Chapter 248

My brother, seeing the very real grief on my face, stands and moves to my side, pulling into a hug. “You’re getting the best end of this deal,” he murmurs after a moment. Then Rafe loosens his arms and stands between me and my mates, not letting them see the sadness written in every line of me because he knows I need to stand strong in this decision – that I need to make it myself, without them.

“I know,” I whisper, my heart breaking as my brother wipes the two tears that fall quickly off of my cheeks, not wanting them to see. “I get it…it’s just...god, Rafe, I can’t imagine…”

“I know,” he murmurs, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “But neither can they. I think it’s right, Ariel – or if not right, then the fairest. We can – we can talk to mom and Cora when we get home. Maybe talk to the Goddess? See…see if we can get a better perspective. But for right now, this makes peace.”

I take a deep breath, looking up into my brother’s face, and then I nod, working hard to steady myself. When he sees that I’m in control again, Rafe turns around, slipping a protective arm around my shoulders and looking between Luca and Jackson. “So, we’re good with this? We’re agreed?”

“Well, what’s the timeline?” Luca asks, frowning, his hand sunk into his pockets.

“No set timeline,” Rafe replies, looking down at me with a nod. “When Ari knows…she’ll know.”

“So what, we could do this for years?” Luca gasps, appalled.

“It’s enough, Luc,” Jesse snaps from the couch, glaring at him a little. “You’ve already asked her to choose one mate today, and it’s already breaking her heart. Stop trying to pin it down more. She’s given enough.”

Luca huffs a sigh, hanging his head, but after a moment he nods, giving in. “Fine.”

“Jacks?” Rafe asks. My mate doesn’t reply to him, just holding me with his dark-blue gaze. Then, just once, he nods.

“Wow,” Ben murmurs, I think not even realizing that he said it aloud as he looks between all of us. And I have to admit, I share his sentiment. It’s just all…a lot.

And we all stand very, very still, I think none of us having any idea, at all, what to do next.

Suddenly, we all give a collective flinch as the sound of bells peels out from somewhere in the castle.

“Shit,” Rafe gasps, turning towards the sound. “Shit, shit.”

“What is that?” I ask, turning my head almost as if I could see them, though obviously I can’t. “Since when does the castle have bells!? Since when do they ring them!?”

“It’s tradition!” Jesse shouts, jumping up from the couch and hopping over the back of it, darting for his bed. “End of term! Shit, the train is going to be here in like ten minutes, and we haven’t even packed!”

I gasp, suddenly realizing the gravity of this – I haven’t packed at all, not a stitch – and I spin towards my nook. But as I rip the velvet curtain back, I turn with a frown, because there are footsteps –

“Where are you going?” I call, seeing both of my mates heading for the door. noveldrama

“To get our stuff!” Luca calls over his shoulder, worried. “I’ll meet you at the train, Ariel! It’s fine!”

Jackson doesn’t say a word. I bite my lip, glancing between my possessions and the door, and then decide that I don’t have anything here that I can’t reproduce at home except my homework. I grab

my textbook, tossing it to Ben who – already packed – sits casually at the coffee table, sipping from his mug. “Pack that for me!” I shout, darting for the door.

When I get to our open doorway I look left and right, a little grateful when I see that Luca and Jackson have taken different sets of stairs down to the single dorm floors. I bite my lip, shooting a glance in Luca’s direction before darting after Jacks.

“Jackson!” I call, starting down the spiral staircase after him. I’m moving so fast that I almost have to skid to a stop when I realize he stopped in the middle of the stairs, where I couldn’t see him.

“Whoa!” he says, catching me with an arm around my waist before I slam into him or careen down the steps and break my neck.

But there’s no time to think about any o fthat.

“Jacks,” I say, taking his face in my hands, worried. “You’re still coming, right? To the Palace? For break?”