I reached through the blackness, right to where I knew I’d find him, and cradled his face gently in my hands. His chains clinked as he strained his arms, leaning down to meet my kiss.
Sealing my resolve.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
After Priti’s class, I lingered at the back as everyone headed from the beach to the dining hall. My plan was to slip away gradually until I could split away from the group unnoticed.
That is, until I was noticed.
“Well, look who it is,” a menacing voice said from behind.
I stopped, blinked my eyes shut tight, gathering strength. Inhaling, I turned. “Rob the Trainee. What a surprise. ” I glanced down at his pants. “Glad to see you fixed your uniform. ”
For once, I was glad to be surrounded by the other girls. I’d humiliated him. It was only a matter of time before he demanded retribution. But surely he wouldn’t do anything in a crowd.
Sure enough, he gave me his worst scowl, warning, “I’m coming for you. ”
“Yeah, yeah. ” Twerps like him no longer scared me. The repercussions of a feud between us—now that scared me. “You sound like a bad Vin Diesel movie. ”
“Oh, it’ll be dramatic, all right. Someday when you don’t expect it, I’ll be there, waiting. ”
“Then get comfortable,” I told him. “You’ll be waiting a long time. ”
“It’ll be worth it. ” His mouth peeled into a speculative grin. “So worth it. I think my friends might even join in. ”
I started walking again. I wasn’t in the mood. “Perfect. I’ll be happy to have an audience for when I take you down. ”
“Watch your back,” he called to me.
“Maybe you should watch yours,” I said over my shoulder. “Make sure there are no rips. ”
“Hey, D,” Yasuo called.
I spotted my friends on the path and waved at them. Rob blended into the crowd of milling students, then was gone. I was sure he’d turn up again one of these days, like a bad penny.
Yas jogged over in that easy lope of his, and Emma was right behind him, weaving her way toward us.
I pasted a smile on my face. “Hey, guys. ”
“Hey, stranger,” Emma said, giving me a hug. She glanced to where Rob had been just a moment before. “What’d he want?”
“Rob?” I rolled my eyes. I had more urgent issues to deal with than stupid adolescent Trainees. “Oh, we go way back. Forget him. ”
Yasuo looked impatient, his eyes aimed in the direction of the dining hall. “You going to dinner?”
I hedged. No. I was going to skip dinner and go in search of a mysterious Draug keeper who may or may not be willing to help me.
But I couldn’t tell them that. Instead, I said, “No. I was just about to turn around. I left my towel down on the beach. I need to go back for it. ”
I hated lying; the words felt thick and awkward coming out of my mouth. Once I would have spilled my guts to them, but now I had no other choice.
I told myself this was Emma and Yasuo. They were different. But in my heart I knew there was an undeniable gulf between us now, one that I’d felt even before Carden’s pronouncement echoed in my head. You mustn’t trust.
Something else nagged in the back of my mind. An unsettling voice telling me, Especially Yasuo.
Yas was my buddy, it was true. But seeing as he spent most of our limited coed free time with Emma, our own bonding time had been cut way back. It’d allowed me to see from a distance the changes he was undergoing—his longer fangs, the more remote eyes, and most disturbing of all, an essential stillness and coldness that was gradually enshrouding his natural charisma like a fog.
His eyes were on me, and unlike the first time we’d met, they were unreadable. His arm snaked around Emma’s shoulders, claiming her.