by Luna Pierce
“Yeah.” At least he’s willing to talk tonight, that’s a good sign… isn’t it?
Silas vamps out of the bathroom and turns the handle, letting Deghan into the room.
“I can walk her to class.” Deghan peeks around the corner at me and waves.
“I need to get my shoes.”
“I’ll be there when it’s over to get you to last period.” Silas’s posture stiffens. “Be safe.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Deghan holds two fingers to his forehead and salutes Silas.
I haven’t gotten both shoes on, and Silas is already gone, taking a part of me with him like he always does. I’ll never quite get used to that. I feel it with all my guys, but it physically manifests itself the strongest with him.
“Cute outfit.” Deghan scans me up and down.
“You ready?” I ask him.
“Yep, what are you doing with that brownie, though?” He bites his lip waiting for a response.
“Half, you can have half! But I want the rest, you ravenous boy.”
“I can’t help it. I think I’m still growing.”
At this, my eyes go wide, my gaze going all the way up his body and landing on his head. “You’re already five hundred feet tall.”
“Oh hush, I’m six-four.” He ruffles my hair. “We can’t all be tiny.”
Deghan walks me to fifth period and joins me in finding a seat. I guess we have this class together. Now I can’t help but wonder what I have next and who with.
“Psst,” I whisper.
“All right, class,” Professor Strong calls into the space with her raspy smoker’s voice.
Deghan goes to speak, but I cut him off. “Never mind.”
“Welcome to marketing one-oh-one. I see some familiar faces from last term.” She squints and examines the crowd. “The emphasis of this class will be to learn what marketing is, why it’s important, and teach you how to conduct research and strategies to help scale business growth. We’re going to study customer behavior, pricing, product management, so on and so forth. Is that understood?”
The class collectively mumbles something of an agreement.
My final lecture of the day is intro to management, which to my pleasant surprise, is filled with Remi, Kyra, and Lillian. Honestly, I’ve been blessed with my lineup of courses and classmates, so maybe I’m not cursed with bad luck after all.
Although that’s what I think until Allie walks in and sits at a desk.
Ugh. I really hate to be petty, but damn do I dislike that girl.
She could have potentially got me killed by pouring that booze all over me. Had I wandered off or been left alone, the demon could have easily weaseled its way in and stolen my magic, or whatever it had planned for me.
Plus, she’s bitter as hell to us for no apparent reason. Even prior to the whole Silas thing she was rude to me. I’m not sure what crawled up her ass and died, but she needs to knock it off.
Her annoying side-eyeing me isn’t helping either.
Does she think I can’t see her blatantly looking my way?
I raise my hand and wave, making sure she knows I see her.
Remi smacks my arm lightly. “You little instigator.”
“She won’t stop staring at me,” I reply in defense.
I pull the notebook out of my backpack and flip it open, ready to jot down whatever the teacher is about to tell us. If I’m going to stop myself from smacking Allie upside the head, I’m going to have to keep my mind occupied.
Thirty minutes into the class, Kyra nearly falls out of her seat. She had nodded off, her head resting on her hand, until she moved slightly and did that thing where your arm goes out from under you and your head drops.
Remi immediately swoops in, asking her if she’s okay.
Kyra yawns widely and folds her arms across her chest, leaning back into the seat.
The rest of the time goes by pretty uneventfully, minus the few times I caught Allie gawking at me. It makes no sense why she’s so damn weird to me, maybe I should ask her and get it over with. I have enough problems I’m dealing with, though. Perhaps I’ll keep my mouth shut for now.
“Which one of your hunks is escorting you to the formal?” Remi clicks her pen shut and tosses it inside her bag.
“Oh god, I have no idea.” I have to choose? Why? And how? I want each one of them to be there with me… is that too much to ask?
Remi shakes her head. “Better figure it out. Less than a week away.”
“Who’s your date?”
Her eyes flicker to Kyra and back to me. “Not sure yet.”
Kyra breaks her conversation with the redhead next to her and joins us. “What are you two talking about?” She wraps her arms around us and tugs us toward the door.
“Do you have a date for this weekend?” I ask, knowing damn well Remi is going to murder me.
“Um, no, no yet. One of Ethan’s friends, I think his name is Noah… he asked me.” Kyra continues to drag us along.
Remi tenses but doesn’t say anything.
“So, are you going with him?”
Kyra scowls. “Hell no. He’s pretty and all but he only wants in my pants, no thanks.”
Remi lets out an almost silent breath she must have been holding.
“Plus,” Kyra reaches across and pokes Remi in the side, “screw boys. I thought we could do a girl’s date instead.”
Remi doesn’t speak, not a single word, clearly in shock at getting the very thing she was desperately hoping for.
I push my calming energy into her, and her body relaxes ever so slightly.
“Yeah, of course,” she finally manages.
Kyra loosens the grip I didn’t realize she had on my arm.
Was she nervous that Remi would say no? Maybe those two are more on the same page than they think.
The familiar influence calls to me from across the foyer.
I steal a glance around, my gaze settling on Silas, keeping his distance but close by. I mouth, “I’ll be okay.”
His gorgeous face frowns.
I offer him a weak smile.
