Chapter 23 Rune #2
“Oh, that’s easy,” I said sweetly, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.
“Started at Fate Hollow Media, then jumped to Apex Capital Media. I’m a full-time reporter, and I get full-time access to the juiciest stories in the area.
Sugar always works better than venom.” I leaned in just a fraction, but that lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “You should try it sometime.”
The smirk deepened. “I’ll stick to what works for me. Mixing drinks, loosening lips…plenty of beautiful women to talk to.”
My breath hitched. “Defining childhood event?”
“I was fourteen, ran a bar in my uncle’s cellar for the local teens. Made more in a month than he did in a year.” He grinned deliberately slow. “Yours?”
“When I was ten, my best friend dared me to dance in the market fountain during a thunderstorm. Slipped, soaked myself, and ended up on the front page the next day.”
We traded questions like blows. What were the most dangerous things we’d done, lines we’d never cross, whether the ends justified the means, and what we liked to do in our free time.
I couldn’t stop myself from wishing that we were grilling each other about our real lives.
I had so many questions about Dimitri and who he was now and before he came here.
We were nearing the middle of the interview already just as Hawk and Eleanor finished their personas and turned them in.
I cocked my head and smiled sweetly. “Interesting choice to be a vampire addicted to gossip. Projecting much?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Better than hiding behind drinking herbal tea like it’s not your actual coping mechanism. Oh wait…too close to home?”
He referred to my persona’s little hobby that might’ve been a bit too close to the real me.
I laughed. “At least mine doesn’t involve hanging around supernaturals and pretending to care about their problems.”
“Better than hiding behind a press badge so you can poison people with your words instead of your venom,” he bit back.
The air between us tightened until Jarvins’s voice cut through like a blade. “Alright, you two. Great job so far, but switch partners, and change your personas on a whim.”
We didn’t move immediately.
We stared each other down, unwilling to give the other the last look.
When we finally parted, at the same time, Dimitri got up and re-partnered with Lorian while I moved next to Koa.
Koa and I pulled two chairs close together.
He slid into the chair across from me with a grin that made my heart skip a beat.
“Since Dimitri and Rune got off topic and blew their covers by bickering, they will get one last chance. Same goes for anyone else who breaks character since this is your first assignment.” Professor Jarvins clapped his hands. “Persona. Timer. Go.”
“Hi.” Koa tilted his head with a wink. “My name’s Quinn Smith. Adrenaline-junkie. Unemployed. Care if I ask you some questions?”
I crossed my legs and took a deep breath.
My voice dipped as I switched my personality into a seductive potion shop owner, a backup persona I’d thought up last night.
“Yes, of course, Quinn. I’m Elara Vey. A widow and collector and seller of rare potions.
And I rarely do interviews…but you’ve caught me in a generous mood. ”
Koa froze, his gaze tracing my mouth as I spoke.
Across the room, Dimitri glanced away from his partner mid-sentence.
“You’re staring at her,” Lorian muttered under his breath.
“I’m…assessing,” Dimitri replied, though his jaw flexed. “That’s not her usual act.”
“Ah. Sounds like you’re jealous.”
“Jealous? No.” His tone was clipped. “I just don’t enjoy watching someone sell a lie that well.”
“That’s kind of the entire point of the assignment,” Lorian told him, making Dimitri huff.
Koa leaned in with a heated look in his brown eyes, his face blocking the view of Dimitri. The ember flecks glowed within his irises. “How did you get your job, Elara?”
“I made it,” I purred, letting a faint smile pull at my lips. “Witches and warlocks make my potions, and I sell them.”
Koa’s pupils dilated. He leaned back, studying me as if he’d forgotten this was an exercise, until his chair legs slipped.
He toppled backward, head colliding with an enchanted blade display that was behind him. The edge sliced through his skull. Brain matter splattered in one clean, wet motion.
I blinked, wiping the brain matter from my cheek. “Gross.”
Phoenix magic flared, consuming Koa’s dead body in sudden flames. He combusted into ash with an almost apologetic hiss. His enchanted suit had turned to ash with him.
