“Yamada is good,” the shorter man conceded. “But the aeromage? He wouldn’t pass the entrance exam.”

“Sinclair is sullying the academy reputation,” the blond guy declared in a fervent whisper. “He’s diminishing our opportunities by setting the worst possible example of an alumni-caliber mage’s capabilities. He—”

I slapped my hands on the two guys’ shoulders and leaned between them, baring my teeth in a humorless smile. “Hi. Did you know you three are so revoltingly full of yourselves that you’re making everyone around you nauseous?”

The guys shrugged away from me, and as they turned, I recognized them. Blondie, Pig Nose, and a woman with one side of her black hair shaved close to her scalp—the trio I’d overheard on my first day here. They’d been insulting Aaron then too.

“Oh,” the woman said coldly. “You’re Aaron’s guildmate, aren’t you?”

“Damn right.” I folded my arms and cocked a hip. “But don’t let me rain on your jealousy parade. By the way, Aaron’s getting waaay more than mere guild offers.”

Their faces twisted with heightened resentment.

I feigned surprise. “It’s almost like his choice of guild doesn’t even matter. Fancy that, huh?”

“His choice of guild,” the blond guy sneered, “hasn’t affected his reputation because his parents do everything they can to keep the mythic elite from finding out.”

“Were you dropped on your head as a child?” I retorted. “Any mythic with internet access can look that shit up. Our guilds aren’t a secret, and Aaron—”

Gold dust, sifting through the air like fine snow, interrupted me. Brow furrowing, I looked up. The pixie mistletoe hung above my head, leaves rustling as it shook glittering dust over me. The trio split, the guy on the left and the woman on the right backing rapidly away.

Which left me and Blond Bozo standing in a shower of golden sparkles.

Smirking, he let his gaze glide down and linger on the vicinity of my lace-clad hips, then arched his eyebrows expectantly.

“I don’t normally fraternize with lesser classes,” he began haughtily, “but—”

I smiled sweetly, causing him to hesitate. Lifting my hand to my lips, I kissed my fingertips and pressed them firmly to his cheek.

“Say another word,” I warned, “and that will be my fist next.”

He leaned back uncertainly. Before he could force me to follow through on my threat, I swept away from him. The pixie mistletoe fluttered on the ceiling, probably cursing me with a lifetime of bad romantic luck. Who cared? My love life was a complete and utter shit show anyway.

I slipped among the guests, grieving the chocolate pastries I hadn’t gotten to eat, and found the guys in conversation with Valerie and another woman. The petite brunette, her hair curlier than mine, was talking at high speed.

“… chance to really get your name out there, Aaron. Our magazine is the most read mythic publication in North America. One interview—four hours max, I promise—and a photoshoot, that’s it. The Sinclair family is well known already, but you can show the mythic community who you really are.”

As Aaron mumbled something noncommittal, she stepped closer, almost on his toes.

“You’ve ventured well off the beaten path for someone of your upbringing and stature. Last year, you passed on a once-in-a-lifetime offer to join the MPD’s International Crime Investigations division—the first opening in eight years! I know there’s a story there, Aaron.”

Valerie coughed delicately. “Petra, an interview would be wonderful, but perhaps more focus on Aaron’s accomplishments—”

“Yes, yes,” Petra agreed with alarming intensity. “Our readers would love to know what attracted you to an unknown Vancouver guild, Aaron. Was it the Crow and Hammer in particular that lured you away, or is there a unique appeal to small guilds? Since you joined, the guild has claimed, on average, thirteen percent more in bounties per year. What’s your role in that increase?”

He sidled away from her, his mouth pressed into a thin line and his eyes darting for an escape.

“What about his accomplishments here?” Valerie pressed, somewhat desperately. “Tobias and I often discuss the role he’ll play when he returns to—”

“Are you planning to rejoin your parents’ guild, Aaron?” Petra lobbed the question like a grenade. “You could join almost any guild you wanted. How did the Crow and Hammer’s membership react when you—”

“Petra,” Kai cut in, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but do you know Annaliese James from Ursa Major? She seems to be trying to catch your eye.”

“Miss James? Oh, I don’t …”

As she turned to look across the party, Kai guided her attention even farther from her victim. Aaron inched backward, and when Petra didn’t turn on him, he speed-walked away.

