophecy, Litha will marry the true ruler of the four kingdoms. But having grown up human, in the human world, she has no idea where to start making sense of all of it, and the four princes pursuing her really don't help with trying to figure it all out.

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# Chapter 1 - Litha

No way. No fucking way. I stomp over the cobblestone path, dragging my suitcase behind me, following the people ahead. And who the fuck still uses cobblestone? This stuff was made to break ankles... What kind of school would use it, if not to annoy the students? Maybe they're sadistic or something, that would make sense, a whole lot of sense, especially with my luck.

My life has always been a little strange and odd, but nothing compares to what happened in the last two days.

Yesterday morning, when I woke up, my parents announced that we were going to visit my grandmother, that I should go see her before I head off to college, for some reason. Which was, considering I hadn't seen her in over five years, very curious for them to say. That should have been my first clue.

We spent most of the day in the car, my parents trying to fill the awkward silence with useless chatter until we reached grandma's house. When we arrived at her place in the middle of fucking nowhere, right before dinner, we were welcomed into a house smelling of grilled meat, and there was a feast waiting for us on the table. She must have known about us visiting her for quite a while because this was more than any person would be able to prepare in just a couple of hours. The meal was lavish, three types of roasted meats, six vegetable side dishes, homemade applesauce, and any dish I could remember ever eating at her place. It was more than I'd ever seen on a table, which was strange as I don't remember grandma ever doing this before, she was more of a wholesome type of cook, no banquets when a simple stew would do.

That should have been the second clue that something was up, grandma doesn't do big meals, but yesterday she did. And it didn't surprise my parents at all, they seemed to even have expected it.

I guess, in my weary state of mind after the long car trip, I reasoned it away as her trying to make up for lost years or something. That's a thing people do, right? When they haven't seen their family for a long time? Try to make up with something like this?

Here, I should add that, apart from what I've seen on TV, I don't know what grandmas are supposed to be like. I only have the one, and she's always been a little peculiar, never really a hundred percent here. But I guess I now know that there is a reason for her behaviour, a damn good reason.

I'm from a long line of witches. Yes, witches. No, I didn't have a clue either. It totally surprised me too.

Witches. That's what they said as they stood at the bottom of the stairs this morning, looking up at me all excited, all three of them, a huge suitcase at their feet, my backpack perching on top of it. I'm a witch, and my grandma isn't my grandma, but a guardian sent here to protect my family, or something. My parents are my real parents, at least, that's what they said. After hearing I'm a witch, nothing would have surprised me, probably.

I don't know, I kind of stopped listening after those words, those three little words, 'you're a witch'. My parents did mention something about hiding me away from something because of some prophecy about me being some 'fated bride' to 'unite the kingdoms' or something like that. Don't quote me on it, like I said, I was still trying to process the whole 'long line of witches' part of what they were saying.

After that, we all went upstairs, to the attic, and there was a glowing door in the middle of the otherwise very bare attic. A door! It was fucking glowing. I can't even... I guess I underestimated my capacity for surprise, because that definitely surprised me.

Which was, of course, the moment my parents chose to inform me that I wasn't attending the college I'd been trying to get into for the last four years, working my ass off, but instead would be attending some elite magical academy, like fucking Harry Potter or something. My life just turned into a Harry Potter book, only my parents are still alive, and I didn't have some horrible abusive childhood, as far as I know.

There, we said our goodbyes. They did anyway, I was still trying to catch up with what was going on, and failing.

Forgive me, but don't spring this on a girl before her first coffee in the morning, you know? Give me some time to wake up, and adjust to the speed of things around me. I don't function before coffee, they knew that.

Also, this very efficient 'Good morning, you're a fucking witch' to 'Goodbye, see you over fall break' spiel took under five minutes. Not that I can check, since my phone is still on the nightstand at grandma's —the guardian's— house.

As I walked/was pushed through the glowing door, I stepped out on some old style square with high walls on all sides, and doors opened and closed all around me, letting more and more people thought, just like I had done. And everyone moved to the cobblestone street going off the square, probably up to the academy. Some people looked excited, most of them looked like they were just waking up, but they all started moving in the same direction, dragging their own suitcase behind them. All normal here then, at least, for this place...

There were some people my parents' age, probably teachers or others working here, who kept announcing that breakfast would start in an hour and to get our names signed in at the gates so that we could be assigned our hall of residence for the year.

At home, it had been about ten or eleven in the morning, I didn't check the time, but I'm not one for waking up early, and the sun had been high in the sky, not yet noon, but close enough. The way the sun is still just peeking over the houses around me and the pink colour of the sky overhead, it must be much earlier here. How did I just step through a door to a place a couple of timezones later without flying or anything? What?

And what are those things in the sky?

I look up again.

They're definitely not birds, I know that much. They don't have the right shape, or size, for birds, but I have no idea what else they could be. They look a little like 'fairies' from fairy tales, the way their wings are positioned at their back and the almost human shape of their bodies, but they're way too big for fairies, and the shape of their wings are like a bat's not the wings of dragonflies or butterflies.

I don't realise I've stopped moving to look up until some girl bumps into me and lets out a low growl as she steps aside. I accidentally meet her eyes, and with a shock realise that they're red. It's not just the whites of her eyes, like when you've got a hangover or just haven't slept for days, but her whole eyes are red, whites and all, totally red, with a simple black pupil in the middle.

"Keep moving, or all the good tables for breakfast will be gone." Her voice is all growly and rough. Maybe it's supposed to be like that, or maybe she also hasn't fully woken up yet, right now, I'm betting on both. "I don't know if you like being late or anything, but I do know that you don't want to sit at the back of the room, it's draughty there."

"Right." I start pulling my suitcase again, not wanting to get bumped into more and draw the wrath of one of the less friendly looking people around. Now that I've seen the eyes of the girl, I catch more differences in the people around me, like the boy in front of me whose ears are pointier than would be normal, or the icy hair of the girl walking a couple of steps over.

The red-eyed girl keeps her pace with me, walking in silence for a while before she opens her mouth and I see a flash of sharp teeth, not human teeth, but like a predator. "Where are you from? I don't think I've seen you around. Are you new?" She seems very curious for someone so grouchy.

I shrug, trying to look nonchalant, like talking to a girl with predator teeth and red eyes is the most normal thing in the world. "Around. You probably didn't notice me."

The girl smiles, revealing those teeth again. "Oh, I would have noticed you..." Then she shrugs. "Fine, keep your secret. But the secrets of fresh meat don't tend to stay secret for very long. We don't get a lot of new people around here, you'll find that out soon enough." She raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow before she starts walking ahead of me. Strange girl. 'Fresh meat'? Really? That's what they call new people here?

We finally reach what looks like gates to the academy grounds, and people are waiting outside, holding stacks of paper, just like the printer paper that we use in the normal world. I'm starting to compare the two, because the longer I'm here, the more I realise that this world definitely isn't normal.

As soon as I reach one of the adults at the gates, she looks up. "Name?"

"Litha Brown."

Her eyes go over the list, and then the next page, and the next page, and she meets my eyes. I realise her irises are a really pale blue, almost like ice, and a chill runs down my spine. "What year are you in?"

"First year." What was going on? Was this some sort of prank? Like today could get much worse.

"Let me check again." She holds her finger next to whatever list she's checking. "I don't see that name here. Do you have your acceptance letter with you? Maybe there is a mixup."

A letter? Now what? I take the backpack off and open one of the zippers, but it's just the stuff I stuck in there yesterday.

Behind me, the line is starting to get longer and longer. I don't deal well with nerves like this, I hate it. Why is all the attention now on me? I like being invisible, I like people not paying too much attention to me.

I look up at the woman with ice-eyes, but I don't think I'm getting any support there... I glance down again, opening the next pocket in the bag, and finally, three pockets later, I find a letter in the very front of the backpack, like I'm a little kid. Mum used to put any important papers in there all the time when I was in primary school, and by now, I feel small and little anyway, scared and nervous, stressed. Not a good day today...

The name of the academy is in big letters at the top of the envelope 'Lughnasadh Elite Academy', and then, it lists my name, but it has a different last name, it says Vigil instead of Brown. What? Why is there a different name on the letter, even though the address is correct and the first name matches mine? Why is there a different last name?

With a shaking hand, I give the envelope to the woman and then pull the backpack onto my back, my movements choppy and awkward, so ready to be out of here.

"It's a pleasure to have you join us, miss Litha. We've been expecting you." Suddenly she's smiling at me, making me even more nervous and confused. "If you can go to the fourth building on your right, you will get your room assigned there. Have a great year." She moves her arm to the side, indicating for me to step through the gate.

She's expecting me here? What? What did I get myself into? First the things my parents told me, and now here, people expecting me?

When will I be waking up, in my room, surrounded by my own things and a stack of books on my desk to take to college in a week? I'm ready to wake up now. The joke has been going for long enough...

# Chapter 2 - Bane

"Fresh meat!" Next to me, on the roof of our hall of residence, Kit crows as he leans forward, an excited look on his face. "Oh, I'd totally do her. Yes, please."

I smack his arm, snickering. "Of course, you would. Apart from the three of us, I don't think there's anyone you haven't done at this school yet."

He eyes me, looking me over, winking before he wiggles his eyebrows. "I totally would, you know... do you."

I sigh, shoving at him. "Yeah, no thanks." Then I look over the throng of students coming through the gates.

The new year has started. We finally made it to college, no longer constantly controlled by rules imposed by teachers. We're actually allowed to leave the damn grounds of this campus when we want to, so much more freedom.

"Where is she?" This is an elite of the elite academy for the four surrounding kingdoms, almost everyone here is either part of the royal families of our races or related to important people. This means that we've basically all grown up together, we don't get a lot of new people, especially not now we've reached college. So a new girl joining us is interesting.

Finn points over the crowd with one of his long pale fingers, moving his arm as she's probably making her way to one of the halls. "Dark brown hair, army boots and looking like the world owes her some sort of explanation for what she's going through. I agree with Kit, she's pretty."

I follow his finger, catching sight of a face I didn't expect to see here, especially without warning. "That's her." My heart skips a beat. She's grown up well, she's not just pretty, she's stunning. Her full red lips, her blazing eyes, full of anger, the dark hair framing her delicate face. Wow.

"Her? Are you sure?" Rune, who has been dozing off in the morning sun on my other side, also sits up. "No way."

"Oh, I'm sure." Her, Litha Vigil, the one girl who could break our whole friendship apart. The one girl fated to marry one of us and finally bring peace to the centuries-old struggles between our countries and races. The prophesied girl-to-be-queen who went missing just hours after being born.

At least, that's what people think. I know that my dad has been part of a secret group who protect her. Who have been protecting her until she's old enough to come back to our world.

And here she is, just walking through the gate like nothing is wrong. She's back.

I'm surprised Dad didn't say anything, or put extra security in place to protect her, even at the academy... This may be neutral ground, right in the centre of the four countries, but there have been assassination attempts on people on campus before. Two years ago, when we were still in secondary school, just a campus over from here, someone tried to assassinate Rune. Rune is the dragon's crown prince. We were lucky that the assassins didn't expect three more princes to show up, ready to protect him and fight them off. But that had been a close call. Way too close.

"So, that's her..." Kit follows her with his eyes, a rare glimpse of seriousness crossing his face. "The girl. The queen."

I guess it's one thing to know that there is a girl out there who will be your fated mate, who will bring peace to the kingdoms when she marries you, who will bring an end to all the fights and struggles. But to finally see her... I never expected this heavy feeling inside.

And after the years of friendships with the other guys, knowing that she will have to choose one of us over the others and break us apart... We all knew it was going to happen, but are we ready?

Litha is beautiful. I want her. Even from this distance, the wolf inside me growls to be with her, I want to touch her and feel her, taste her. I want her to be mine. But that will also bring an end to our years of friendship...

For her to choose one of us means that that kingdom will be the one to rule all the kingdoms, that the royal lines of the others will stop being...

Peace under a single ruler, but at what cost?

"Bane! Rune! Kit! And, seriously, Finn?" Dad is standing in front of the building, frowning as he looks up at us. "Get down from there. Now! Roofs are not made for sitting. How many times am I going to have to tell you that?" He shakes his head. "Honestly, if your parents could see you now..." He glares up at us. "Get down."

Kit lets out a laugh as he stands up, his wings magically unfolding behind him, ripping through his shirt, and he jumps down, showing off a silly trick before he lands neatly next to Dad. Rune partially shifts into a dragon, keeping most of his body humanoid, but his torso and his wings are from his dragon form, then he jumps off too and lands next to Dad.

I stand up too, taking a step back and then jump down, my legs shifting to wolf-legs halfway down, and I land easily, my legs bouncing upon impact before going back to human. Then I grin at Dad. "Well, my parent did see what I was doing."

Dad rolls his eyes at me, sighing deep. "Yeah, you're lucky your uncle didn't, though." My family is part of the royal line of the werewolves. My uncle, Dad's older brother, is the king, but after losing my cousin a couple of years back, I'm now next in line, since Dad gave up on his title when he became headmaster at the academy.

"Guys! Really?!" Finn is still standing on the roof, glaring down at us. "Showoffs. Ugh." Then he climbs back through the window in the roof, disappearing from view. He has to take the stairs inside to get down from the roof. Finn is fae, they don't have wings or the ability to partially shift into an animal, which can be annoying for him, as we sometimes forget about it, since it's so natural for us. But then, he has his own things he can do, which are much cooler than a set of wings or becoming a wolf, a lot scarier too...

