Rue’s eyebrows hit her hairline, and Kaja gaped.

“You were … there?” Nell asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. With my mate, who… got injured.”

“Holy shit!” Kaja stammered, leaping to her feet, her breakfast now forgotten. “Mother of mages!” She paced the room, shaking her head. “I can’t even…”

Weird reaction.

Not that I was exactly Zen about the whole thing, but … picking up one of the sticks, I nibbled on the flaky sweetness. Oh, yummy. Around a mouthful, I asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

A sly grin pulled at Nell’s lips. “The student who was injured, the one sent away for a special royal healer off-island, was one of the Midnight princes.”

The room swam, and the color must have drained from my face because Nell reached out and grasped my shoulders. “You okay?”

I gulped, nodding. This was it, the proof I’d been waiting for. I told myself my mate could be a close friend of the Midnight brothers. Hadn’t he said as much in the garden when we first kissed? That his friend told him of the place. But this … this was proof. “So, my mate is…”

Kaja shook a French toast stick at me, flinging syrup onto the floor. “Obviously Rage or Justice! Oh, my stars, what I wouldn’t give to mate with either of them.”

Something about her statement made me laugh, but the sound was hollow. Having it confirmed that either Rage or Justice was my mate … hurt. Why wouldn’t he tell me? I could think of only two reasons:

embarrassment

cowardice

Well, plus, there was that whole thing about who’s family member killed who. I’d call that resentment. So maybe three reasons. But the first two were stupid, and the third one was wrong.

My thoughts drifted to the two Midnight princes. Despite Rage’s hot/cold and sometimes ugly personality, he lit a fire inside of me. Then, there was Justice. Equally icy at times, but lately … he was definitely thawing.

All of Nell’s excitement fell from her expression, and then she shrugged. “No details were given, so no idea which one it was. I heard the alpha king freaked out. Livid. But their mom sent them to a special healer off-island for a rapid recovery.”

Huh…

An epiphany hit me like a truck then, and I grinned. This would be easy. If Rage was missing from class today … he was my mate. And if he was there, my mate was Justice. I’d find out once and for all who he was and then confront him.

Everyone grew quiet. I got dressed and forced myself to finish eating. As the morning progressed, a weight settled beneath my breastbone, echoing my fears from last night. My movements felt like walking through quicksand, and icy depression settled over me like a heavy blanket. Not knowing who my mate was but knowing he was a Midnight prince should’ve made me happy, but the confirmation only unsettled me, making me feel melancholy.

I didn’t need a Ph.D. in psych to know that beneath my anger was fear. Fear that either Rage or Justice was ashamed to be mated to me, and that stung hard. I understood the rules, that we couldn’t be public about it, but for him to not even tell me? His distrust stung the most.

When I opened the door to my Fire Studies class, Master Carn looked up from his desk, but the rest of the room was empty. The lack of Rage’s presence sent my heart into my throat.

“Where’s Rage?” I blurted, louder and far more demanding than respectful.

Master Carn furrowed his brow and straightened in his chair. “Off-island with his brothers.”

Brothers? “They’re all gone?”

He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you hear one of them was injured in the attack last night?”

My whole body tensed as I nodded. “Yes, but which one?”

“That is something you can gossip about with your friends on your own time.”

Frak frick fook!

“But all of them went off-island?”

Of course they did. I would too if I had a sibling injured.

“Maybe you should stop worrying about boys and start focusing on your studies for the midyear test. It’s only a month or so away.”

I nodded. Time to eat humble pie. “Yes, Master Carn.”

He gave me a curt nod. “Good. Then when you’re done with your studies and dinner service for the day, meet me here.”

“Why?” I studied him, looking for a hint of something.

“It’s a surprise.”

I hated surprises, especially here, because none of them were ever good.

I nodded and then settled into my coursework, feeling the absence of the giant douchebag I’d come to miss. I hoped was okay.

The day dragged on with a special torture. Justice, Honor, Noble and Rage were all gone from lunch and dinner. Now, I had to meet Mr. Carn for my “surprise” when really, I just wanted to inspect the Midnight princes for shoulder wounds.

I headed down the hallway just as Master Carn stepped out the door.

“Ready?” he asked.

Before I could respond, he walked off, taking massively long strides further into the building.

Okay.

Please don’t lead me to the king’s dungeon and kill me.

We traversed the hall, and every snatch of conversation I overheard was regarding the attack or how one of the Midnight princes was injured. The one bit of news—or rumor—that caught my ear was that the attacker was a rogue wolf from the mainland.

Shady.

My thoughts were so deeply consumed that I bumped into Master Carn when he came to an abrupt stop.

“Sorry,” I muttered, backing away.

Master Carn huffed but said nothing else as he drew a key from his pocket, which he used to unlock a stone door.

I glanced down the long concrete hallway, first to the right and then the left. “Where are we?”

He grunted, pulling open the door.

My fears of dungeons evaporated with the sight of Kaja, Nell, Evil Barbie, and one of her sisters all seated on a gray mat. I passed my instructor and crossed the threshold into a gymnasium of sorts, but it was fully made of concrete, from the floors to the ceiling. On the far wall was a cache of glittering weapons.

Cool.

“Young ladies,” Master Carn greeted the others.

Nell and Kaja waved excitedly at me while Mallory and her clone sister Heather just crossed their arms and glared.

Backatcha.

“The midyear practical is slowly creeping up, and with the recent attacks, the king has asked that all alpha heirs start practicing within a group. This will help strengthen your abilities, both individually as well as collectively.”

Ugh. Why was Evil Barbie in our group?

“Nell will brief you on a few details of the exam and give you some strategies to help you do well. The other professors are doing the same with their students. Good luck.”

With that, he left, locking the door behind him…

“Did he just lock us in?” Kaja said, her eyes widening.

Exactly my thought!

Nell chuckled. “It’s for our safety as well as theirs. Imagine poking your head into the room and getting hit in the face with a fireball. This is a practical skills gym. No one in or out without a key. Don’t worry. We can leave.”

She held a key up as if for further reassurance.

“All right,” I grinned. “So, give us the deets.”