“Aaron—” Valerie hissed, but he’d already slipped behind a cluster of alumni. She muttered a rude word under her breath.

Kai, the savvy charmer, lured Petra in the opposite direction, his dark eyes her sole focus. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up scheduled for an interview and photoshoot instead of Aaron.

I was glad Aaron had escaped, but unfortunately, his and Kai’s departure had left me, Ezra, and Valerie standing in awkward silence.

“Well,” Valerie sighed after a moment, “I suppose Aaron could use a short break.”

I snorted before I could stop myself, then coughed to hide it. Ezra caught my eye, the tiniest twitch of his lips betraying his amusement.

He composed his expression into one of funereal austerity. “Are you enjoying yourself, Tori? This year’s event is even more entrancing than usual.”

Valerie squinted at him, but nothing in his tone or expression suggested sarcasm.

“It’s been sensational,” I answered, equally somber. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight after meeting so many distinguished mythics.”

He nodded knowingly. “Understandable for your first time.”

Valerie looked between us, then decided to ignore the suspicious undercurrent in the conversation. “I’m glad you two are enjoying yourselves.”

A giggle bubbled up my throat but I choked it back. Ezra’s eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter and my composure threatened to crumble. Crap, I had to keep it together—

A shimmer of gold dust intruded on my internal battle, the fine powder drifting down from the ceiling and glittering all around us. My pulse jumped with disbelief. Together, Ezra and I peered up.

The pixie mistletoe was back—and it was parked directly above Ezra’s head, its leaves rustling as it determinedly dusted his head and shoulders.

Chapter Nineteen

My heart body-slammed my ribcage and my lungs seized as though the air had turned to cement. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Ezra as he looked from the pixie mistletoe to me. For an instant that stretched into an airless eternity, we stared at each other.

But I wasn’t the only woman standing beside him.

Valerie let out a jubilant laugh and reached for Ezra. Pulling his head down, she rose on her tiptoes and planted a motherly kiss on each cheek.

“How charming!” she exclaimed. “You look so handsome with a clean shave, Ezra. I do wish you wouldn’t grow back that awful scruff the moment you get home.”

When he said nothing, her amusement dimmed. She glanced from him to me, leaping to who knew what conclusion, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I was way too busy concealing my complete internal freak-out over that lost moment beneath the mistletoe.

“Well,” she declared, “I should find Aaron. The Lloyds, here from Wales—founding family of the ancient Mabinogi guild—want to speak with him about an open position for an advanced combat instructor.”

She swept away. Seeming to shake himself out of a daze, Ezra glanced warily at the ceiling, but the pixie mistletoe had disappeared.

My heart still hammered against my ribs. As I breathed deeply, a chilly breeze blew across my back; the open terrace door was a few paces away. “I’m going to step outside for a minute. I need some fresh air.”

I walked into the wintry night, the darkness held back by gold lights strung overhead. As I moved to the far end of the terrace, shadows engulfed me and I breathed easier.

Until I realized Ezra had followed me outside.

He leaned against the stone railing, gazing at the dark garden below. In a few more hours, the druidess would be down there, exorcising the wolf spirit from Sin before she became a shifter.

“This week has been all kinds of messed up,” I muttered. “I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

“Me too. I don’t know how soon the madness will end, though. With that shifter still in the area, breaking into the manor …” He turned, putting his back to the garden. “I feel like we’re missing something, but I don’t know what.”

I had the same feeling, but considering how much I had on my mind, it wasn’t a surprise I couldn’t sort out my thoughts. Between Eterran’s new ability to control Ezra in his sleep and my uneasy truce with the demon, and the elusive shifter and whatever its mission inside the manor had been … yeah. Just thinking about it triggered a headache in my temples.

Throwing off the gloomy topic, I asked brightly, “Do you have your phone on you?”

“Yeah?”

I held my hand out and wiggled my fingers. He pulled his phone from his pocket and offered it to me. Letting him hold it, I tapped his camera app and flipped it to selfie mode, then squeezed myself against his side.

“Your arm is longer,” I told him. “You take the picture.”

Chuckling, he pulled me closer and held the phone out in front of us, our faces filling the screen. Ew, my chin looked terrible.

I reached up to correct the camera angle. “Wait—”

The flash went off, blasting my eyes. Spots danced across my vision.