I glance Dad's way. "I didn't know Litha would be coming here today."

Dad doesn't look my way, instead looking at the main building on campus, where most of our classes are held and where his office is, before he answers. "We weren't sure she'd come. Her parents didn't agree for her to be here, and I hadn't heard otherwise from them. But it seems that she's here, yes." Then he straightens up and glares at each of us individually. "Try to not get into too much trouble this year, would you? I'd prefer no chats with angry kings and queens. Also, breakfast is in half an hour in the main hall, I expect you all there. Tell Finn that he can't get out of it, he has to show up." Then Dad walks off to the staff building, which is also where he stays when he's on campus.

"Seriously?" Kit groans. "I don't want to eat with the others. I hate the staring." Then he glares my way. "He's just showing us off. It's unfair."

Rune wraps his arm over Kit's shoulder. "Of course he's going to show us off, we're the crown princes. Just..." Rune looks at the house behind me, the building where the four of us are staying, since we can't just mingle with the common royals. "I hope Finn will be okay."

Poor Finn. His great-grandfather, the grandfather of the current King, waged a devastating war against the dragon shifters, forcing them off their lands, giving them the 'choice' to go into servitude for the fae or to flee. A lot of dragon shifters were killed during the war, some having stayed behind in servitude, while others have fled to other countries or are hiding in places that you can't find unless you know to look for them.

This, of course, hasn't made the fae very popular and Finn has been getting the brunt of the anger ever since we've known him. He can't help what his great-grandfather did, what his grandfather did, or what his father is currently doing, he hates all of it, but that doesn't stop people from taking their anger out on him. The only thing he can do is to try to be better and hope that he can change things as soon as he comes into power...

Rune's family has been in hiding ever since the fae took over their land. Nobody knows where they are staying, I don't even think Rune knows, it's all being kept hidden with strong magic. Dragons are pretty good at hiding what they love most, their lairs, and that's what his family has been doing, staying hidden away. That he's been allowed to attend the academy, even after the assassination attempt still surprises me.

But then... if the fate of all the kingdoms will depend on Litha choosing one of us to marry, making that race the definitive ruler of the four kingdoms... I guess that it makes sense to make sure that he's near the rest of us, so that he gets a chance to get his family out of hiding and back into power...

"Bane." Rune puts his arm over my shoulder. "Stop thinking so much, you're getting wrinkles. You're not your dad, you're just you, you don't have to think so much. It's not all on you."

I let out a short laugh, smacking him on his back. "You would say that." Especially because he can be such a worrier himself. Then I look back at the building, and Finn steps out the front door. "I guess we better tell him about the breakfast thing..."

Rune groans, I feel the sound vibrating in his chest against my arm. "You tell him. Your dad is making us do this."

"Really?" I glare his way, but he just smugly grins at me. "You're playing that card now?"

"Yep, I will, all four glorious years we're here." He tugs on Kit and then drags us both towards Finn.

Great...

# Chapter 3 - Kit

When the headmaster says that we have to show up for breakfast, it doesn't mean just as students, it means that we have to dress up all nicely so that he can show off that we're attending his academy and that our families think it's safe enough for us to do so, even with the rising conflicts in some of the countries. Ugh.

Sure, as an incubus, I like the attention on me, but not when I'm being shown off like some prized animal or something. There is no pride and honour in being paraded around.

A light knocking on the dressing room door makes me look up. "Yeah?" I growl as I put my tie on, I hate ties, they always tangle.

The door opens, and Rune steps in, all suited up already, and not for the first time, I go rock hard for him in seconds. Rune smirks as he comes closer, not saying anything, just reaching out and fixing my tie. His hands move in a controlled way, strong, steady, and when I look up into his stone grey eyes, they're steady as a mountain. As he touches me, the tension seems to leave my body for the first time since I went back home for the summer.

His hand moves up, cupping my cheek, and I involuntarily close my eyes. "That's better." His voice is low, coarse, like gravel, which makes sense, with him being an earth-dragon and all. "Rough summer?"

I nod. My kingdom may not be all taken over by fae like his is, but we're bordering on the Fae's other side, and there have been increased confrontations at the border. All summer, my parents alternated between fucking their brains out to deal with the stress and the politics and asking if I'd 'seen my fated wife already', and if I couldn't go out and find her, stop this mess forever. Being back here, with the guys, being where I really feel at home, I finally start to feel like myself again.

But now Litha has shown up, changing everything again. I can't even get away from all the politics at the academy this year.

Rune's thumb lingers on my bottom lip, and while I'd love to disappear from the world for a while, let out all this frustration on him, I know that we don't have the time, and I'm not in the right mindset. Bane may think that the three of them are the only ones I don't fuck around here, but Rune has regularly been my partner for years now.

I take a step back, swallowing hard, my dick straining in my slacks. "We should be going soon."

He nods, smiling softly. "That's why I came here. The others are waiting for us downstairs."

I growl, pushing at his chest. "You could have said that immediately, you dick." Instead of trying to mess with my head. Instead of making me feel good... I stalk out of the dressing room, down the hallway, and see the other guys waiting near the door, impatient.

Rune slips past me, his fingers lingering on my arm. "You know you love my dick, don't try to deny." And he's off again, not helping the state of my cock. Fuck. Being an incubus can be fun, but unlike in our kingdom, people here seem to actually expect me to show up to classes and meeting and such at reasonable times, meaning, on the time it starts. Dawdling for a quick fuck in the staircase is not appreciated, no matter how much I'd like to do it.

* * *

When we walk to the main hall, we pass a lot of student houses and other buildings, as ours is the furthest away. All around, people either greet us or glare at us, or, I don't know, look at us with that strange look that looks somewhat like lust, but not specifically for our body, but more for who we are. Like worshipping, they stare and stare, but never come closer.

Bane bumps his shoulder into mine and points at one of the windows in a tower in the main building. "The lights are on."

During an 'inspection' of the grounds late last year, when Bane's father let us on the grounds for a few days so that we could explore and learn the layout before it would crowd again, right before we had to go home for the summer. We found that that specific tower, and that floor, held some ancient prophecy texts, and some newer prophecy texts too.

We couldn't find much about our own prophecy before Bane's dad caught us, but what we had seen... We knew we had to get back there as soon as we could, explore more. There are always parts of prophecies that aren't told, that are kept hidden, parts that are too vague, or too precise, or that the oracles think may be too dangerous to release to the public. We want to find out which parts of our prophecy weren't released.

But it seems there is someone in there right now, looking through those files, looking through what we want to find. "Do you think it's because Litha is here?" It feels weird to say her name, we never called her by her name, even though we knew it, it felt wrong, she was too big for a simple name. But now I'd seen her, now I knew who she was, her name fit her.

Bane shrugs, his eyes going up to the windows again. "We'd have to find out."

"Tonight?" I keep my voice low, the others don't need to know what we're up to.

Bane nods. "As soon as it's dark." We may have more freedom at the academy, they still don't appreciate us going hunting through books and files that we're not supposed to see.

"Do you think it's because your dad knows that we know about what's in that room? And now that she's here..." My stomach flips just remembering what Litha looked like, the heat in her gaze, scorching. I wouldn't mind being on the other end of that passion...

"I don't think so. Or he would have moved things away back then."

"What if he already has?"

Bane shakes his head. "He wouldn't do that without telling me. He'd tell me something like that, even just to let me know that looking again would be useless, to tell me off." He sighs. "If it's Dad up there... Maybe he has a reason. If it's not him... Who else would want to go there?" There is that dark look in his eyes again. Bane really thinks too much, takes it all onto his shoulders. He's always been more grown-up than the rest of us, always thinking ahead, always being levelheaded, and he always looks so lonely, even when he's with us, like he's lost in his own world.

Ahead of us, Rune and Finn are joking around, teasing each other. Rune showing his silly side, making Finn laugh out loud, something that's rare to ever happen.

I glance to the side, maybe Bane is always so serious because he knows what's at stake, not just because he's one of us, a crown prince, a fated prince, but because he's his father's son. The headmaster is stern but reliable, providing a way for all our races to mingle on school grounds, trying to keep the politics out of our lives. But Bane isn't like the rest of us, he knows too much. Always being around his dad, he sees the things that none of us ever see, the politics his Dad has to deal with every day.

I was the first one to arrive at the academy this morning. Everything was still quiet, and the headmaster had been waiting at the gate, not even surprised when he saw me. After dropping my bags off in my room, not that there was much to drop off, as my things had already been sent ahead last week, I went back out the door and sat on the steps in front of our hall.

Finn was the second one of us to arrive, his body tense, his eyes dark, lines in his face I hadn't seen before. When he first saw me, he'd flinched and I knew that I wouldn't ask him about his summer, not with that look in his eyes. He looked haunted. For him, going back home is like torture. None of us like going home for the summer, being at the school is safe and comfortable, but for him, going home is even worse. His father, his family... He hates them, and he still has to go back, face those people every day for months, against his will.

After a short greeting, he went out the back of the house, to the training field, and I listened on as he worked his frustration out on the training dummies there, his sword hitting the wooden dummies loudly.

While watching him work out would have been a sight for sore eyes, his shirt clinging to his strong frame, his muscles moving under his skin, I knew that he couldn't be disturbed.

So, I stayed on those steps, the sounds of his frustration the only noises for a long time, until Bane arrived and he decided that we all needed to hang out and have some fun. So I went inside with him and Finn also came back in.

Right in the middle of playing a game on the TV on a console Bane had been able to smuggle from his parents' place, Rune had slipped into the living room, the quiet way only he can and had joined us, completing the group.

Completing us.

Until Litha arrived at the academy and changed everything. We've been friends for such a long time, but just her showing up in our lives like this could be the end of it, and I'm definitely not looking forward to that future.

I guess that no matter how much we try to keep our lives simple, we always knew that this was going to happen at some point. We'd always known it, so why am I dreading this change?

# Chapter 4 - Litha

I slip through the heavy wooden doors into a large hall filled with tables and people. This is the main hall, I'm supposed to have breakfast here...

When I got to 'my' room, I'd started looking through the backpack and then the suitcase. I had no idea what I should expect since I had no idea what my parents would have packed for me, but I'd found mostly very plain things in the suitcase, like clothes, a couple of books I love to read, very much plain and boring college items, nothing really exciting. Which was a disappointment.

After having gone through both my bag and suitcase, I'd gone onto exploring my room. I'm sharing the room with some other girl, but the woman who pointed me towards my room told me that she wouldn't be arriving yet, so I'd have the room to myself for at least a while, settle in and everything.

The setup is simple, beds on either side of the room, with desks and shelves next to them, all mirrored. The style is old, not very modern, but the bed is sturdy, and everything seems well built. I don't know what I expected from a magical school, but a room like this definitely wasn't part of it, it's almost too normal. The shelves on my side of the room had books on them on general subjects like history, but not much more, leaving space for me to put my own things on them.

Of course, as I was going through everything, I'd lost track of time, and when I'd finally left my room again, the whole building had been quiet. Luckily, there had been an adult to show me in the direction of the main hall, sighing as they gave me instructions.

Yeah, being late for breakfast on my first day was probably not a good start, and I was getting hungry too, so I hope I was still on time to eat.

I slip into a seat at the end of one of the tables closest to the door, trying to not get too much attention on myself. From a couple of seats down, the girl with the red eyes from before smirks at me, it seems that she hadn't been on time either. I smile her way a little, I guess that even at magical schools, some people are just always the late ones, like me.

At the front of the hall, an older guy is standing behind a stand, talking about the new year and about improving ourselves and being the best version of who we are and doing things to the best of our abilities. Regular start of the year stuff. He does look somewhat familiar though, like I've seen him before, but I can't exactly remember when or where. Maybe he just looks like someone who looks like someone or something.

Then my eyes are pulled to the side, to a table with four guys sitting at it. The table is as big as the one I'm sitting at, a table which can easily hold up to eight people, but it's just the four of them at that table. They're all sitting on the same side of the table, looking over the room, like they're being displayed or something, all dressed up in suits and everything, making me feel very underdressed in my jeans and t-shirt.

The guy closest to the front of the hall looks intense, a constant frown on his face, like someone who is always thinking too much, his eyes serious. But I can see his broad shoulder muscles straining the fabric of his jacket, his strong jaw and his hair is a shaggy dark brown, sticking out at all angles, like someone ran their fingers through it during sex. Not that I would know what that would look like in real life, my parents were way too controlling to let me date, let alone be alone with a boy. But after reading enough erotic romance novels —a girl has got to get her rocks off somehow, right?— I came up with a pretty good mental image of what post-sex hair would look like and my fingers itch with the need to run them through his hair, to see if my mental image is right.

The guy next to him is broad too, but more in his bone structure, he's all sharp angles, like a statue, but not one of those delicate roman statues, but more like blocky Egyptian ones. He looks hard like a brick and built like a wall, like he could protect you from anything that would endanger you, wrapping his body around yours and holding off any and all danger. His hair is cropped short, and, from here, it looks almost grey, though that's probably the light. I'd love to be held by him, feel his strong touch, letting him carry me around wherever I want to go, but most of all, I'd love to know what he'd feel like under me as I touch him...