He taps his wrist and holds up one hand to signify five o’clock.
Apparently, he’s holding true to having our talk.
“Think the dining hall has anything out? I want some snacks,” Kyra whines.
“If they don’t, I know where we can find some.” And that’s exactly where I take them.
I lead us through the big open eating room and around to the random door. I knock, and the girls stare at me like I’m an idiot, waiting for something to happen.
“Trust me,” I add.
I lose a little hope, but then the door swings open, and those two cheerful faces I expected to see smile at us.
“What’s up, princess?” Deghan beams.
I inhale something sweet and crane my head to see inside. “What’s lover boy making you?”
He grins and extends his arm to fully give us room to enter. “Pancakes.”
I shake my head. “I knew I’d find you here.”
“He’s hungry, literally all of the time,” Cameron teases and smacks Deghan’s arm.
If anyone is in love, it’s those two. What Silas and I share is special, but what Cameron and Deghan have is absolutely precious. I have no idea if either one of them are actually into guys, but damn do they have some chemistry.
“You have your own personal chef?” Kyra asks Deghan. “No fair.”
Cameron looks up from his post near a skillet and winks at me. A white hand towel is thrown over his shoulder. The confidence he has in the kitchen is so sexy. He nods to the counter where he’s stationed.
I walk over, putting my hands down to steady myself, and hop onto the cold metal surface. I immediately flash to the memory of us in the library, him pressed up against me as I sat on top of that desk.
“You having a little déjà vu?” His voice is quiet, so the others don’t hear.
“You could say that.” I blush.
He flips one of
his heavenly creations and takes a step toward me, leaning in to graze my cheek with his lips for the softest and sweetest kiss. He breaks away, and our eyes meet, his waves of ocean blue stealing my breath.
“You hungry?”
More like insatiable.
Cam divvies the food up between us, giving Deghan a massive serving. He made a blueberry sauce, too, and the combination is good enough that it doesn’t need syrup. That’s how you know something is freaking awesome, when you don’t have to drench it to choke it down.
Deghan hums along while he eats, his cheerfulness making me that much happier.
If only Lillian, Sydney, and Silas could be here, then it truly would be perfect.
“I wonder if Syd is hungry?” I glance at the clock on the wall. If I hurry, I can take him leftovers and sit with him until it’s time to see Silas.
“Pretty sure I saw him heading to the library.” Cameron sets his plate on the counter and starts to clean up.
I join him, gathering the dirty dishes from the girls.
“Your secret is no longer safe, you realize that, right?” Kyra looks from Deghan to Cam. “You should totally expect me to randomly stop by for free food.” She giggles and then stops. “I’m going to gain fifty pounds.” She reaches out and pokes Deghan in the arm. “How do you stay so jacked with how much you eat? I mean, no offense, but you’re like a garbage disposal.”
Deghan shrugs, his mouth full. “Metabolism,” he mumbles.
“So,” I say, leaning down against the counter. I can’t even get my next word out before scorching pain slices through me and I reflexively pull my hand away.
“Shit.” Cameron slides to his knees in front of me. “Let me see it.”
“No, I’m okay.” I bite my cheek and bob my head rapidly. “I’m good.”
“Willow, please.” He cups his palms around mine, waiting to assess the damage.
I stop clutching it tightly and cringe when I hold it out.
“Did you put your hand on that skillet?” Remi’s eyes go wide.
Okay, so that wasn’t a counter, that was a blisteringly hot surface.
Cameron winces during his inspection.
Then, out of fucking nowhere, the door to the room bursts open. Silas rushes in at a quick human speed, considering the girl’s presence.
“What happened?” His jaw is rigid, his voice harsh. “I said, what happened?”
“I burnt myself. It’s all right.” I reach to him with my unharmed hand in an attempt to calm him down.
“All right? I can’t leave you alone with them for five minutes without something happening.” Silas focuses on Cameron. “Get off her. You’ll only make it worse.”
Cameron stands, a look on his face I’m unfamiliar with. “You,” he shoves his finger into Silas’s chest. “You are what makes it worse.”
I take a hesitant breath.
What the fuck is going on?
Chapter Eight
“Don’t start with me, Cooper.” Silas stiffens. “You guys can’t be trusted to keep her safe,” he adds.
I’ve never known him to use Cameron’s last name.
“Trusted? Are you serious? She’s an adult, Silas. You treat her like a fucking child. I’m pretty sure she’s…” Cameron glances toward the girls.
Deghan perks up. “Yeah, so this might be a good time to leave, it’s sort of a family matter now. Not that y’all aren’t family… we just need a minute, please.” He pushes them toward the exit.
“Uh…” one of them says.
“Are you sure? Willow, you good?” Remi asks.
“Mmhm,” I say through gritted teeth, the residual stinging still taking place on my flesh.
The door closes, and Cameron doesn’t skip a beat. “She’s taken on demons and saved all of our asses. Stop pretending she isn’t capable of taking care of herself.”
“I’m done with you.” Silas turns, but Cameron grabs his arm.
“No, you don’t call the shots. I’m sick of this bullshit attitude out of you.”
I feel the surge moments prior to it happening. Fierce aggression boils up inside Silas.