It was the second time I’d watched him die.
“Is he okay?” Eleanor asked from somewhere behind me.
“He’s a phoenix, he’s fine,” Jarvins snapped. “Go back to your persona. Only warning.”
A moment later, Koa reformed as a phoenix, the cry of life echoing through the classroom before he shifted back inside his suit with perfect hair and a sheepish grin.
“Welcome back,” I purred, gaze flicking down. “What a shame that your suit stayed on this time.”
His cheeks went red. “I’m so sorry about that, Rune.”
“Stay in character,” Jarvins said dryly, not even pausing. “Finish your interview.”
Koa nodded and sat back down.
His voice shifted into his persona again, but there was a redness over his face for the rest of the interview.
We finished the assignment smoothly, with no more deaths, and by the time the timer chimed, we were so close our knees touched.
Jarvins cleared his throat. “Everyone passed. Dimitri and Rune, be aware that this was the first assignment and the only reason you had a chance to redo it.”
Shame burned in my gut. I knew better than to do something like that, but what was it about Dimitri that made me break character to tease him?
He shot me a glare, and I returned it.
We all filed out of his classroom together, the air still buzzing from our round of interviews and shaking off the personas we’d gotten into. We made our way through the arched doorway into Pops’s classroom.
Everyone dropped into their designated seats, and I noticed Pops’s nostrils flare.
He locked eyes on me before sliding his brown eyes to Zuko.
Shit. Pops smelled him on me…
“Oh no,” Pops muttered, low enough that it was almost a growl. “What did you do?”
Zuko’s mouth curved into a dangerous grin. He spread his hands, palms up like he was harmless. “Nothing bad. Just…you know.” His voice dropped into something that curled around my spine. “I’m one step closer to being family. I’m dating your daughter.”
Pops’s gaze snapped back to mine, and my pulse skipped.
Before I could answer, Slater said, “Me too, sir.”
I turned toward him slowly, my brows knitting. “We are?”
“I mean, I want to be. Please?” His red eyes burned with open want, every word dripping with intent. “I don’t want to be left out, venom baby.”
The air in the room went taut, Pops’s eyes narrowing until the warm brown turned hard and dangerous. “Stop talking,” he ordered. “All of you. Now.”
Slater leaned in anyway, voice dropping to a husky whisper. “We’ll talk tonight.”
I gave him a nod of agreement.
Pops didn’t even raise his voice, he just leveled Slater with a glare so sharp it made him sink back.
Slater went silent, but the tension still hummed between us.
I knew Slater liked me, and Zuko had asked me to date him. I never thought about asking Slater out, too. He did, though. I already knew I would date him the moment he asked me again.
Once we were all silent, Pops launched into lecture mode about combat styles, stance control, and vital point neutralization.
He gestured toward the large mat that was in the middle of the room.
“You’ll demonstrate the partnered subduing drill.
” His eyes flicked to mine. “Rune, you’re with Dimitri. ”
Oh, shit.
Last time we were partnered, we almost failed.
“Do you think we can stop arguing long enough not to fail this assignment?” Dimitri asked roughly, but there was a teasing nature to it.
“Fates, I hope so,” I muttered honestly.
“Koa and Zuko will be first,” Pops said. “Let’s go.”
Zuko and Koa stepped onto the mat.
Pops gave the nod, and they circled each other in a way that actually turned me on.
Pops’s whistle cut the air.
Koa’s eyes flashed more red than brown because of how the ember flecks glowed with phoenix heat. “Good luck, Zuko.”
Zuko tilted his head, pupils narrowing into slits. “Try not to set your feathers on fire when you lose, Koa.”
Koa struck with a blur of phoenix speed. He landed a punch to his stomach before Zuko’s forearm caught the next hit.
The impact echoed.
“Shit, Koa!” Zuko’s counter came low and sharp. He dropped down and swept his legs to knock Koa’s feet out from under him.
Koa vaulted clean over him, twisting midair to land behind Zuko. “Too slow.”
Zuko hissed, “Too cocky.” He caught him with an elbow jab to the ribs.
Koa grunted and stumbled back, heat radiating off him.