The third guy is the smallest of the four of them, though he's probably still taller than I am. He exudes sex and sexual energy, the smirk he's flashing, his full lips, his smouldering eyes. He's slimmer than the others, but what I can see of his arms, since he's rolled up his sleeves, is that he's all slim muscle, slender but solid.

He says something and the second guy lets out a low, rolling laugh, which makes the third guy chuckle and I squeeze my legs together, suddenly being filled with heat in my core, my whole body thrumming with lust. I can imagine him whispering dirty things in my ear as he roams his nimble fingers over me, slipping under my shirt and touching my skin, his touch scorching me wherever he goes.

Okay, moving on, because this is definitely not something I should be thinking about right in the middle of the main hall. Especially not when I'm surrounded by so many people.

The final guy at the table looks more reserved, his long black hair pulled back tightly, his shoulders straight, his hands flat on the table in front of him. He doesn't really seem to fit in with the other guys, too different from them, more like ice in comparison to the warmth of the rest.

Then he moves his head and meets my eyes straight on, and a shiver goes down my spine, pooling more heat at my core, making me squirm in my seat.

His eyes are green like summer leaves, which becomes even more obvious as they widen when they connect to mine, something akin to a faint blush spreading over his pale skin, and his tongue flicks out to wet his lips.

Out of nowhere, I want to kiss him. I want to try if his lips are as cool as they look, or if they're warm like his eyes. I want to try if he smells like the forest that his eyes remind me of, a forest at the end of a summer day, still warm from the sun during the day, the scent of the trees and plants all around me as the temperature slowly starts to drop.

When he looks away, the spell breaks, and I feel my skin heat up, a blush spreading all over me and I touch my hands to my cheeks, trying to cool them down. I can't believe I just stared at them so openly. They look like celebrities or something, and here I am, the new girl, gaping at them and gettign turned on like some silly fangirl or something.

Luckily, the man at the front stops talking and the doors open, people carrying trays of food and drinks crowd into the hall, letting me hide my embarrassment.

And right as I dare to look up, the scent of black magic reaches me. Black magic as in coffee, I mean, the nectar of the gods. Though, in this place... I don't know if that sentence would mean something else.

I've got so much to learn...

* * *

As I walk out of the hall, the sexy guys having left shortly after the food arrived, probably much too good for the food us commoners have to eat, I'm finally feeling a little more human, or should that be like a witch?

The coffee here is good, I have to admit that, and the croissants and eggs were done to perfection. But there was a little too much meat for my taste on the table, and most of it was raw. Only, after seeing some of my table mates eat... I guess that tastes really do differ here.

"Hi." The girl with red eyes from before walks up next to me, she looks perkier now. "I saw you stare at the princes. They're sexy, right?" There is almost an element of swooning in her voice. "Of course, apart from that fae." The last words is near a growl.

"Princes?" What?

"You're really not from around here, eh?" She takes my elbow, and we step out of the stream of people, off the cobblestone path, onto some fields. All around us are students, chatting excitedly with each other, probably catching up on their summer fun or something. "I'm Aideen. I'm a first year. You?"

"Litha. Also first year. Go back, what do you mean, princes? Not like, real princes, right? Just celebrities?"

Aideen laughs, a rumbling sound, like a volcano about to erupt. "No, I mean real princes. There are four of them. Bane, crown prince to the werewolves, he's the one with the dreamy eyes. Then there is Rune, crown prince to the dragons, he's like... their guardian or something. Then you have Kit, the incubus crown prince, he's great in bed, I can attest to that, and so can most people on this campus, boys, girls and others alike." Then her face darkens. "And then there is Finn, crown prince to the fae, he's... You better stay away from him."

"Why?" She seems really enthusiastic about the others, but not about Finn.

"His family, they..." This time, the growl she lets out is almost like a dangerous animal, a strong and dangerous animal. Scary. "They're not good. But you'll learn about that soon enough. First, tell me about yourself. Where are you really from, that you don't even know about the princes?"

"Ehh..." Right.

How am I going to explain this? How do I know what to tell her and what would be too strange? A guide from someone would have been nice right about now...

# Chapter 5 - Finn

I growl, my muscles straining as I push with all my might.

How could one look from her rip away my whole sanity? How could I turn so flustered just from her gaze? It was like she had the power of a hundred succubi, just in a single glance. And having gone to school with succubi for years, I know what it's like when they try their powers on you... This was even worse. I don't fluster, I don't do the whole blushing thing. I'm prince of the fae, we don't do these things. Why did it have to be her?

Suddenly, I'm on my back, staring up at the blue sky, the wisps of clouds passing by overhead, and Rune is gazing down at me, frowning.

"Where is your head at? I thought you wanted to spar. But this way, it's no fun." He pulls me up by my shoulders, putting me back on my feet. "Either you focus seriously, or we're not doing this." He shrugs. "Your choice."

"I want to do this. There is nothing going on. Come, get your ass kicked." I get back in the grappling stance, clearing my head. I need to do this, I need to keep my strength up, I can't slack, I need to be strong. "You in?" I need to get this summer out of my system.

Rune sighs and with a short nod of his head, he's right up against me again, trying to fight me to the ground, trying to get me under him. We've been doing this for years, to let off steam, to practice, just to fool around, boys being boys...

And with a flash, an image pops into my head, the look my father will give me if he finds out that I don't want to be the one to marry Litha, that I don't want to continue his legacy of terror. When he finds out that I'm willing to throw away everything, just to make sure that I won't be the 'fated ruler' so that he won't be able to get more power through me. When he finds out that I don't want to validate him and his ideas by becoming the 'chosen prince'. When he finds out I will do everything in my power to not get close to Litha, that I will fight every instinct I have to make sure that she ends up with one of the other guys. Because I can't risk it being me, no matter how I respond to just a single look from her. I can't risk it, not if I want to make sure that the rest of the races won't be wiped out.

With a grunt, I find myself on my back again, and Rune sits down next to me, letting out a deep sigh. "Need to talk?"

"With you?" I try to sound gruff, but it comes out softer than I mean to, almost like I'd consider it.

"I don't know. I'm here, you obviously aren't." He lies down on his back, his breathing even. When he does this 'meditative' breathing thing, de-escalating the situation, it's like hearing a mountain breathe, not the whistling of the wind through the cracks, but the sound of calmly moving air deep in a tunnel. I don't like tunnels, on principle, but Rune still calms me down. "Is it your father?"

I let out a sound, not confirming or denying his guess.

"Was it that bad?"

Every time I come back from my family, those first days back, I'm humbled by how easy Rune can be around me. He should hate me, he should hate my family, he should hate every last part of me. But it's always Rune who will put up with my crap moods and who will listen to me rant. We almost wiped out his whole race, the few dragon shifters who still live on their land have been forced into slavery. I know what they've done to their bodies, broken and abused, just to make sure they can't fight back. The ends of their wings cut, membranes punctured so they can't fly, poison so they can't shift to either their full human or their full dragon form, always on the edge of discomfort. Rune knows what has been done to his race, and he'll still talk to me. I don't get it. "You should stay away from me. You should hate me." The words slip out, like they do every year after I come back.

"That bad, eh?" He's quiet for a while. "You know that I won't let you send me away. I know that you don't want me to leave either."

"You should..." Flashes of the horrible things I've seen this summer, of the farms, of the factories, of the things Dad is so proud of, the things which made me hurl out every dinner every night, go through my head. Farming the scales of young fire dragons' backs for their ability to withstand extreme heats, experimenting with earth dragons' ability to control emotions, drowning water dragons to improve our own diving equipment. This summer has been the worst I've ever seen. My father thought that I should see the 'real' legacy, now I was old enough. "You don't understand. You've not—" I nearly hurl again, just remembering it.

"I've seen it." The tone in Rune's voice sets all the hairs on my arms on end, chilling my insides, it's like rocks moving all on their own, against nature. I've not heard this hatred in his voice often, it scares me every time. "I've seen what you don't want to speak of. Just because I'm not living on our lands doesn't mean that I don't know what's happening to my people. Do not take me for a fool. I know what happens to them. I've seen it. I've been there. I've seen it with my own two eyes."

I jolt up, staring down at Rune, blinking, my heart heavy, my head hurting. Fuck, no! "What?" He wouldn't, right? Why would he? How could he put himself in such danger? "You've been to the lands, the factories? How could you? You can't do that! Promise me you'll never do that again! Don't—" He can't risk himself like that!

Rune slowly reaches up, putting his fingers to my lips. "I saw you, at his side. I've seen you many times. Many summers. I had to make sure you were safe. I couldn't let him put you in danger." Then he gets up and walks off, leaving me behind, stunned. My mind going over my worst nightmares, the things I don't want to think about, losing Rune, or any of the others.

Why would he? How could he?

Many summers? It wasn't the first time?

Why didn't he tell me before? Why did he keep this a secret? Was he spying on me?

'I couldn't let him put you in danger.' The gratefulness fights with the absolute terror inside me.

Do I really know Rune so little? Did I really not see this coming? Have I been so blind?

Or did I prefer not to think about how Rune would still try to protect us, even away from school? Like his friendship and his need to protect us would end at the edges of the school grounds...

I've been so blind.

* * *

For a while, I try to find Rune again, talk to him, ask him things, explain things. But it seems that he has made himself scarce, and when he doesn't want to be found, you can't find him. It really is that simple, never made playing hide and seek with him any fun.

Instead, I find Kit in the upstairs 'common room', not that you can really call the room 'common', it's just one of our shared rooms upstairs, and it has a great view of the rest of the campus, of all the people walking around, not knowing that we're up here, looking down at them.

"Hey." I sit on the couch next to him. He's sitting sideways, lazily looking out the window, his arm over the back of the couch, his head leaning on top of it.

"Hey." He glances at me and then looks back out the window. "Done sparring with Rune?"

I shrug. "He up and left. Can't find him."

"He'll be back. You two fight?" Kit's eyebrow rises as he really looks at me now, curious.

For two people from races who are on such bad terms, fighting between Rune and me is rare. It doesn't happen. "I don't know. He said something and then up and left. I have no idea what's going through his head sometimes." A slight growl escapes me.

"Want to share with the class what he said?" Bane's voice startles me, and I catch sight of him standing in the double sliding doors to his room. His eyes are darker than I remember them being before the summer, he looks older, especially with the look he is giving me. He looks so much like his dad like this, which is probably why I can't keep it to myself.

I shrug. How do I even explain what happened? We didn't use many words, but we both knew exactly what the other meant. "He..." I start over. "He said that he's seen what happens to his people, what my family does to them. He said that he's followed me around this summer, and before too. To protect me." My heart is heavy, pain going through me. Pain at what has happened, pain at how much worse it must have been for Rune to see his people like that.

"Ah." Kit shrugs, almost nonchalant. "Yeah, that."

"You knew?" What? I stare at Kit and then at Bane, who shrugs too, looking awkward. "You both knew?" A tingly feeling is spreading over my skin, danger. Danger at my friends keeping things from me, important things.

Bane closes the door to his room behind him, stepping closer. "He would never come out and admit it. But, I guessed as much. I know his shadow as well as mine, his scent, they're as familiar to me as my own, it's hard to fully hide. I noticed it the summer after he'd been... " Bane looks away, averting his eyes, the pain flashing through them. The summer Rune had been attacked, and we'd protected him.

"He does it to all of us." Kit's voice is soft, somber, totally at odds with his normally bubbly and lax personality. "He follows all of us." He's not looking our way, instead, his eyes focused on the people outside.

"You've seen him?" That even surprises Bane, who usually knows about these kinds of things.

Kit nods. "I've..." He sighs. "He won't like me telling this, but fuck him and his dragon's need to protect everything and everyone. I've met him a few times over the summer, when I was..." He squeezes his lips together, before taking another breath. "Not just this summer, but previous summers too. He does it with each one of us. He just usually doesn't show himself."

What? I have to think that over for a moment. Rune does it to every one of us? He guards us from the shadows? Trying to make sure we're safe? He's been following us everywhere? Away from the safety of his own people, his own home? Putting himself in danger the whole time?

"What about his own safety? Can't that asshole worry about his own safety for even a moment? If they catch him on fae land, he's done for. Fucking hell." The electricity buzzing over my arms from before is back, stronger this time, the air around me filling with static. My mind buzzing, crowding out my thoughts but the most important one. Rune has been putting himself in danger, for us, for me. "If they catch him, they'll..." If they catch him, they'll publicly execute him. They'll kill him. Dad will probably force me to do it, to kill my best friend, as a show of support for him, for our family. As a show that I'm one of them. He'd force me to kill Rune, breaking me. Losing Rune... No!

A loud bang makes me jump, and then the sound of glass falling on the floor makes me wince.

"Hell, Finn." Bane growls, and I smell blood in the air. "You're replacing those bulbs yourself." When I finally open my eyes, I catch him walk off to the stairs, his arm curled against his chest, leaving a trail of drops of blood behind him. "If anyone's looking for me, I'll be in the infirmary."

Fuck. Fucking fuck.

As I glance at Kit, he just looks back sadly. This hasn't been the first time I've accidentally exploded things when I'm upset... But it's been a long time since this last happened...

It's been a long time since I've been this messed up in my head.

Fucking fuck.

