Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bechora
After breakfast, Zypher dropped me off at my first class, saying he was leaving campus to speak to his mother and promising to take me on our date when he returned.
I had Elemental Magic to start my day, and now that I had some power at my disposal, I was performing well enough to forget the embarrassment of being under the allure.
The day went relatively well until I returned to the dining hall for lunch.
I’d noticed the strange looks from students leaving the hall as I entered, but I wasn’t sure what to make of them—at least not until I stepped fully inside and saw the video of me strutting naked through Magus House playing along the back wall.
Someone had projected the video larger than life, giving everyone in the dining hall an up-close and personal look at every inch of my body.
Gasps and laughter rippled through the hall, the sound hitting me harder than the image itself.
My stomach dropped, my breath coming in shallow bursts as whispers flitted from table to table.
“Slut couldn’t even keep her clothes on in the dorms,” someone jeered.
My gaze darted around until it landed on Daena, standing near the center of the chaos, arms folded smugly as if she’d orchestrated the whole spectacle. Her lips curved into a cruel smile when our eyes met.
“Enjoying the attention?” she called, her voice carrying across the room. “You looked so eager for it in the video. Thought you’d like an encore.”
Heat flared across my cheeks, part fury, part humiliation, but before I could form a retort, another voice cut across the noise.
“Enough!” Dante stepped forward from where he’d been leaning casually against a column, his stone-grey eyes narrowing on Daena. He didn’t shout, but the weight in his tone silenced half the room instantly.
Daena bristled. “What? Just pointing out what everyone’s already thinking. She’s—”
“She’s nothing but a distraction,” Dante interrupted smoothly, tilting his head as if bored. His gaze swept the crowd, daring anyone to disagree. “If she wants to parade herself around like some cheap entertainment, fine. But you’re wasting my time with this little show.”
Daena faltered, her smirk slipping under his scrutiny. “I was just—”
“Trying too hard,” Dante said flatly, a mocking edge curling his lips. “If you want to be noticed, Daena, do something worth the effort. This?” He gestured lazily at the projection. “Pathetic.”
A ripple of laughter broke out, but this time it was aimed at her. The video abruptly vanished from the wall as whoever had cast it dropped the spell. Daena’s face darkened, but she tossed her hair and stalked away, muttering under her breath.
“Show’s over, go back to your meal!” Dante ordered the still-gaping crowd. He lingered only a moment longer before striding off as if nothing had happened.
Shocked by his actions, I found myself chasing after him.
My footsteps echoed on the cobblestone as I followed him into the dark recess of one of the nearby buildings.
I thought I’d lost him in the shadows when I was suddenly grabbed from behind and spun so my back was flush against a stone pillar.
Dante stared down at me, his face mere inches from mine.
“Following me, Red?” He smirked, reaching up to tug a strand of my hair.
“Why did you do that? Why did you step in and stop her?” I demanded.
Dante shrugged, his expression unreadable. “Why not?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you usually egg her on if you and your little fae friend aren’t treating me like I’m nothing,” I snapped.
His smirk widened, though his eyes darkened in a way that made my pulse quicken. “Maybe I got bored of watching her tear you down. Maybe I’d rather have all that fire aimed at me instead.”
“Don’t play games with me,” I warned, but my voice wavered when he leaned just a fraction closer.
“Who said I’m playing?” he murmured, his breath brushing my cheek. “You think I don’t notice you, Red? That I don’t see the way you burn brighter than everyone else in this place? I could make you forget the sting of every rumor with just one kiss.”
For a second, the intensity in his gaze threatened to unravel me. My heart betrayed me with its frantic rhythm, but I clenched my fists against the stone pillar to hold steady. For some ungodly reason, I was drawn to the male before me.
“No.” The word came out sharper than I intended, thanks to the guilt from my attraction to him sitting like a boulder in my stomach. His brows lifted in surprise.
“No?” he echoed, tilting his head, clearly not used to rejection.
“I won’t be someone’s dirty little secret,” I said, forcing steel into my tone. “You can sneer at me in public and whisper in the shadows all you want, but I’m not playing that game. If you want me, you don’t get to hide it.”
For the first time, Dante faltered. The smirk slipped, his mouth opening as though he might argue, but nothing came out. Instead, he studied me in silence, something heavy and conflicted flickering in his eyes.
Finally, he huffed out a laugh that didn’t quite reach his expression and stepped back, releasing me. “Careful, Red. You keep talking like that, and you’ll make me want things I shouldn’t.”
I pushed off the pillar, brushing past him with my head high, even though my chest was tight. “Then maybe you should think about what you really want before you corner me in the dark.”
Behind me, his voice followed, low and rough, stripped of its usual mocking lilt. “I already know what I want. I just can’t have it.”
