Chapter 16
Aqueasy stomach awakes me the next morning. My head pulsating like a hammer on an anvil, while slobber slicks up my cheek from a hungry Pip.
I attempt to burn off my obnoxious hangover with a run through the Mysticwoods south of campus before classes. Hitting the bathing chamber just in time. I’d rather not have the entire university gossiping about my markings. Surely, I’ve given them enough to keep their tea parties amused.
On my way back to my room, last night’s vulnerable moment with S?las fillets my mind.
How did he slip past my glacial walls? Effortlessly ripping my broken shards to the surface.
Bleeding and raw. His effect on me is a liability.
A deadly distraction I desperately need rid of.
I’ll gut him, and everything between us, before it guts me.
His death now sits at the top of my slate.
White leathers with gold detailing slip over my muscles.
I almost like how my body looks in them.
Tempting me to let my markings show before common sense kicks back into my hungover brain.
To survive my first day of class, my basilisk armor is the smartest move given I’ve already made a few enemies here.
I sheathe my daggers along my ribs—hidden beneath a twist of glamour—and my short swords across my back in an X pattern.
I’m not sure which will be more uncomfortable: blades on my back or my legs throughout a day of lectures.
I think of Seraphina’s large battle axes strewn in a similar pattern across her back; perhaps I will need to carve out some time to make a smaller version for myself at the Universitás forge. I do enjoy my throwing hatchets.
I beckon my spiky-headed companion. “You’re going to turn into a chubby ball, sneaking back all that food from meals. Don’t think I didn’t see the trail of crumbs leading under my bed.”
Pip huffs at me. I swear he even rolls his eyes. Can dragons even roll their eyes? I’m rubbing off on him—and not in a good way. My jaw drops as he drags an entire meat pie from under the bed and pops it into his undersized mouth.
“If I keep trying to figure out how you do the things you do, I’ll surely go mad. Assuming I haven’t already.” I laugh. Emotions always feel safer, easier to hold, in the company of animals. They’ve never hurt me like people have. A smile crinkles my face as Pip’s tongue swirls the crumbs off his.
“Alright, chubby critter, time to go.”
He happily chirps and scurries up my arm, turning into a white leather bracer this time with four cobalt stones down the center. I close my door, awe-struck. I’ll never get over how he can do that. Who knew a dragon would have a fantastic, innate sense for color coordination?
I suck in a sharp breath. Chet is waiting outside my door, his beady green eyes level with mine.
His light blonde hair is slicked back, doing little for his forgettable face.
He flexes his broad shoulders but fails to muster even a fraction of the towering menace S?las casts effortlessly.
Chet is painfully readable, veins bulging their way up his neck.
My icy face gives him nothing, holding his glare.
“Just the girl I was looking for,” he snarls.
“Just the boy I hadn’t even bothered to think about,” I retort.
“Do yourself a favor. Stay away from Winx. She’s not your plaything.”
“Winx is not anyone’s plaything. She’s a strong, independent female, who can make decisions for herself.”
“Well, this choice is being made for you.”
“I know it must be hard to get through that thick skull of yours.” I tap my finger dead center on his forehead. “But you’re not in charge of anyone here—and I sure as fuck don’t take orders from the likes of you.”
His hand darts for my neck. I’m quicker.
I bat him aside, grabbing his shoulders and slinging my weight forward.
I headbutt his nose, manically smiling at the satisfying crunch as his blood gushes down his chest. Before he can even gasp, my knee swiftly drives into his balls.
He crumples, tipping over, grunting on the ground in riving pain.
I bend down, ripping a strip from his shirt. “You don’t own females, Chet. We are not your playthings or your property. Do yourself a favor, and learn from this experience.” I wipe his blood from my white leathers and toss it at him.
“Use this to stop the bleeding, and stand up. We have class to get to.” My voice is pure ice as I walk away.
I’m sure I’ll face the Chancellor’s own version of Emberhell for my actions, but fuck, did he deserve it.
If I hadn’t enchanted my door, I bet he would’ve jumped my sleeping form. The fucking coward.
I saunter the upper balcony towards the gold-plated stairwell when a tingling sensation stirs along the back of my neck. I spin around, certain Chet is as stupid as he looks.
My eyes go wide.
S?las.