# Chapter 6 - Rune

I lean against the wall, looking out over one of the courtyards, keeping my eye on the girl who has everyone on edge. Every year, when we come back, everyone is messed up, trying to disentangle from whatever happened at their houses, in their families. I always try to get everyone grounded as soon as possible, get us back into this safe space, everyone together, becoming a unit again. And now she's here, messing everything up.

I didn't need Bane pointing her out to me to know that she'd arrived. The moment she stepped into this world I could sense her, I could sense her as strongly as I can feel any of the guys. I knew she was here, lost, confused, even a little scared. But she was here. From the moment she stepped into this world, I knew where she was and, on a level, I knew how she was feeling. If this is what being fated mates is like... I don't know what to do with it, how to make it work.

Right now, she's talking to Aideen, a dragon shifter from our year. She's a fire-dragon, a bit of a loner, and her family is in hiding, just like mine. But she'll make sure nothing happens to Litha, she'll protect her. Not for who she is, but simply for existing, for being friends.

I can't keep my eyes off Litha, I need to see her, watch her. I'm being a total creep, especially since she has no idea who I am, and I'm hiding here, staring at her, hiding in the shadows of one of the buildings, trying not to get caught.

Then she glances up, her eyes on mine immediately, a shock going through my system, putting everything on high-alert. I want to go out there, grab her, and hide her in my room, make sure nothing happens to her, keep her safe. She's mine, the dragon in me growls.

A flush goes over her cheeks, and she glances away again, back to Aideen.

Wow. That was... I'm fucked. I'm totally fucked, and Kit isn't even here to do it.

My attention is pulled back to the house, to the boys, Finn's emotions flaring, and then a sharp pain from Bane. Oh, no... Finn's emotions calm down abruptly, but there is a dull pain from Bane, who is moving away from the others. Okay, so they're not fighting, at least not for long, that's good.

I hated leaving Finn after the things I said. I'd never admitted to following any of them before, definitely never admitted to doing it on purpose. A few times, I'd reached out to Kit when he was having a bad time, when I could feel him struggle, but never with any of the others. I couldn't. I felt stupid for how much I needed to protect them. I knew that following them was dangerous, that I was putting my life on the line, but that never stopped me. I had to protect them. Had to.

When we're all here, at the school, we're all together, and everything feels right. But when we're all in different parts of our countries, I'm restless, not able to protect them, only able to feel some of their muted emotions, but constantly worried that I'll feel a sharp pain and they'll be gone. And I don't know what will happen then... What happens when I lose one of them.

Of course, I've heard the stories of what happens when someone really endangers a dragon's hoard. What happened to so many of us when the fae invaded us... The insanity, dragons going berserk, killing indiscriminately.

I don't want that to happen, and after the near assassination... I got a little overprotective, which is when Kit realised some of my abilities. I tried my best to hide them, because there isn't anything as weird as your best friend knowing your exact location where you are in the world or feeling what you're feeling. I can't turn it off, but I can do my best to ignore it, which is what I do most of the time, until I can't anymore.

I feel before I even see Litha's gaze on me again, and now Aideen is staring at me too, looking confused. Great...

Litha slowly stands up, and I catch the way Aideen tenses, ready to protect her when needed. Dragons are very protective, very, even over people they've just met, or maybe she just senses the power in Litha and wants to protect her because of that.

I want to run, flee, get away from here. I'm not the right choice for Litha, I'm not. But I'm bound to the ground, unable to move, stuck.

"Hi." Her voice is soft when she comes within talking distance, the fire in her eyes a smouldering ember.

"Hi." The word barely comes out. Up close, the need to touch her, to grab her, becomes even greater. I can feel the lust in her, her confusion about her feelings, her curiosity. There is so much going on inside her.

"I'm Litha."

"Rune." Distantly, I feel Bane is nearing the infirmary, which isn't too far off from here. I should check up on him.

"Why are you looking at me?" I've got to give her, she's direct.

"Curiosity. You're new. We don't get many new people here." Truth, sort of.

"But why would a prince be interested in the new girl?" She raises an eyebrow, her chin turning up defiantly. "Don't you have like... lackeys for that, or something?"

I can't help the snort escaping me. Lackeys? What world does she live in? Although...

The laughter dies inside me. Since I can feel her so strongly now, from the moment she came into this world, and I never felt her before... She probably isn't from this world, at least, she's not been living here. She quite literally doesn't come from this world, at least, she didn't grow up here.

"What?" There is an edge to her voice, and when I look at her, I realise that she's annoyed with me.

"I'm pretty hands-on when I want to know things." I try to smile again, but the look in her eyes cuts that off. I grip the wall behind me, making sure I don't grab her. I want to touch her, have her, take her, taste her. All of it. "I need to be going." I force the words out as I step sideways, her scent stronger here somehow, tantalising and sexy.

"Where?"

"Not here." I turn around, feeling her change in emotions, the jab of pain and anger flashing through her, but I can't face her anymore. I stalk away, to the infirmary, to Bane. I may be the steady one, the grounded one, but she changes all that, messing everything up in my head. With her, I'm a leaf on the wind, constantly being blown side to side, not a mountain, grounded and strong.

People jump out of the way as I pass, I can still feel their looks, but they're not coming up to me, not even trying to get my attention. The infirmary is quiet, because who is stupid enough to get himself into trouble on the first day of the new year? Well, Bane is, apparently.

As I stalk to the end of the room, opening the curtains, Bane lets out a hiss, and I almost pull the doc away from him, for hurting him.

"Rune." Bane's voice breaks through right in time. "Wait." When I look at him, he looks at me wearily. He's the smart one, the one who knows things, the leader, I'm the strong one, the steady one, the protector. I need to be that protector now.

I take two deep breaths and then lean on the end of the bed he's sitting on, doing my best not to crumble the metal bar in my hands. "What happened?"

Bane looks from me to the doc and back at me, letting out a slow breath. "Finn realised the implications of what you told him, the danger you've been putting yourself in. He..." Bane pulls a face. "He didn't take it well."

Ah, fuck. I grab a nearby chair and sit down on it. "He's mad."

"To put it mildly." He winces as the doc pulls out another piece of glass from his hand, and I'm almost back on my feet. "We're going to have to chat about your... summer habits."

"We're all here now. It's okay. I'm fine now." I look away, not wanting to meet his eyes, not wanting to talk about this at all, not wanting to talk about this thing inside me, me being a dragon and what that entails.

"Yeah, I don't think so. You're not okay, and what you've been doing hasn't been okay either." Bane sighs, and the doc starts wrapping his hand.

"The wounds aren't too deep, keep them clean, they will be healed up soon enough." Doc stands up and looks at me. "Try to keep him out of more trouble, will you? He can't seem to do it himself." Then the doc cleans his own hands and walks off.

I can't meet Bane's eyes anymore, this isn't his fault, this is mine... I was the one who upset Finn.

"Did you go see Litha?" Bane's voice is soft, and I jerk my head up, staring at him. He shrugs. "You weren't with us, and you were... upset. Seemed a logical choice."

I nod. "I..." I wring my hands together. "She makes everything in my head weird. I can't think straight with her nearby."

Bane nods too. "Yeah, I guess we're going to have to get used to her being around." His eyes darken, in that worried thing he does. "This will be different. This year will be very different."

Different would be an understatement. Everything has changed, everything. And with the ways the other guys have come back from their summers... I don't think I can manage everything like I normally would, not with her around too, not when she messes everything up even more. When she turned me inside out with just a look, with just the sound of her voice.

I want her, and I can't have her. I'm not right for her. What do I have to offer? I'm hiding away, my kingdom is in shambles, I don't have anything for her. It can't be me, I can't be hers.

# Chapter 7 - Litha

"Wow!" Aideen grins at me. "Rune talked to you. You actually talked to one of the princes! I can't believe it, lucky you." She's walking next to me as we make our way to the building where our rooms are. "On his own too. The princes usually don't go anywhere on their own."

"That makes no sense." Especially not with what she'd just explained about the different races, how they relate to each other and how they hate each other. It makes no sense that they'd be such good friends.

"You tell me." She grins. "Those boys don't make any sense, never have. Do you know what classes you're going to be taking yet?" She opens the door, and we step inside, into a large common room, filled with a lot of people now, all hanging out.

"No idea." With everything that has happened since this morning, since the breakfast hall, I'd kind of forgotten about classes. How would I even know what to take? I'd planned for my college classes for years, but I don't think they have the same chemistry and biology classes here, or at least, not in the way that I know it... Classes... Fucking hell.

Would I be in the same classes as the princes? Would we share classes?

And the moment I think of the princes I remember the way Rune looked at me, that heat in his gaze, the way it felt like he wanted to reach out to me, just not physically, if that makes any sense, it was like he was reaching out to me in another way, mentally, emotionally. And I remember the heat flowing through me under his gaze. I wanted him to reach out and grab me, even as I was trying to hide it. I wanted it so badly.

Oh, for fuck's sake... I don't want to have to think of them, there is no reason for me to think of them, for me to want them this badly. Fuck prophecies, I don't even know what it actually said. I wasn't the most awake person this morning when my parents talked about it, it sort of went past me as I was trying to make sense of the whole 'witch' thing they'd dumped on me first.

"I think I'm going to my room for a bit. I'm a little... tired." I look up the stairs, to a little bit of quiet, away from all these things that make no sense.

"Yeah, sure." Aideen nods. "I'll see you later. Maybe for lunch, or dinner."

I nod back at her and then go up the stairs, passing doors and doors that are all the same, that all look like a normal college, if a little old-school. How is this a magical college? How does that even make any sense? Isn't it supposed to be more special than this?

I close the door to my room behind me, the other side of the room is still as pristine as it was before, and open the suitcase my parents packed. There has to be something in here that makes sense, right? They can't just have dumped all this on me, pushed me through the door, and expect me to make sense of it all. They wouldn't, right?

A small notebook tucked in a side-pocket of the suitcase pulls my attention, not because it's so obvious, but because it's so unassuming. A plain, simple, wire-bound notebook, but it's not mine. I pick it up and recognise the handwriting on it, Mum's handwriting. As I open the notebook to the first page, there is a message there, 'To my dear Litha'.

Oh, wow. Okay...

* * *

I don't know how much time has passed, but my head is spinning. It's spinning and at the same time feels so full of everything, so full of all the things Mum wrote down for me. She kept the notebook from the moment she found out that there was some prophecy about me, about who I will be in the future, what I will be able to do. I don't know if I can make any sense of it anymore.

The first couple of pages, I thought I understood what it said, I thought I could make sense of it, the prophecy itself seemed pretty clear, but as I kept reading on, things became less and less clear.

The princes are in here too, about them growing up, their history, the history of their countries, of their families. There were things in here that Aideen already told me about, but also things I had no idea about, things that Aideen may not even have known, secrets, secrets mum thought were too important to forget. Secrets she needed me to know.

I now know that my parents fled this world, trying to keep me safe from the people who would try to kill me, just to make sure the prophecy doesn't happen. The prophecy of me being the 'true mate', no, what did Mum call it... I look through the pages. I'm their 'fated mate'. And the prince I marry will rule the four kingdoms, all of them, not just one, all. I'm a magical item, like a holy grail or something, the one who marries me will be super powerful or something, a 'true ruler'.

Great way to give a woman agency, reduce her to an item to be used by men. Really. This world obviously is just as bad as the one I left, just a lot more dangerous. Werewolves, dragons, fae, incubi and succubi... Witches. I don't even know what else there would be. Mum wrote something about vampires somewhere, but that's not around here, or something... I don't know. That was way too much to remember all in one sitting!

I wish I could just ask Mum. I wish I could just ask her all the things that are spinning through my head right now. And not just her, but also Dad, and even the guardian. I want to ask them everything. Hear it from them instead of from a notebook. I miss them. I miss them so much and with they were here right now.

I grew up pretty normal, I was a typical girl. Heck, apart from visiting grandma/the guardian, I never even went outside the city. I'm a city girl, I know the city, I know about driving cars and how to make sure you stay safe in the city at night. I don't know shit about dragons, fae, and whatever else.

I never even read fantasy books, gimme a contemporary sports romance any day over a fantasy book, I've never even read Twilight and the Harry Potter series I only know because of the movies...

They could have prepared me better... Given me fantasy books to read or something, maybe then the idea of being surrounded by —I check the notebook— incubi wouldn't sound as ridiculous.

Would human fantasy books even have offered me anything? Could they have prepared me? Well, maybe it would have not made this all as weird as it feels right now. I feel so lost, even with this notebook, there's just... so much missing. So many things I don't know.

As I look up, my eyes fall on a simple radio-clock next to the bed. Who would have thought that there would be such simple electronics here? But as I look at it, realisation sets in, it's almost time for dinner, so it's no wonder I'm getting hungry...

I've been reading all day, and I really should get something to eat. Aideen said that all the halls eat in their own building normally, that the whole 'eating together in the main hall' was just for special occasions, like the introduction breakfast. She also mentioned there being a cafeteria-like thing and a small store next to the library, for when people didn't feel like eating in their own hall, or if they needed a quick meal while studying.

Tucked away under the notebook had been a brand new wallet, which I pick up again. As I look inside, I find an academy card for me, with my name, 'Litha Vigil', and picture and all, and a payment card with a note attached to it. 'To get you started. Now you won't be dependent on the hall's meals. Love, Dad.' To get me started? What? Right... Food first, then answers.

I guess this is as good an excuse as any to find my own answers to the things I don't know yet and also to see if they have some food that I like, away from all the loud people.