Then, the unexpected. Cameron shoves him. Full-on two-handed and, bracing himself with his feet, he heaves into him.
Unfortunately for Cam, Silas has that whole immortal, super-strong thing going on, so he doesn’t budge.
It only adds to both of them being more pissed.
“You don’t touch me,” Silas retorts and raises his arm.
Deghan and I rush between them, not wanting a total fight to break out.
“Hey, snap out of it,” I urge Silas.
Deghan clamps Cameron around the shoulders. “Come on, buddy.”
I understand they’re all stressed out but, um, my hand is still on fire over here.
“He’s not wrong,” Deghan cautiously says. “You’re being a dick. More so than you normally are.”
And now there is another reason to suspect that something out of the ordinary is going on with Silas.
Not to mention, what the hell is going on with Cameron? I’ve never known him to react that way either.
My injury takes me completely away from whatever the hell they’re doing, my body urging me toward the sink. I turn on the cold water and plunge my hand under. It adds to the pain but somehow eases it a little, too.
Silas vamps over and reaches out for me, but I shut off the water, wrap my hand in a stray towel, and disregard his every attempt.
“Willow, please. I need to see it,” Silas begs.
I leave the room, holding my arm to my chest and go straight to the one person who I trust to think rationally right now.
Sydney.
I rush down the stairs carefully, so I don’t faceplant again. I don’t exactly need another incident added to my already shitty week I seem to be having.
A guy and a girl I’ve never met look up at me from across the library.
I avoid their stares and continue on, heading toward the supernatural side. Once I’m out of earshot from them, I call out quietly, “Sydney.”
I take in a deep breath. I can do this. I’ve done this in the past to find him. I close my eyes and ponder, “Syd, where are you?”
Like fucking magic, the light flickers, and a strange buzzing sound emerges.
I spin to locate the source and settle my sights upon a bee, gold and black stripes along its furry body.
It hovers in front of my face then whips its body and heads down the hall.
I follow it without question.
A minute later, the bee pops into a room and then buzzes out and away.
I glimpse inside and see Sydney. I turn to call out a “thank you,” to the vanishing creature.
Did that really just happen?
“Willow.” Sydney looks up, panic and confusion trailing his features. “What’s wrong?”
I hold out my towel-wrapped hand. “I burnt myself, and everyone is acting like complete psychos. I should have gone to the infirmary, but I wanted to find you first.”
“Jesus…” He’s around the table in a hurry. “Can I see it?” Sydney’s concerned gaze meets mine. He pulls the covering back a little and flinches. “It’s blistered. We need to treat this immediately.”
“Is it bad?” Tears well up and I’m not sure if it’s from the pain or the sheer exhaustion of this overwhelming day.
Sydney cups my face with his palm. “No, sweet girl. We’ll get you fixed up in no time.”
He’s lying, but his kindness helps ease my nerves.
“Tremont, I’m fairly certain he has healing abilities.” Syd wraps his arm around me and leads me out of the tiny room.
I really have been taking for granted all the space in the one Abigail secured for me. It makes sense now why people prefer it.
“You said everyone is acting crazy, what did you mean?”
“Silas came in and raged out on Cameron, then Cam all but punched Silas in the face in response. Something is wrong with him.”
�
�With who?” Sydney faces me.
“Silas.”
He huffs. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
I sniffle. “I’m serious. Deghan even said that Silas was acting worse than usual. He feels off.”
“Maybe he’s stressed out…”
I want to believe that’s all it is, but part of me is fully aware it’s not that. The connection Silas and I share, it allows me to sense those types of differences.
“I wonder where Tremont is,” Sydney whispers, almost like a thought out loud.
“Teacher’s lounge,” I say confidently.
He side-eyes me but doesn’t ask questions, only continues to walk me to our destination.
We approach the north wing hallway, and the man himself exits the lounge with a steaming cup of coffee. Tremont squints and tilts his head. “What’s going on?”
“We need your help.” Sydney motions to my hand.
Without skipping a beat, Tremont says, “Here, this way.” He takes us to the infirmary.
The door clicks shut behind him, and it’s only me, Syd, and him alone in this silent and sterile room.
My body gravitates toward the comfort of Sydney.
He puts his arm around me like he can sense my concern. “She burnt her hand. It’s blistered. I’m guessing second or third-degree.”
“I see. Now, may I?” He steps closer, his own palm outstretched, waiting for me to deposit the wound. He unwraps the cloth carefully, the skin tugging in an attempt to stick to the fabric.
I look away, not wanting to see whatever is under there.
Sydney rubs circles on my back.
“Go ahead and have a seat.” Tremont pushes a chair in my direction. He grabs on to a little shiny table on wheels and rolls it over to us. “I’m going to start now. You’ll feel some cooling, but it shouldn’t be painful, okay?”
I nod, keeping my eyes away from what he’s doing.
Sydney kneels next to me, his hands tucked around my free one.
A chill courses through my entire side, starting at the base of my neck and rolling down my arm, onto where the burn lies.
I do my best not to flinch and make things any worse.
“You doing all right?” Sydney presses his lips to each one of my knuckles.