My body instantly softens—traitorous bitch. That cursed fluttering tumbles in my stomach again. Perhaps it’s my hangover clawing its way up to purge the memories of last night.
Stars above, of course he looks beautiful.
His umber skin glows in the warm morning rays spilling in through the glass-domed ceilings.
Raven waves slide into his face from the momentum of my whirl, contrasting against his arctic eyes dancing with flecks of crimson.
I grit my molars, fighting the Celestials be dimmed instinct to swipe the lazy ringlets out of his eyes. What the fuck is wrong with me?
My breath catches, drawing me out of my red fury to realize—only leather stands between us.
My petite breasts pressing into his carved chest. My lungs drenched in winter, amber, and spruce.
I bite my bottom lip, heat skittering through my veins.
His neck muscles flex beneath a clenched jaw, pulse thrumming so fast and hard…
I can feel his heart beating against me.
Knocking at the gates of my glacial palace.
My mind minces, walls trembling, caught between warring desires.
Rage and want tangle until I no longer know whether I want to push him away or pull him closer.
And this—this is exactly why I need to cut him out of existence.
I don’t have time to untangle this stringy mess, nor do I care to.
I prefer a sharper method to solving my problems.
One hesitation. One distraction. And my entire Zenith falls. Perhaps it’s just my icy logic, but I think I’m being rather reasonable. Look at me, already a natural at prioritizing my team.
I let out an exasperated sigh, and S?las wisely steps back. I turn, rubbing my temples as I stomp down the spiral stairs to the hallway below. I’m too hungover for all this shit mincing my brain. Today is going to be a fan-fucking-tastic day.
Lungs expanding with a deep breath, ceasing my thunderous steps.
I’m better than this. I won’t let him or anyone else rattle me.
My cold and unyielding demeanor returns, as I imagine sharpening a greatsword.
The slow, steady strokes gliding against the wet stone.
The metal sings of the blood she will spill with her new deadly bite.
The rhythm reforges control from the wreckage of this loathsome hangover.
Golden light knitting together to repair my fractured mental shields.
I still feel the emotions crashing just outside.
Echoes bellowing through me. A brewing flood waiting to drown everything beneath its wake.
S?las follows me, of course. With long, perfect strides, as if he’s immune to hangovers, catching up beside me.
“You technically touched me that time,” S?las remarks, with far too much amusement for my liking.
His eyes flash with something else. Agony?
Longing? The flicker is gone before I can dissect it.
His mask back in place, curling his full lips into that half-grin I hate.
The one that twists me with unfamiliar feelings.
“You have a habit of sneaking up on me. Actually, at this point, I’d call it a hobby.
Or maybe obsession is the better word for it?
Either way, I am too hungover, so go find someone else to buzz around.
” I shoo him off like the bothersome gnat he is.
I don’t need him stirring up last night.
I thoroughly intend to keep existing like it never happened.
“Or perhaps I just keep falling into your orbit, like a moth to a flame.”
Wow. This is the male all the ladies are after? What some females will swoon for never ceases to amaze me.
“Well, that moth is going to get burned one of these days.” I raise my hand, igniting dancing white flames in my palm.
He steps closer, ripping a warning snarl from my lips. I avoid meeting his gaze, but it burns through me all the same.
“If we are starting things this hot, this early in the morning, I can’t wait to see what you have planned to do with me after lunch.” He winks.
He’s inflaming! I have half a mind to burn him right here. The only thing saving him from a crispy fate is the witnesses pouring into the hallway.
“Fuck around, and find out, loverboy,” I hiss.
“Jeez, now we’re in love? This escalated quickly. At this rate, we will be vowed by dinnertime.”
The fire he spurs within me is a catalyst, summoning waves of unfamiliar power.
Not my well of magic, but something wilder.
A caged beast thrashing against my skin like the bars of its enclosure.
Clawing and snapping to be released. It feeds on his insufferable presence, whittling my control.
Perhaps it’s not magic at all, just a lifetime of repressed emotions finally bursting at the seams. If only I could drown him in them—instead of myself.
I splinter, my fist arcing for his face.
He catches my hand.
“You’re fast, little savage.” He smirks. “But I’m faster.” He winks. I rip my hand free and give him nothing. My face a sheet of ice, refusing to crack for him once more.