I pocket the wallet and grab my keys, taking one last look at the map of the grounds. I should be able to find the library, it's at the opposite end of the main building from the hall we had breakfast in.

Slipping out of the room, I quickly look around and then take a set of stairs at the back of the building, trying to avoid running into anyone. There is still too much going on in my head, and I need to find answers to those questions. The biggest ones of all being, what the hell am I doing here and how am I supposed to be a witch?

Let's hope they have a 'Witching for Dummies' in their library, so I won't feel as stupid anymore.

Because no matter what Mum wrote down, I have no idea what to expect from being a witch, or even how to 'use my powers' or anything like that. I don't have a clue.

# Chapter 8 - Bane

I try to keep to the back of the buildings, Kit at my side, away from the main routes that people take along the campus, making our way to the library and the tower of knowledge, more specifically, the prophecy room. Or, at least, that's what Kit and I have been calling it lately, the 'tower of knowledge', because, what else would you call the tall part of a building where they have rooms for the manuscripts they don't want the students to read, or the prophecies, or rooms for other things they don't want students to see? It's knowledge, even if it's knowledge we're not supposed to know about. But who is going to deny the princes? Who is going to stop us from going anywhere on this campus? If we want something, we'll get it, no matter what we have to do to get it.

"If it wasn't your dad, who else could have been in the prophecy room today?" Kit whispers, he can't seem to let it go. The person in the prophecy room, the reason the light was on, it couldn't have been Dad. Dad had been waiting in the main hall when we arrived for the yearly welcome and the supposedly shared breakfast, and he couldn't have moved that fast between the tower and the main hall.

"I don't know. Does it matter right now?" I hold up my hand, stopping him, as someone sneaks past, crossing our path, but it's just one of the other students, a wolf like me. The guy doesn't even notice us, probably too focused on wherever he's going.

"How would I know if it matters? When we were in that room before the summer, it was obvious that nobody had been there in years. And now someone was in there during the day? On the same day Litha arrives at the academy? Don't you think it's suspicious?" He follows me behind the next building. We're just three buildings over from the library, one more halls of residence and one of the classroom buildings between us and our goal for the night.

"Maybe." I shrug before stopping him again, my whole body tight and alert. I move my head from side to side, I can't hear anything unusual, or see anything, but there is a slight scent of scorched rosemary on the air.

"What?" Kit sounds annoyed at being held up again. "If you don't want to go to the tower, just say so, instead of being all weird the whole time."

I shake my head intently, frowning, and with a sigh, he quietens.

Then, I notice someone sneaking around the corner of the hall in front of us, the scent getting stronger, until a faint light illuminates the person enough to recognise her. Litha! What is she doing here?

"Hey, that's..." Kit also sees her. He moves before I can stop him, sauntering over to Litha, and I catch a glimpse of the smug grin he's put on. Oh, no.

I quickly follow him, Litha's scorched rosemary scent stronger as I get closer. She smells so good, I want to rub my face against her neck, inhale her scent even more. The wolf inside me is rumbling appreciatively at the idea.

"Hello, beautiful lady." Kit's voice is smooth, and Litha jumps, before twisting to him, one hand balled at her side. Jumpy, and a fighter, good. "Whoa, whoa!" Kit laughs, holding up his hands as he turns his charm to a hundred. "I just wanted to see what a beautiful lady like you is doing all on her own, sneaking around the academy grounds in the darkness."

Litha looks to the side and catches sight of me, her eyes growing a little, but her breathing calms down and she straightens her back. "Do you princes have a habit of spying on people or something? Spying on poor new girls?" She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, the light from the moon catching a glimpse of fire in her hair. "The dragon prince this afternoon and now you two. What? The fae prince is going to watch me sleep like some creepy teenage romance? Can't a girl have some time to herself? Get to know a new place without being creeped on?"

Does she have any idea who we are? She keeps calling us princes, but she seems to be severely unimpressed by the implications of that word, even less impressed than my own family. "We were just on our way to the library. What were you doing?"

She shrugs, her defences coming down a little, her shoulders relaxing. "Library, too. And getting something to eat, somewhere quiet, on my own." She glares at me and then at Kit, who flashes her his best smile, and she flushes at that, her pupils widening. She's definitely not unaffected by his incubus charms.

"We could join you for dinner, right?" Kit glances at me, a twinkle in his eyes. He's got a plan, which could be really bad... "We can't have the future queen of the four kingdoms eat all on her own. That will not do." He speaks the last words with a tone like he's quoting some old school TV nanny or something.

Litha's eyes grow and she looks to the ground, her skin flushing darker. "That's... You don't have to. Really." Her breathing is shallowing, she's getting nervous and she slightly shakes her head. "I would rather forget about all that... stuff."

"We can forget about all that, over dinner." I step closer to her, reaching out for a moment, wanting to touch her so badly, but she looks too fragile for that. She looks like she would break apart at a single touch, not physically, but mentally, emotionally, she looks exhausted. I want to say more, ask her things, but I have no idea what. It feels like I've always known her, like looking at her I'm looking at someone I've known for most of my life, the same way I've known the guys, but I don't know anything about her. It's weird, like I can sense that she's right for me. That she's mine.

Litha plays with the hem of her shirt, taking a deep breath, letting it out with a little shudder. "It's just... a little too much. I never knew about any of this." She looks around. "About witches and dragons and werewolves and anything. I just found out this morning. It's just been... I'd rather not think about it for a while. Feel normal for at least a moment."

"We can do that." I look at Kit, who nods back gently. "Let's just pretend that prophecies and kingdoms don't exist for the evening and have a quiet meal somewhere. I know just the spot." When we were exploring the campus before the summer, when we found the tower with the room with the prophecies, we'd also found a beautiful balcony a floor below it. Perfectly quiet and out of sight of anyone but those in the tower. "I just hope you're not afraid of heights."

She pulls up a shoulder, smiling a little. "Depends on how high."

She's so... normal. She's a strange mix between humble and brash, like she has no idea how to act around royalty or how the social systems work here, but at the same time, she doesn't seem to assume anything. It's refreshing.

* * *

After we raided the small shop next to the library, we went up a set of hidden stairs at the back of the library. Luckily, the shop was quiet, we only had a couple of stares, but it still made Litha break out in blushes every time. She's obviously not used to the attention. Although, she better get used to it soon, because when people find out who she is... she's going to be even more famous than we are.

Kit opens the door at the top of the stairs, leading to a small balcony overlooking the whole campus. The stone railing around the balcony has a wide ridge, like a bench, the whole way around and at the far end is a stone table with six stone chairs around it. They're all made from the same stone that this whole building is made out of, so I guess this was all put in place at the same time.

Litha immediately goes over to the edge looking out over the courtyard in front of the library, where we just came from, her eyes wide with awe. "This is... stunning. So beautiful."

I grin at Kit as we put the food and drinks on the table. At least she seems more relaxed now. "Yeah, it's one of the best views of the old sections of the campus." I sit down on one of the chairs, the stone still warm from today's sun, and dig through one of the bags. "What would Your Majesty like for dinner?"

Litha jerks her head my way, glaring. "I thought you agreed not to do that." Then she comes over, sighing, sitting down on the other side of the table. "Can I have a sandwich with eggs?"

We mostly picked up food which humans would recognise and not be freaked out by. Simple sandwiches and things like that, give her some feeling of normalcy in this place. Though, I did get a sandwich with raw beef on it, because there is only so much 'normalcy' I can take in my meals, especially this soon after the full moon. I hand her a box with sandwiches as Kit flops down in the chair next to her, leaning his head her way, his feet on the table in the other direction, all stretched out, relaxing while showing off his body at the same time. Damn incubus.

"Sooo... What do you think of this place?" His voice drawls as he opens a bottle of water and takes a couple of big gulps, his throat working fast.

Litha glances at him, her eyes drawn to his lips, his throat and then down. Her face darkens again with an even deeper blush as she catches sight of his cock straining in his tight jeans. Because, of course, showoff. "Ehhh... The campus is pretty." She takes a quick bite and looks away from him, swallowing hard, but I'm sure it's not from the bite she's still chewing on...

I kick at Kit's feet, making him almost fall over, but at least he takes his feet off the table. "The academy and the other schools have been around for centuries, so there are a lot of old buildings around. Some of them very pretty." I nod, watching her relax a little. "Can I ask you something personal?"

She meets my eyes for a moment, the beautiful burned umber stirring my cock, just like Kit's, and then she nods.

"Did you really only find out about this world this morning?" I know that there is a whole group of people dedicated to protecting her, but has she really grown up so unknowing of her fate? It's hard to believe that her parents or guardian never told her anything. That would have been... She's so unprepared.

She nods again, her eyes closing for a few moments. "I grew up... human?" She winces. "I had no idea. They were overprotective, but... many parents of my classmates were too."

Which means that she has no idea about the importance of the prophecy, how much it has influenced all politics in the last two decades or the way it has influenced all our lives. She has no idea how powerful she is, or her bloodline. How they've been one of the strongest witch families for centuries, only to disappear within hours after her birth, and the chaos that brought.

Something hardens in my chest and I meet Kit's eyes again, he's looking serious too.

She has no clue. None. She's innocent and I want to protect her, no, I need to protect her. I need to make sure that she's not harmed or hurt until she can learn things in her own time.

I have to protect her!

# Chapter 9 - Kit

She's so beautiful. Just sitting in the moonlight, I can't keep my eyes off her, she's almost ethereal in her beauty.

But I also know what's going through Bane's head, the frustration, the anger, the need to protect her. If she has no idea what she's gotten herself into, we need to protect her as well as we can. We have to.

I want to undress her, touch her bare skin, explore every last part of her, but I also have this deep need to protect her and keep her safe. They're not conflicting feelings, they're extensions of each other, but it feels strange to have these feelings for someone I've just met. Even when she's supposed to be the fated mate of one of us.

When she went all red as she looked at me, that felt good. Actually, every time she looks at me feels good, stirring my need inside me. This is... I let out a slow breath as I grab something to eat from the bag in the middle of the table.

She has no idea who we are and we have no idea who she is, apart from the fact that we're all part of the same prophecy. Which is, of course, one hell of a thing to have in common, but it doesn't mean that we'll get along or that we'll be a good match outside of the prophecy thing. Just because we're connected like that doesn't mean anything for who we are to each other.

We're sitting around quietly for a while, eating, drinking, each with our own thoughts.

Below us, I hear people walk on the paths around the library, but we're hidden away up here. Nobody knows we're here. This is a perfect place to hide out, I have to admit.

Litha stands up, going over to the railing and sits down on the ledge, leaning her arms and head on the stone railing, looking out over the square between the main buildings. She lets out a deep sigh. "How many people believe in the prophecy?"

"Everyone." Bane looks at her and I nearly growl at the look in his eyes, his want, his need. Though it also makes me totally hot, the guy is sex on legs...

"How many people know who I am? That I'm going to be the queen?"

"Everyone." This time his voice is softer and Litha closes her eyes, giving a small nod, a jab of pain goes through my chest at her look.

I stand up, strolling over to her and I sit down behind her, sliding in close, my thighs against hers, my arms protectively around hers. She's warm against me, her breath soft on my arm, and I feel a fraction of tension leaving her as she lets me hold her. But as I touch her, using my incubus ability to feel her emotions, there is still a lot of fear and turmoil inside her. While Rune can feel emotions over a distance, I have to touch someone to feel them. "We'll protect you," I whisper, my chin on her shoulder. "Nobody will harm you."

The flood of new emotions coming from her surprises me, the pain, the anxiety, the way she's lost, and I tighten my arms around her automatically. This shared-emotion thing is fun during sex, but I've never experienced it like this, this strong, it's... heady.

Bane sits down in front of us, taking her hand softly as he also looks out over the campus. "We'll protect you as much as we can. I promise." He meets my eyes for a moment and I wonder if our friendship might survive this after all, at least for the coming years. We're too young to get married, to have to think about who will be the one to rule the kingdoms, but we can protect Litha. We can all band together to protect her, just like we've always protected each other.

It seems that our words ease something inside her and her breathing slows down, relaxing a little. This new set of emotions almost makes me nod off, it's so warm and comfortable, until she speaks up. "Can I ask you something? I feel silly for even asking..."

"Hmm?" I don't know if I have words now, just losing myself in this sensation, this feeling of curling up in front of a wood fire and wanting to fall asleep.

"How do I sign up for classes? And which classes should I take?" There is a slight tension in her voice, but it doesn't break through the comfortable warmth. Bane bursts out laughing and I can't help my own smile. "It's not a joke. I don't know anything about this place. I don't even know if I can even take classes... If they're not too difficult... What even are witchy classes? I'm so totally behind..."

"You can sign up for classes online, your code will be in the acceptance letter." Bane's voice is still filled with laughter, but it's also soft and kind, and that's our Bane, always helpful, always helping others. "And on which classes you can take? I don't know, but there will be something for you, I promise. Just look through them and choose the ones that sound interesting. If you need help, I'm sure one of us can help you out."

Litha nods in my arms, falling quiet again. The need to let my hands wander like I'm used to, to places that most non-incubi or succubi would find inappropriate, grows, but I don't want to scare her, and having her in my arms is already an amazing feeling, even when I'm hard like a rock and I'm sure she can feel it against her back.

