“Don’t call me that.”
She gracefully flips her slick wall of black hair over her shoulder. “Kara, you’re the only one of us who needs to be reminded of it.”
“Okay, well, we’re in public.” I can barely gesture for effect without hitting someone with my hand.
“The public hasn’t called us worse?”
I roll my eyes and breathe out a sigh. “Whatever.”
“So…” Her gaze wanders over the crowd. “Who was Mr. Lusty? That’s not like you to get someone all wound up.”
“It’s no one. He’s my professor. It’s not like that.”
Her pretty red lips form a shocked oval as she spots Maximus. “You’re kidding me. He’s your professor?”
“Yes,” I hiss quietly and turn my back to him, hoping to hell he doesn’t notice the most tolerable of all my siblings blatantly pointing and staring at him like an unselfconscious toddler.
“Wait a motherfucking minute,” she says almost breathlessly. “That’s that superhot literature professor, isn’t it? Shit. I tried to get into one of his classes too. I got stuck with some old hag with a hard-on for Whitman.”
“Kell, Professor Ferguson is the poet laureate.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “I don’t even care. On to more important matters…” She studies me closely as if I have evidence on me. “Are you putting the moves on him? I honestly never thought you’d put out for grades. That’s just not like you.”
The growl that rumbles deep in my chest is drowned out by the crowd, unlike her unhinged remarks that can be clearly heard by nearly anyone with an interest. And tonight, with the media mingling like bees in a hive, the shop is swarming with people who want fresh dirt on the Valaris.
“Considering I’ve had one class with him so far, no. Not to mention… You know.” I wave my hand in tiny circles and stare at the bookshelf beside me, briefly wishing I could find a way to hide between the tomes. Maybe find a secret door in this enchanting little bookstore that can take me away from LA to another plane of reality where my life isn’t already charted for me.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kell’s flawless face is wrinkled with confusion.
“I’m promised. And so are you, by the way. Did you forget that tiny detail?”
When she crosses her arms and averts her gaze, I know she hasn’t forgotten. If anyone can appreciate the vow we were bound to at birth, she can.
“You can do other things in the meantime,” she mutters without much conviction.
“What’s the point?” I wear my emotions too close to the surface, along with every base impulse. And when it comes to sex, having it with just anyone isn’t an option. I may hate being a Valari, but that doesn’t mean I can pretend I’m not one.
When humans break their vows, feelings get hurt. Hearts get broken. When demons break vows, someone gets punished.
Kell taps her red lacquered nail on her tooth. “Yeah.” Her eyes brighten after a moment. “Well, once you meet, you know, whoever it’s going to be and seal the deal, you can hook up with whoever you want. You just need to finish this stupid degree and get on with it.”
“Why don’t you get on with it?” I challenge.
She scoffs. “I will. Eventually. I’m just trying to wait a respectable amount of time before I settle down. I’m not an old maid like you.”
“You’re barely a year younger than me.”
She shrugs, a small show of admission. “I hate people telling me what to do. Maybe in a few years I won’t care so much.”
Unlikely.
In fairness, her worry mirrors my own. We have no idea who we’ll be matched with when the time comes. But every full-blooded demon I’ve ever met has fit a particular profile. Cocky and charismatic and not to be trifled with. They’re talented liars with vicious tempers, sent to strengthen a bloodline weakened by my human ancestors.
I’ve spent a good part of my adult life trying not to think about it.
“Come on,” Kell nudges me gently, the same inevitability is painted across her features. “Let’s get out of here.”
Continue Reading Blood of Zeus: Book One. . .
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Misadventures with a Master Page 9