Something inside me urged me to turn back, but I pushed it down, trying to convince myself the pull I felt toward him was a lingering effect of the allure.
I was starting to think I might actually be losing my mind with how many males I seemed drawn to.
My responses to his declarations only made that conclusion more likely.
I had a mate. I shouldn’t be lusting after males who weren’t him.
Forcing my feet to keep moving, I wandered aimlessly across campus until the sound of two sets of footsteps racing toward me caught my attention.
“B! Wait up!” Shadrie called out, causing me to turn.
Miles ran beside her across the quad, where I’d ended up without thinking, his cheeks puffing with labored breaths.
The pair of them looked like they’d just come from combat class, sweaty and red-faced, though I knew better.
When they finally reached me, Miles leaned over, hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Asthma.” He wheezed between shallow gulps of air.
“We should be asking you that,” Shadrie said at the same time.
“I walked into the dining hall, and everyone was talking about the show Daena put on and Dante shutting it down. I had to threaten to ice a bitch to get the full story. That’s why you asked me about cell phones, isn’t it? Because that evil bitch filmed you?”
“It’s fine, Shadrie. Really, I’m fine. She tried to embarrass me by plastering that video up for everyone to see, but I used to take my clothes off for a living. That shit doesn’t bother me,” I said, not sure if I was trying to convince my friends or myself.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Shadrie insisted.
“At least let me help you get revenge on her. My sister gave me this little book of hexes and pranks when I got my acceptance letter, which I’ve been dying to try out.
Nothing permanent, they’re meant to be fun, but some of the stuff in there would absolutely humiliate her. ”
Miles finally straightened, still pink-faced and wheezing, but listening.
“I’m not normally one for revenge, but public humiliation works both ways,” he said, pushing his glasses up.
“If she wants to play dirty, I can do some digging and find out if there’s anything she wouldn’t want to get out in her student record.
Maybe find out if she’s had disciplinary strikes we could use. ”
“No.” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
Both blinked in surprise. Softening my tone, I shook my head.
“No, I don’t need to retaliate or for either of you to do it on my behalf.
The last thing I want is more people talking and staring like I’m some sort of spectacle.
Besides, mean girls like Daena just want the attention.
If I ignore her, she’ll eventually get bored and leave me alone. ”
Shadrie wrinkled her nose. “You really don’t understand how things work here. Daena isn’t some human realm mean girl. She’s not just going to let this go.”
“Please, Shadrie. Just do it my way for now,” I pleaded. “If I’m wrong and she doesn’t get bored, I promise I’ll let you get back at her.”
“Fine, but one wrong move and I’m hexing the bitch bald,” she replied. “And Miles will dig up any dirt he can find in her file for us to use against her.”
Miles nodded solemnly. I couldn’t help but smile at them. Their reaction reminded me of Geordie enough to make me homesick for our small, rundown apartment. I shook my head to clear away the feeling just as Miles cleared his throat.
“Since that’s settled, I wanted to give you an update on your list,” he said, the wheeze finally gone. “Which is, there isn’t one. I haven’t found anything yet that makes it make sense.”
“I should probably update that list.” I grimaced. “Something happened last night.”
“Does it have anything to do with you and Zypher getting hot and heavy this morning?” Shadrie asked before making kissing noises.
I leveled my sternest glare at her, causing her to laugh. “Not exactly.”
Miles reached into the messenger bag across his chest, pulling out a pen and notebook.
Flipping it to a blank page, he motioned for me to proceed.
I rushed through an explanation of the night before, leaving out the embarrassing bits I could remember.
When I finished, Miles hummed softly and tapped his pen to his lips.
“So, now we have allure added to the list. This really makes no sense. It’s like you’re a mixed-up hodgepodge of abilities that aren’t found together naturally.
It’s possible someone is using magic on you, making it seem like these things are coming from you when they’re not.
Maybe if we start at the beginning and go through the entire day, we can pick up on something you missed? ”
My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I had fled the dining hall after Dante before eating lunch.
“Why don’t I grab us all something from the dining hall, and we can eat in our dorm. If someone is using magic to mess with Bechora like that, we don’t want to risk them overhearing and finding out we’re onto them,” Shadrie offered.
“Smart thinking. Should I come with you to get the food?” Miles asked Shadrie before turning to me. “I’m assuming you’d prefer to head straight to your dorm after what happened?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I replied, grateful for the out. “You two grab food, I’ll head back to the dorm. I don’t have another class until combat class this evening.”
“Perfect. See you there, B!” Shadrie smiled, snagging Miles’ arm and dragging him back the way they’d come.
I gave them both a slight wave and headed toward the dorm, mentally preparing myself to go over every small thing that happened the day before.