We were coming to the tower today to read the prophecy, to find out more, and even though it's so close, I have no urge to move away from here. The prophecy can wait another day, it's been waiting for almost two decades, one more day won't hurt. This is so much better than hunting through dusty shelves and books.

This, right here.

* * *

"I'll be fine." Litha laughs softly as she opens the back door to her building. "Really."

"Okay." I let my arm slide from around her waist. "Maybe I can catch a glimpse of your room next time." I wink. She colours a deep pink, something that she seems to do often when things get a little sexual, like she has no idea what to do in sexual situations. Does she have no experience? Uh-oh...

"Maybe." She nods, her eyes anywhere but on me, then she turns to Bane. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem." He flashes her a grin. "If you need help, just find me online. I'm not hard to find, none of us are."

"Right." She nods. "Night." She slips inside the building and closes the door behind her.

I keep Bane's gaze for a while before we both grin. "She's something else." I lick my lips, wanting to taste her so badly.

Bane nods, his eyes dark with lust. "She is. Fuck." He lets out a groan. "The way she looked in your arms, so pure and sweet. That should be illegal." He pushes at my shoulder, grinning.

"You were looking at her, but I was holding her... So who was better off?" I grin back. "Fucking hell. She's... Yeah..." We quietly make our way back to our building. It's getting pretty late, so there are barely any people around. "Not how I expected today to go."

"Me neither." Bane sighs, looking serious. "How are we going to do this? For fucks sake, she has no idea and we know all too well."

I nod. "She may be glaring at us for acting like 'teenage romance' characters, but I think that her impression isn't too far off. We need to protect her and the best way to do that is by making sure that she's never on her own. That one of us is always around."

Bane looks at me strangely, but then shakes his head, grinning widely. "When you actually use that brain up above, you can come up with pretty good ideas, you know."

I snort, pushing him. "Hey, I've got the top spot in our class academically. Who are you calling stupid, Number Five?"

"I'm calling the one who tends to just think with his dick when he sees someone he likes instead of his brain stupid, as he is." Bane sticks out his tongue and starts running towards our building, getting away from my grasp.

I sprint after him, laughing softly. He's much faster than I am, but that won't stop me from running after him, enjoying the strain in my muscles, letting the pent up energy go.

Summer may have been hell, the constant badgering about me finding my 'true mate' and their plans of what would happen if I'd be the one to marry Litha, how that would help our country and show that we're the supreme race... And this morning didn't exactly start off well either. But I think things may have turned around. None of the problems have been solved, none at all, but at least I feel better about our future, if only in the short term. We have to protect Litha, we have to help her. She didn't ask for this, she didn't grow up in all this, we did. So we have to help her, because we're the only ones who can.

And fuck, I need to get rid of this sexual energy still rushing through me...

I hope that Rune's offer from this morning still stands... I may have been able to keep my hands off Litha while holding her, but my sexual energy kept rising and I need to find a way to let it out. Preferably one that doesn't end with me alone in the shower with my own had around my cock.

As I reach the building and look up, I find Rune looking down at me from one of the windows in my room, not wearing a shirt, and as I come closer to the house, he slowly slides his hand into his slightly opened jeans, his eyes still on mine over the distance, the heat scorching me.

Oh, fuck him! I'm not taking the stairs, not when he's so inviting.

I pull all my energy inside me together and push off the ground, my wings unfolding with a whoosh behind me and I'm in the air, soaring up to my room.

With a toothy grin, Rune opens the windows and as soon as I'm close enough, he pulls me inside, crashing me against him as we fall back on my bed.

"I can smell her on you." His gravelly voice rumbles in his chest as his hands move over me.

I swallow hard, a jolt of uncertainty going through me. "And?"

"It's hot. Fucking hot." He rips open my shirt, which had already been ruined by the wings anyway, and bites down on my chest, hard, sending shocks of pleasure through my body.

Oh! "Fuuuuck!" I roar as I nearly come from that mental image, Rune getting all hot and bothered because I'm with Litha. Sharing Litha between us, giving her pleasure at the same time.

Also, that's definitely the end of keeping our nightly actions hidden from the other guys... But I don't care, because the thought that Rune is in this state because of Litha definitely turns me on beyond anything I've ever been.

# Chapter 10 - Litha

My skin is still all flushed when I get back to my room. I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. Talking to Aideen, I thought that the princes were all distant and wouldn't give anyone the time of day. But then reading Mum's notebook, I understood why they would have interest in me, or at least, try to get to know me, but none of that prepared me for the evening I just had.

They were kind, and sweet, and... And normal, in a way. Sure, they were used to money and luxuries, but you've got kids like that in every school, that's not weird. That's rich kids. But they just hung out with me, let me ask them questions and they just... They just were, just there, being normal guys.

I let myself fall back on my bed, my cheeks all hot. And they were hot. Fucking hot. How am I supposed to focus in class with them around?

And Kit has a huge penis... I could feel it against my back the whole time he held me, and he still acted like he didn't have a boner the whole time, never touching me inappropriately. It was... It was sweet and considerate. I could definitely get used to doing that more, if he'd let me. I'd even... do more with him.

And Bane... He's so beautiful, thoughtful and broody. His grip on my hand was strong but tender, he just held me as we talked. Neither of them tried to come onto me, although... at the end, when they were dropping me off... maybe a little. I smile, a stupid grin forming.

I've never done this before. Dating. Meeting boys, or girls, to hang out with, to spend special time, when we all know that this will eventually lead to more. To sex. To relationships. To marriage. But for now, it's just been a happy night where I didn't feel that lost, where I finally felt like I could be at home here. At some point. Maybe.

Being on that rooftop has been the only time today I didn't feel lost or alone, where I felt like I belonged. Where I wasn't panicking, but was just alive, living.

And with that thought, I fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

A loud knocking on the door wakes me, and I groggily open my eyes. What? What the? What time is it?

I look down at myself, I'm on top of the covers, still wearing yesterday's clothes... Oops.

Then the knocking starts again. "Litha?" That's Aideen. "Are you up? I've got coffee for you."

Coffee! I sit up way too fast and stumble to the door, anything for coffee. When I open it, Aideen is grinning at me, raising an eyebrow as she looks me over.

"Do humans not change their clothes when they sleep?" She shakes her head as she comes inside, putting two cups of coffee and two brown bags with some pastries in it on my small desk. Then she sits down on the other bed, looking around. "We may be in the same building, but you definitely got one of the better rooms." She shrugs. "I guess it's something to make up for having to share with Phoenix all year."

"Phoenix?" I may kind of have forgotten my roommate's name, since, you know, too many impressions before coffee and all yesterday morning. Talking about coffee... I eye the two cups on my desk.

"Take either, they're the same. Dark roast coffee, milk, caramel." Aideen grins, then lets herself fall back on the bed. "Phoenix is kind of stuck up. Her mum is the highest priestess of the witches." She sits back up straight, eyeing me curiously. "Basically, she's to you what Rune is to me. Royalty. Princess. Whatever." She shrugs, pulling a face. "She always knows best. She's always competing with Kit for the highest grades and is severely goody-goody." Then she stands up, looking around the room, running her finger over some shelves. "Enjoy the quiet as long as it lasts. She'll be here as soon as the full moon celebrations are over."

"Full moon celebrations?" So much I don't know about being a witch... If I hadn't gotten distracted by Bane and Kit last night, I might have actually known some of these things. My face flushes and I go to the window, my cup of coffee in my hand, looking out over the field in front of me, towards the wall surrounding the academy, trying to hide my feelings.

"Don't worry about it. She'll teach you all about it." Aideen lets out a sigh and when I glance back at her she's rolling her eyes. "Talking about teaching, and classes... I thought I should pick you up and we can go to the library. Grab some books and see which classes you'd be able to take, you know? Maybe we can even share some of them." She looks me over. I'm obviously not dressed for the occasion. "But, first, you need to get changed. Put on something clean. I'll wait here." She sits down on Phoenix' bed and sips from her coffee, looking at me with an intense gaze. "Let's get going. Don't want the library all busy, and if we hurry up, we can even explore the grounds in the sun later."

I sigh, taking a final sip from the coffee and then grab a change of clothes from my suitcase. I'm about to leave the room, using one of the bathrooms I'd seen in the hallway, when Aideen makes a sound. I look at her and she nods towards one of the doors on Phoenix' side of the room.

"Ensuite." She shrugs. "I told you this room was special."

Right. I blink and when I open the door she nodded at, a decently sized bathroom greets me, including a bathtub that looks big enough to fit three people at once. I quickly close the door behind me as my cheeks are aflame again. Three people in a bathtub... Me, Bane and Kit? Or Rune? Or Finn? My body heats up, my core pulsing with a need I've only ever felt while reading sexy scenes in romance novels, not by imagining people in real life. Oh, fuck...

Is this what the whole year is going to be like? Me imagining inappropriate things I could do with the princes?

Oh, fuck... This is going to be a long year.

* * *

On our way to the library, I can't help glancing around, wondering when one of the princes will show up again. Not because I want to see them but because they seem to show up everywhere I go. Yesterday, it was like they were there every time I turned around. Maybe they weren't awake yet or something. Maybe.

"Trying to find Rune?" Aideen laughs.

"N—no." I shrug, trying to not look as guilty as I feel.

"The princes are probably having breakfast at their place, or working out or something. If they don't have to come to class, you don't see them before noon, if at all." Aideen shakes her head. "They're master slackers. They're smart, but master slackers."

We reach the library and Aideen seems to know where she needs to be as she immediately goes to some of the shelves and starts pulling books out.

"Come here." She waves me over, and then hands me the stack. "Next aisle."

"What are all these?" I try to read the titles, but it's not easy from this angle, something about... ehh... Yeah, no clue, none of these words make any sense to me.

"Herbology, astrology, elemental magic and a few other more witchy things." She grabs more books, this time filling her own arms. "These are general subjects like history of the four kingdoms and general mathematical and stuff like that." She walks us to a table at the side of the building, where we can look out over the square in front of the library, the same view as last night, just a different angle.

"I need to read all this?" I look at the stacks and Aideen snorts.

"No. Not all of them. Though, you'll probably want to read the book on the history of the four kingdoms, but the others are all your own choice." She puts the history book to the side and then opens one of the others. "I'm no good with numbers, but maybe you are?" When she hands me the book I'm surprised by how relieved I am by the familiar mathematical formulas.

I take the book, flipping through it and surprised by how normal it looks. "This looks... identical-ish?"

Aideen shrugs. "The world doesn't work that differently, I guess maths is just maths."

"But... magic?" This world is really different, no matter how you twist it. Magic. People who can shapeshift. All of that?

"Addition, not replacement? I guess? I don't know. I don't know much about the human realm, not my speciality." She hands me the next book. "If you like numbers, maybe astronomy is something for you too? It's a new class at the academy level, so you'd start at the exact same level as the others, if your maths is good enough, you wouldn't be behind. And as a witch, it's probably interesting."

As I flip through the book, I'm greeted by charts and charts of the moon and the stars and graphs and all sorts of stuff that almost looks like magic to me, but it's grounded in numbers I can understand and I guess it's probably more interesting than the economics class I was going to take. "Any job prospects with this?" Hey, I've got to stay sensible. Even with the stupid prophecy, I'd like to keep some independence. Financial independence is important.

Aideen looks at me like I'm asking a stupid question.

"Yes?" I try.

She nods, fast. "Yeah. Loads. Any large rituals being done, the movements of the planets, things to do with animal spirits, all of it. It's basically a surefire way for a job."

"Cool." I nod, putting the book on top of the maths book. "Next?"

I guess that no matter if you're in the human or in this world, everyone needs the people who can predict the movements of something, being that the economy or the stars... People like certainty when everything is unpredictable.

I can understand that.

# Chapter 11 - Finn

Just as I was falling asleep last night, Kit and Rune went at it like... Well, like incubi. Keeping me up for hours, and right now, they're pretending like we don't know what they've been doing, even though they're both still sporting marks that aren't exactly covered by their shirts...

"Want to spar later?" Rune looks my way and I raise my eyebrow at him.

"No thanks, you still smell like incubus." They didn't even shower... Though, after last night, I don't want to think about them showering together. I sigh, standing up. "I'm going to the library. It will be quiet there. Unlike some places..." Maybe I can get some more sleep in the herbology aisle, or the astro aisle, people tend to go there less often.

"Sure. See you later." Bane grins at me, shaking his head. He thinks I'm too 'stuck up' when it comes to sex. I just don't go around fucking random people like the rest of them do.

I take the long way to the library, trying to avoid people who may want to talk to me, just trying to get there as quickly as possible. At the back of the campus is a huge forest, both for classes and just to hang out in, and I go up to the tree line. Walking under the trees calms me down, my fae blood not doing well inside buildings.

Yesterday was weird, strange, and I don't know what to think of it. I'd hoped that coming here would make my life easier again, but now it's only turned more confusing, it's only turned into more of a mess. Normally getting back to campus helps me avoid the politics of the real world, but not anymore...

Through the trees, I spot someone further into the forest, slowly following the path towards one of the clearings. I don't need to see who it is to know her, it's Litha. The trees know her, her legacy, the sensation of her family's blood running inside her. And I can feel too, the way the trees and plants almost bend towards her, everything wanting a bit of the energy hidden inside her, try out her powers. What is she doing here?

I step onto one of the paths, following her even before I decide to do it. I keep my eyes on her, not letting her out of my sight.