They smiled at each other as Zuko faced him again.
The two clashed again.
One hit after another.
My pulse thudded with each crack of contact, and my stomach tightened in a way I didn’t care to examine.
It was obvious that I liked Zuko, but I also liked Koa. Watching them fight was hot, but when they actually took hits…I didn’t know why it bothered me the way it did.
I didn’t even know what was wrong with me. I’d never been this into any one man. But I definitely recognized the feelings I was developing for multiple men now. It made me think that Slater and Zuko really were right. Maybe they were my mates, but not just them.
Koa slipped behind Zuko and locked him in a chokehold. “Subdued.”
Zuko dropped his weight, hips slamming back into Koa’s stomach. Koa’s grip broke, and Zuko spun around, arm hooking around Koa’s throat. He drove them both into the mat with controlled brutality and held them there for five seconds.
Pops blew the whistle again. “Zuko, good job.”
Zuko released him, panting, a smug curl to his lips. “Good try. Almost had me.”
Koa lay there for a second, chest rising fast, before he laughed, low and grudging. “You got lucky.”
“You wished me luck.” Zuko winked.
Dimitri and I stepped onto the mat next. “Ready to lose, lethal darling?”
“You’re the only one dumb enough to fight me,” I said, settling into stance. “What makes you think I’ll lose?”
“Not dumb,” he replied, eyes glittering like cut garnet. “Just not scared of you.”
“Surprising, honestly,” Pops muttered under his breath before blowing the whistle.
For a moment, the world seemed to narrow to just the two of us.
Dimitri’s academy-issued suit clung to him like it had been tailored for the sole purpose of distracting me. The fabric was tight over his shoulders, his lean muscles shifting with the smallest move. His black hair was a dark sweep of coils, broken only by that striking white spot at the top.
His deep red eyes locked on me like I was his prey again. “Try not to drool. Fight me instead.”
It was finally time for me to show him that I was the predator here, not him.
“Not my type,” I lied smoothly, even though my gaze had absolutely been tracing the line of his jaw. “Too…fangy.”
He gave a low, dangerous laugh. “You have fangs too. Seems like you like fangs if last night was any testament.” His gaze flicked to Zuko and back to me with a knowing glint.
I gasped. He fought dirty.
He lunged, forcing me back in a scramble of blocked strikes.
His hits were precise and unrelenting. The force of each parry I managed reverberated through my arms.
Dropping down, I kicked out for a sweep at his legs, but he caught my ankle mid-move.
“Cute,” he commented, spinning us.
The mat slammed up against my back before I realized what had happened.
Dimitri loomed over me, his weight pressing down on me, the cage of his body heat and strength actually driving me crazy. His cinnamon and nutmeg scent flooded around me.
His hands pinned mine above my head. “Got you,” he breathed, the words brushing warm against my ear. His fangs were just inches from my throat.
“Not yet, overachiever.” I craned my neck, letting my lips ghost along the curve of his cheekbone until they reached the sharp edge of his jaw.
My venom seeped from my lips, barely there, but enough to make his grip falter for a heartbeat.
“Dirty move,” he growled, but I was already twisting free, rolling to my feet.
I stood over him, grinning. “Thirty minutes minimum.”
Five seconds later, Pops blew the whistle announcing me the winner, but Dimitri was on his feet like nothing had happened with his vampire speed.
I froze. “What the hell? You should be flat on your back right now, drooling onto the mat!”
With one eyebrow lifted, his smirk deepened. “Seriously? I am so hurt that you would do that to your squadmate.”
“Obviously it was to subdue you.”
His gaze flicked down my body, and his grin turned wicked. “Guess I’ll have to start returning the favor.”
Slater’s voice piped up instantly. “Oh my Fates, please let me fight her next!”
Pops’s voice cracked like a whip. “Stop it right now!”
Slater only grinned. “Please, soon-to-be-Pops-by-mating?”
Zuko leaned back in his chair. “I think I should be her partner next.”
“No,” Pops snapped. “Rune already won. Enough. All of you. Slater and Lorian, you’re up.”