This forest isn't without danger, which any student would know, just not when they were late to yesterday's announcements and hadn't grown up hearing about the forest. The dangers of this forest are only mild, if you know what they are and how to protect yourself. But some plants would find a strong witch, unaware of her powers, a great snack for a hot summer day. Especially a witch who'd just walk right into their territory...

I take the small blade from my pocket, easily holding it in my hand, it was crafted specifically for me, and I dart even closer to her, trusting my connection with the forest to make sure I don't trip.

She seems to be fine, and she's almost at the clearing. As soon as she reaches the clearing, she'll be safe. The dangerous plants don't like the light, especially in the middle of summer, they thrive in the darkness.

A small movement in the leaves of a tree near Litha makes me jump, rushing for her, knife outstretched. I don't know what it is yet, but I know it's going right for her, wanting a taste of her, and I internally roar. She's mine! Not that strangle vines listen to fae...

Litha is still unaware of what is going on, happily walking along, her eyes darting to things in front of her, no focus on what could be coming from behind.

I curse, pushing my body faster and I'm almost too late. I watch as the vine reaches out to her. Fuck no!

The vine is only a fraction from her shoulder when I slice it off, wrapping my body around Litha, protecting her from more attacks, keeping her close as we stumble into the clearing. Behind us, the vines pull back, rustling through the leaves of other plants as it tries to get away from me as quickly as possible.

Litha trips from the force of my speed as I grabbed her and we go to the ground, sliding and rolling until we stop and she's under me. I'm holding her tightly, one hand behind her head, tucking her against me, the other around her back.

Adrenaline floods me, and I try to sense if there is more danger in the forest around us. But everything is still, as if even the leaves wait for a sign to move again, before the birds start singing again and I can hear how her heart beats in sync with mine. Oh, fuck.

"Are you okay?" I force the words out, scared I've hurt her, her heart is beating way too fast. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." Her voice is soft against my shirt and I relax a little, loosening my grip and pushing myself up on my elbow, looking down at her.

I'm caught in her gaze again, the fire in her eyes, her beauty. It's like she's burning up my insides and my body responds to her. I want her, I need her.

She pulls one of her arms free, slowly reaching up and touching my face, her fingers hot against my skin. "They really are the colour of leaves during the summer." Her voice is soft, low, and then her eyes slowly go down to my lips, as she licks hers, swallowing hard. "Thank you. I don't know what that was, but thank you."

"Strangle vine." My voice is almost like one is curling around my neck right now, for how rough it comes out. Oh, fuck. This is not a good position to be in.

"Ah." She nods, the word just a breath. Then her fingers slide down more, skimming over my lips. "I suppose the prince should be rewarded with a kiss? For saving the princess? Isn't that how it goes?" Her eyes shoot back up to mine, lust burning in them, before settling on my lips again.

I don't know where it comes from, I shouldn't be doing this, but I lean down, closing the final distance between our lips. Her lips are soft against mine, giving away easily, and her fingers curl into my shirt, pulling me against her more, her body inviting.

She tastes like heaven, like the most delicious thing in the world, and I can't stop kissing her. She lets out soft sounds, her tongue darting out to find mine, teasing me. And I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste her more, needing to taste her more. My whole body is thrumming with energy, with need, with lust. Is this what it's like? Is this what real lust is like? What kissing someone is like?

Our breathing syncs and everything around us starts to hum with the sound of electricity, charging me more and more. Not good! I can't hurt her!

When I pull back, her cheeks are red, her eyes clouded with lust, and she's licking her lips, like she needs me to touch her again, like she wants me to kiss her again, and I can't help complying. So I lean back in, my lips only a fraction from hers...

Then, everything comes crashing down, quite literally. "Finn! Litha!" Rune is the first one to land next to us, his voice panicked, Bane jumping from his back. Moments later, Kit also arrives.

They're all looking like they're ready to fight, partially shifted, Rune's dragon claws out, Bane's upper body that of a wolf, ready to shred with his teeth, Kit holding magicked daggers engulfed in black flames, their eyes filled with fury. But when they find us on the ground, almost kissing, they look a little confused.

Double fuck. We weren't supposed to do this, it wasn't supposed to be me, and they definitely weren't supposed to find us like this.

I carefully roll off Litha, sitting next to her, but keeping her gaze. "Are you okay?" I'm not even sure which part of everything I'm asking her about...

She nods, wordlessly, and sits up too, turning a very dark red, now she realises that the others have caught us. Then she looks at the guys, blinking, they're all partially shifted, their pure forms shining through their human shapes... Looking very impressive and a little scary, probably.

"Oh." Rune frowns. "Not exactly what I was expecting..." He pulls his wings and claws in, sitting down on the grass too. "Awkward." He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as he pulls a face. "That wasn't supposed to be happening..."

"Very awkward, even for an incubus." Kit raises an eyebrow, the daggers disappearing and he pulls his wings back in. Then he glares at Rune. "You can't tell the difference between danger and horny? What the fuck, dude? Your system off or something?"

Rune flushes, fluttering his hands, which looks really silly on a huge guy like him. He doesn't get flustered like this often. "I felt danger. They were in danger. It wasn't this..." He looks confused between the two of us and I feel my cheeks heat up, not normal. Fae do not blush.

I make a small awkward sound. "Well... She had been in danger... Strangle vines went for her. I saved her and then..." I shrug. Somehow we ended up kissing, somehow. I don't know, my brain sort of stopped giving input for sensibility with her so close in my arms, and when she'd been so obviously wanting to kiss me.

Kit bursts out laughing, staring at me with a cocky grin. "You just got your first kiss after saving the princess in a heroic deed? Like a knight from a fairytale? You kidding me?"

Next to me, Litha makes a small surprised sound.

Rune's low laughter rumbles over the clearing, obviously enjoying himself too. "He wasn't the only one whose first kiss that was."

Wait, what? I look to Litha, who is trying everything to hide her face behind her hands. Oh! Wow!

Laughter bubbles up in me too, relieved somehow. Relieved that this was special for both of us, even though it kind of happened out of nowhere and we didn't really make it special or anything.

"Of course, it would be Finn." Bane is the only one still standing, looking down at all of us. There isn't anger in his voice, or sadness, not even really surprise, but something that sounds like a quiet acceptance. Then he walks over to Litha, kneeling in front of her, like a knight from some fairytale story, his gaze on her honest and open. A prince, accepting his fate, the good prince, the one who will give up everything when he believes that there is no way to change it. Who will quietly put up with a situation, even when he doesn't like it.

Litha looks at him, her eyes guarded, pain flitting through them.

"I promised you that we would protect you. I will keep that promise." He bows his head and she touches him with awe, the look in her eyes going more intense, strengthening.

Moments, later, Kit is at his side, also kneeling. "I will also protect you. You're our queen." She softly touches him next, smiling with something akin to adoration.

Then Rune is at Bane's other side. "So will I, until death." When she touches him, she seems to become stronger, surer, making a decision.

Finally, I move, kneeling just like the others. "We will protect you, forever." I can't see what she looks like when she touches me, but I can feel her determination in her touch, forged in such a short time. I don't know if she's chosen me or not, if I'm the one, but I know that no matter what, we're going to have to work together to protect her. Until the end.

Because this heavy feeling inside me, I can't contain it and I know that the others feel the same. We'll have a long path ahead of us. No matter who she chooses or what she does. We all have to protect her, because she may choose just one of us, but we're all connected, not just by the prophecy, but also by years of friendship and bonds that go much deeper than that. We'll always be connected, together. Always.

# Chapter 12 - Rune

I'm sure I felt Litha and Finn panic and that they were in danger, I felt it through the dragon's bond. But when we caught them making out... That was a surprise, even to me. Way to misinterpret and intrude on a situation.

But maybe this is the right thing, maybe Finn will be the right choice for her. We have to let her choose herself, no matter our feelings on the subject, it's her choice.

Litha's fingers touch my jaw, sliding to my chin, tipping up my head. And then she leans in, giving me a soft kiss on my lips, her lips hot like they're burning, her eyes so honest. "Thank you. Thank you for looking out for us, for protecting us."

Then I watch as she tips Bane's head up too, giving him a slow kiss. "Thank you. Thank you for the food and the chat last night."

Kit is up next, and she leans into his kiss, her cheeks flushing. "Thank you. Thank you for holding me and keeping me safe when I felt I was falling apart."

Finally, Finn, his kiss is softer, tender. "Thank you. Thank you for protecting me when I had no idea of the danger I was in."

Then she sits back, her eyes more serious as she looks at each one of us individually, letting her strength and determination flow towards us, flaring in the bond. "Thank you for everything. But I'm not 'choosing' anyone. I've not 'chosen' anyone. I've got no plans of getting married any time soon and I don't want to have to choose between four best friends. Especially when it could mean the downfall of whole kingdoms and cultures, just from one small choice. One emotional impulse. It's not right." Tears twinkle in her eyes for a moment. "Prophecy or not. It's not right."

I glance at Finn when relief floods him, the emotion so strong that even Kit looks his way, confused. I guess he has his own reasons for not wanting to be 'the one'. Which I can imagine, after this summer...

Litha holds her arms out to all of us, and as one being, we all reach for her, taking her in our arms, putting our bodies around her, ready to protect her from any harm that may come.

She's so confused and lost, but she's also sensible and strong and maybe more rational than any of us. "I'm not ready. Please put up with me for a while longer. I'm sorry." Litha's voice sounds like it's full of tears and I feel the sudden fear flooding her. No, she's just as scared as the rest of us, she just knows how to hide it better.

I put my lips to her temple, relishing the closeness. "Take as long as you need. The prophecy didn't mention that you had to choose overnight."

Kit snorts and then Bane too. "Way to sound all smart and wise." Bane's voice is filled with laughter and when I open my eyes, Kit winks my way, his eyes twinkling.

That definitely broke the serious mood and we all sit back on the grass, laughing. Yeah, that mood went way too serious way too fast.

Litha's eyes go over Kit curiously, and she eyes me too. Our shirts are kind of hanging around us in shreds right now. We really need to stop pulling our wings out or partially transforming without taking our shirts off. But what she is actually looking at are the marks on our chests and necks, they're kind of on display right now. Then she lets out a soft sound and her gaze fills with warmth and delight. What? What's there to smile about?

She reaches to me, her eyes twinkling with mischief, pulling me closer. Where she seemed reserved before, she's bolder now, taking chances, making her own choices. "I bet he tastes really good." The sexy edge to her voice puts my body into overdrive and I nod, surprised. As soon as I do, she puts her lips to mine, kissing me hard.

For a girl who hasn't kissed before today, she's definitely got a taste for it now. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my lap, and deepen the kiss, seeking out her tongue with mine. She loves the teasing, playing, sliding together. It's a heady mixture, but I love the joy sparking in her, the total delight. She's happy, curious, wanting to explore more, learn more, try more.

The others are close to us in moments and when she breaks the kiss with me, Bane is next, her fingers sliding up into his hair, holding on, as she leans to him, and he lets out a slight growl, a look of pure bliss on his face.

A strong emotion fills my chest, it inflates in my ribcage, taking up all the space inside, making it hard to breathe. So hard to breathe. It's taking over everything in me, heavy but light at the same time. A sphere that could break with the prick of a needle, but also resist a blow from a big hammer.

I wrap my arms around Bane and Finn on both sides of me, and Kit takes my hands from the other side, meeting my eyes with a smile, easing the tightness inside just a little.

This is right. This feeling, it's the feeling of things being right. A dragon's sense of completeness, of things being whole. Of a dragon's completed hoard.

* * *

I don't know how long we spend in the forest, talking, holding each other, Litha kissing and touching us, but it feels like two seconds and ten hours at the same time. It's like we're in a bubble of our own, nothing to do with the outside world, just being together, whole. But, of course, everything has to come to an end at some point and as the sun is setting behind the tops of the trees, our time is also coming to an end.

"What are we going to do now?" Bane sits up, Kit's head in his lap, Bane's fingers playing with the strands of his hair as Kit is softly snoring.

"About what?" Litha looks up from Finn's shoulder, rubbing her bleary eyes.

"Everything." Bane lets out a soft frustrated sound. "I mean..." He shrugs. "Classes, protection. You've been able to just be a student for two days, but as soon as people find out your full name... That will change." Litha is an uncommon name, but it's not unique, especially not among witches, so her first name alone doesn't make her stand out.

Litha nods, sitting up too, looking over each one of us, then she looks to the campus. "I don't even know what classes I can take. I've been trying to figure it out with Aideen, but it's... I don't know." She sighs, sadness tinging her gaze. "I had plans. For years, I've had plans. None of those involved being sent to some other world, to an academy I don't know and being told that..." She falls quiet, shaking her head, and she swallows hard. I can feel the pain in our bond, her sadness.

Finn moves, weaving his slender fingers between hers, holding her. "You had plans that didn't involve your worth being related to who you marry." If anyone knows what that feels like, it's Finn, the pressure on him to marry Litha, to be the 'rightful ruler', it's been crushing him ever since he was a kid.

She nods, tears now slowly sliding down her cheeks, her lower lip wobbling. "I'm sorry. It's just... It's not who I am." She wipes the tears away with a frustrated jerk of her arm.

We all look at her, the silence stretching. We all know that, and still... We're just as much bound by this prophecy as she is, but I guess that it's different when you're the one whose choice ends when you get married instead of your power growing, like it will be for one of us...

"I don't want you to be like that either." I don't realise I've spoken until everyone looks at me. "I like who you are. Independent, not scared of anything, a fast mouth." She smiles a little at that last one. "Don't change, because it wouldn't be you." I reach out to her and she takes my hand, squeezing it a little. "And I don't think anyone who isn't you would be able to handle any of us, let alone all four of us together."

This time she smiles more, letting out a little laugh. "You can bet on that." She takes a deep breath, her energy calming down. "I think I should go back to the campus. I promised Aideen that we'd have dinner together, meet some of the other people from the building."

"Sounds like a plan. Also..." I think, but I have no idea. "Is Aideen your roommate or do you have another roommate?"

"No, she's not. I've got a girl called..." She thinks hard. "Phoenix, I think, as a roommate."

Kit snorts, the first sign that he's apparently no longer asleep. "Good luck with that."

"Why? Aideen also said something like that." Litha looks confused.

"She's headstrong and bossy, always thinks she knows best." Kit shrugs, finally sitting up. "But maybe it'll be fine for you. Although... I don't think I've heard about her having a roommate in a long time, so she may need some time to adjust to not having her own room." He grins almost evilly. Kit is crazy smart, but Phoenix comes close, so the two have had a rivalry for years. It's normal for them to jab at each other.

"You'll be fine." Finn hums a little. "I think she's easier to live with than with some, at least she won't keep you awake with loud sex for hours on end..." He levels a gaze at me and then at Kit, who just smirks.

I shrug. "You're welcome to join in, you know." I can barely believe I said it, and Kit laughs, it would have been something he would say.

"No, thanks." Finn gets up, knocking leaves and grass off his clothes. "Let's head back. Our queen needs to interact with the commoners and I'm fairly sure we're expected back at the house too..."

Litha blushes and then pinches Finn's side, who flinches away from her. This gives Litha an evil smile and she jumps up, trying to tickle Finn more. Finn darts away from her, laughing, and she keeps following him, until he catches her, and pins her hands to her sides. They're both laughing, happy.

I can't help my smile. This is good. Just seeing them interact like this, being silly, is good. This tension gone, everything out in the open.

We have no ideas or plans on how to move forward, but I guess that's not that important right now. We're all together, we're all in this together, and that's the first step.

Maybe we can defy fate or find a way to change it, something. Anything. But I don't want to have to choose between Litha and the guys, and I don't want Litha to have to choose either, unless she really wants to.

Unless she really wants to...

I squash the flicker of dread in my chest. If she wants to choose just one of us, we'll deal with that when the time comes.

# Chapter 13 - Litha

The end of the second day at the academy isn't as impressive as the first, and that's actually really nice, not having to stress about it. I'm sitting in a corner of the common room with Aideen, who is showing me how social media works in this world on her phone. I guess not everything is different between the human world and this world, especially not how people use social media apparently.

Aideen explained that it's because the two worlds haven't always been so disconnected, for a long time, there was regular travel between the two worlds but wars on both sides made people less likely to travel, and then the longer the two worlds had been separated, the humans stopped thinking this world was real and witches and dragons became the things of legends instead of just another world that wasn't actually that far away. The upside was that things like the internet, though it works a little differently here, and smartphones and social media all still exist here, and that meant I had to find a way to get into all of that myself...

Or, well, when people find out who I am, I don't know how much time I'll have for all of that anyway. Aideen has already shown me the fan pages of the princes, a whole lot of them, including ones really interested in potential shipping situations between some of the boys, pairing them up and imagining that they have sexual relationships. It seems that fandoms are the same, no matter the world you're in, and enemies-to-lovers seems to be a very popular trope here too, going by how many Rune/Finn and Finn/Rune fan pages there are. Not that I can't understand the appeal...

I didn't tell Aideen anything about a certain popular pairing being real, because not only would that have blown Aideen's mind, but would have given away how well I already know them, which isn't a good idea.

Not that it's not totally sexy... The way Rune is the big protector of the four, and the soft looks he gives Kit. Also, the bedroom eyes Kit keeps giving him... Just remembering it makes me hot all over, and the things going on in my mind... Imagining myself between Kit and Rune, or between all four of them... I think I may need a cold shower at the end of today. Shipping real people has some icky factors, consent and everything, but with those two? They really do have sex with each other, and I have a feeling they'd love for me to join in with them too...

"Litha." Aideen levels a look at me, but I can't decipher the strange glint in her eyes, like she's hurt for some reason.

"Yes?" I glance at her, but she jerks her head to the front door.

"Litha Vigil? I've got a delivery for you." A man is looking around, holding a big box. The others in the room are also looking around them. Well, so much for being 'normal' for a while longer. My real name is out there now... Thanks.

I stand up, sighing. "That's me." The whole room falls quiet and I hear the little gasp coming from Aideen, making me cringe. My whole face is on fire as I walk to the man and he gives me the box.

"Nice to meet you." He smiles, staring a little too long. I get it, I'm special, I'm 'chosen'. Like I actually want the attention over that...

"You too." I nod, taking the box, and then I turn around.

All the eyes in the room are on me, whispers starting up, I know what they're whispering about already. The girl from the prophecies, right here, hiding among them... That's going to be great gossip tomorrow.

When I glance at Aideen, she looks... upset, confused, and seeing her look at me like that hurts. She's been nothing but nice to me and this is how I repay her, by hiding who I am.

I flee to my room, putting the box on my bed, tears of shame running down my cheeks. Fuck. I wasn't ready for this. Just a few more hours. Just a couple more... Maybe even three days. That's all I wanted, get used to this world before I have to face all these responsibilities that have been put on me because of some stupid prophecy. I don't want any of this, I don't want this pressure on me.

Wiping at my eyes, I check the label on the box, it's from Dad, his precise handwriting so familiar that it makes me wish he was here right with me, and not in a totally different world, making me feel so alone, and the tears come out in full force this time.

Is it stupid that I'm crying because I want my mum and my dad here? Because I miss them? I miss the life I used to have. I miss everything, everyone, and it hurts so much... I feel so alone, and it's like my heart is breaking in my chest. I want to go home, back to my own world, my own house, my own place. I don't want to be here anymore.

I jolt when there is loud knocking, not on the door, but on the window at my side. When I glance up, I find Rune hanging in the air in front of the window, his massive wings slowly flapping behind him, keeping him in the air. He looks really serious.

"Rune," I whisper and quickly open the window. "What are you doing here?"

He crouches on the windowsill, holding so tightly onto the frame of the window that I'm scared he'll break it, as his wings fold away, and then he climbs inside. "You were upset, hurting. I needed to know that you were safe." He's also whispering, and since he's not supposed to be here...

"I'm okay." I sit back on the bed, folding my arms in front of myself, trying to pull myself together. But as he reaches out to me, I still let him wrap his arms around me, relaxing against him, in his warm embrace. "Everyone knows. Everyone now knows who I am."

"I'm sorry." His voice rumbles in his chest. "I know that you didn't want that yet." He puts his heavy hand to the side of my head and cradles me to his chest like I'm a newborn or something, encapsulating me inside his safety.

I nod against his shoulder, hoping I'm not drenching his shirt with my tears.

New knocking makes us both still, the knocking is on the door this time. "Litha?" Aideen, just like this morning. "Are you okay?"

I look up at Rune, but he looks back at me with a steady gaze, and then I go to open the door while Rune steps out of view. "Hey." I try to smile at her. "I'm okay. Thanks."

Aideen frowns as she comes closer, holding out my abandoned bowl with ice cream. "I refilled it, I thought you could use some more. Can I come in?"

I glance at Rune, but he shrugs. It's not like they don't know each other... Then I open the door further and Aideen steps inside.

When she sees Rune, she lets out a little gasp, her eyes growing. "Oh." She inclines her head. "Good evening, My Prince."

"Good evening." He sounds so formal right now, it's weird. "Call me Rune, we're not at court." He tries to smile and it's interesting to see that Rune really isn't used to being around people other than the boys much.

"Rune." Aideen nods. "I was..." She shrugs. "Bringing her some ice cream. I was trying to..." She flails, letting out a small sound, before looking at me. "This can stop being weird at any time now. Please."

I smile a little. "Thanks for the ice cream." I take a bite, the panic inside me broken now. I go over to the box, trying to hunt down some scissors or a knife to open it, but when I look away for even a moment, I hear a 'zipping' sound. As I turn back, Aideen is looking at me sheepishly, one of her hands transformed into a black claw with a red sheen on it, really sharp nails at the ends, and the tape on the box is neatly opened. Well, yeah, that's another solution... "Thanks." I smile a little. Staring at the box, I'm not sure what I'll find inside, and I'm a little apprehensive.

Then Rune sits down on the bed behind me, his large body warm against my back and Aideen sits down on the other side of the box, somehow also curious.

I guess there isn't anything I can do now but open it. I slowly push aside the flaps, on top of everything is an envelope, but I put it to the side, I'll read that later, then I look through the rest. My laptop is in here, nicely wrapped up, with a new charger cable, since the normal one probably won't work here. There is a phone in the box too, a brand new one, and more notebooks, probably from Mum. Mum has always been the one to write everything down. Apart from a few more things from my room at home, there isn't much else in the box, mostly just nicknacks, so I take the letter instead.

The envelope is a simple white and says 'Our dear Litha' in Dad's neat handwriting.

I take a note out of the envelope, leaning back against Rune before I take a deep breath. I have no idea what to expect, and that scares me.

Dear Litha,

I'm so sorry for what happened yesterday, we should have told you sooner or found another way to explain everything to you. But we didn't know how, we were scared.

We're hoping that you're doing okay on campus and that you've at least found some friends.

I look up at Aideen, and then glance back at Rune, I think the friendship thing is going well.

You'll probably have a lot of questions and we're hoping to be able to answer them soon, in person. For now, please, stay safe.

Taking you to the human world was the only way to protect you, and that worked for almost two decades. But at the start of the summer, we heard some disturbing news from the realm, news of the princes being in danger and rumours of a new war brewing.

Four days ago, news from the highest priestess reached us, and we knew that we couldn't keep you here anymore. You weren't safe. The only place we knew that you'd be safe was at the academy.

We're really sorry it was all so sudden. If we could have done it any other way, we would have.

If possible, could you tell the headmaster that we've been found out and to give the princes extra protection? We've gone into hiding and will contact him ourselves when we can.

This box is all we could send you without putting you or the school in too much danger. Things have taken a turn for the worst and the prophecy could be in danger, just like the safety of the kingdoms.

Stay safe.

Love,

Mum and Dad

There is a tightness in my chest as the tears slip down my cheeks. No way. No fucking way.

Rune's arms wrap around me and I can't stop the crying, the bawling. What's going on? Are we in danger? How much danger?

I can't lose them, I can't lose any of them.

A roaring fire builds inside me, burning me from the inside out. I need to protect them, I need to protect all of them. And I need to find my parents, keep them safe too.

I need to keep them all safe.

# Next in this series: Curiosity (Lughnasadh Elite Academy 2)

Don't want to stop reading? Grab your copy of the next book:

 Curiosity (Lughnasadh Elite Academy 2)

One stolen prophecy, four sexy princes to protect her.

As if being sent to a magical world she has no knowledge of wasn't bad enough for Litha, she finds out that her parents have gone into hiding and that all the documents about her prophecy have been stolen.

The four princes, Bane, Kit, Rune and Finn, have sworn to protect her at all costs, but it seems that those costs may be higher than they expected, especially when some of them have their own battles to fight.

A trip to the headmaster's office in the dead of night, followed by a very special breakfast is only the start of their new adventure together.

 Curiosity (Lughnasadh Elite Academy 2)

# About Layla Heart

Layla Heart loves sexy romances and has a particular soft spot for broken boys and their damaged girls. When she's not reading or writing steamy stories, she loves to nap with her two cats, preferably under a fluffy blanket, and play videogames. She has studied literature and creative writing but often finds that the couple of classes she took on coding is much more of a help in this new adventure as an author.

For social media, check the Easily Distracted Media page on the next page.

# About Easily Distracted Media

Easily Distracted Media is a publisher/brand name for a group of pen names from one author. Each pen name gives a slightly different 'flavour' of story, but they're all highly emotional, focusing on close connections between friends and chosen family.

E. Engberts, Queer Scifi Young Adult stories.

Emily Engberts, Lesbian Romance stories (18+).

Emmy Engberts, Queer Young Adult Romance stories.

Skylar Heart, Straight Contemporary Romance stories (18+).

Rosa Swann, Gay Romance stories (18+).

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# Published by Easily Distracted Media

As E. Engberts (Queer YA Scifi)

BASE Status: Online

BASE Status: Update

As Emily Engberts (Lesbian Romance, 18+)

Second Chance at Christmas

A Card for Valentine's

As Emmy Engberts (Queer YA Romance)

Her Elysium (Flowers and Keyboards 1)

The Other Dress (Flowers and Keyboards 2)

Colour Her (Flowers and Keyboards 3)

As Skylar Heart (Straight Romance, 18+)

Shattered

Unraveled

As Rosa Swann (Gay Romance, 18+)

Mated to the Alpha Serial

The Baby Pact Trilogy

Second Chance Mates Serial

Making a Family Serial

Omegas' Destined Alpha Serial

The Vampire's Past Trilogy
