CHAPTER 6
Not surprisingly, breakfast was shaping up to be a disaster.
Based on the whispers filtering through the dining hall, the entire student body had been made aware of my walk of shame.
I received more than one leering look from the guys, but Blaze’s was by far the worst. Only able to scrounge up a bagel from the once again picked-clean buffet, I was just about to pass by Blaze and Alma on my way to the far corner seat when the curly-haired brute loudly said, “Hey, sweet cheeks.”
A couple of the warlocks nearby snickered, all too aware that Blaze hadn’t meant the cheeks on my face.
I chose to ignore him, glad that at least Thorne and his friends weren’t in the dining hall yet to hear all this.
Servers bustled around the fancy third year table, but none of the professors were here, thank the ancestors.
Clearly peeved that I’d ignored him, Blaze swiftly turned in his seat and stuck a leg out directly in my path. I stopped with my tray in hand, staring straight ahead like an expressionless robot when what I really wanted to do was glare daggers at him.
“I was talking to you, stray,” he said.
No comment. I didn’t even blink.
His words had a ripple effect, though, and the roar of chatter faded as the other students paused to listen in.
Fantastic.
Pleased to have an audience, Blaze propped his elbows on the table behind him and brazenly drawled, “That uniform does nothing for your figure, sweet cheeks. I like you much better naked.”
As dozens of students reacted with amused twitters and laughter, my face burst into flames.
I didn’t think the embarrassment could get any worse, but at that exact moment, I saw three tall figures enter the dining hall out of the corner of my eye.
Of course, they were none other than the Arcane Three.
Fate wouldn’t have it any other way. They paused in the doorway, realizing something was amiss, and it was then that I knew.
Not reacting would be a mistake.
Why, oh, why did this have to be the moment that I was forced to prove myself?
But there was no avoiding it. It was do or doom myself time. So I calmly swung my gaze to the gloating behemoth and replied, “And I’d like you much better with a different face, yet here you are.”
Dead. Silence.
I immediately wanted to disappear as I felt the eyes of the entire room on me. Maybe reacting had been a mistake after all. Maybe—
The room suddenly erupted. Not with insults but laughter.
Realizing that it wasn’t at my expense this time but at Blaze’s, I blinked in shock.
Alma’s mouth slightly fell open, but Blaze was even more shocked, his ruddy cheeks noticeably darkening as his moment in the spotlight was epically ruined.
By the way his forest green eyes were slightly bugging out, I could tell he was angry. No, furious.
Before he could retaliate, I stepped over his leg and went to my corner seat, knowing that I’d just made an enemy.
Well, a greater one.
Something told me that a guy like Blaze wouldn’t let anyone get away with insulting him, especially me.
Despite their reactions to my comeback, the other students swiftly returned to their food and conversations, leaving me to sit in my corner alone once more.
The seats beside and in front of me were empty, and no one tried to fill them.
They might have appreciated my comment, but none of them were lining up to make an alliance with me, that was for sure.
My eyes betrayed me and flicked toward Thorne and his friends. They were still standing near the doorway, but none of their gazes were on me, thank the ancestors. They were staring at someone, though, intensely enough that I couldn’t help but follow their line of vision.
When it landed on Blaze, the bite of bagel I was about to swallow got stuck in my throat. The hulking brute was staring right at me, and as our eyes met, I saw something dark in his expression. A threat. A promise.
You’re mine, the look practically hissed.
I forced myself to hold his gaze a moment longer, adopting a bored expression even though my heart had started to race. Yeah, I was poking the bear, but I couldn’t back down now. Not when I’d already made a stand.
Ten years of hardcore training with my parents and grandmother had taught me that.
By showing my hand, I’d proven that I wasn’t a pushover.
But I’d also proven that I was a threat, that I wouldn’t back down without a fight.
And I’d most definitely picked a fight with the blond-haired hulk, one that he wouldn’t be backing down from either.
Stupid. I’d been so stupid to open my mouth.
This was going to end badly. I could feel it in my bones like a malignant tumor. He was no doubt powerful, hence why he was here, but I had no idea what subsect of warlock he was. The sooner I found out, the better I could prepare for what was to come.
Problem was, I doubted I’d be able to keep my darkness caged if he chose to attack. My emotions were too strong when it came to this idiot. What he’d done to me in that bathroom . . .
I couldn’t help but want revenge, and that was bad. Really, really bad.
Regret tightened my throat, and I forced the bite of bagel down before I could choke on it.
The last thing I needed was to make another scene by requiring the Heimlich Maneuver.
Not that anyone would give it to me. They’d probably like nothing more than to see me writhing on the dining hall floor in the throes of death.
I finally broke eye contact with Blaze as if dismissing him, then stupidly snuck another glance at Thorne in time to see him whisper in the ear of another male student. The warlock scribbled something on a small pad of paper with a serious nod.
Frowning, I continued to watch them. They were standing at the fancy third year table now, talking low enough that I had no hope of overhearing them.
As a server bustled toward their corner, Riku slid a hand palm down across the table.
The male student deftly plucked up whatever had been under Riku’s hand, read it, then smoothly tucked it in his pocket.
Suspicion rattled in my gut, my frown deepening as I watched him do the same thing with Oz.
It was only when the male student moved down the table, repeating the process several more times with other third years, that I knew, just knew what he was up to.
Taking bets.
There was only one thing I could imagine the third years betting on, and that was whether or not Blaze would kill me.
Heat engulfed my face once more, but this time, it wasn’t from embarrassment. I was furious. How dare they so callously bet on my life like that. Did they do this with all the new first years trying to prove themselves or did that special honor only apply to me?
Too angry to see straight let alone think straight, I got up and left the dining hall before I could do something suicidal, like confront the bastards. I’d already dug a large enough grave for myself this morning. No need to speed along my demise even more.
Unlike yesterday, I was the very first student to arrive at the great hall for morning assembly.
I hadn’t received my class schedule yet, but I assumed we would get them during the assembly.
This wasn’t like a normal university where students’ chosen majors shaped the direction of their classes.
We were all gunning for the same thing, so we all had the exact same classes.
But since there were over one hundred students in the first year, they’d probably split us into groups.
Was it too much to hope that Blaze wouldn’t be in any of my classes?
Probably. With my luck, he’d be in all of them. And so would Alma.
Not wanting to make the same mistakes as yesterday, I decided to sit in the front row again despite how uncomfortable it made me.
Chancellor Grimshaw, Professor Holt, and the others were already on the stage busily talking amongst themselves.
Their mouths silently moved, so I assumed they’d cast a sound-blocking spell to discourage students from listening in.
Noticing me, a few of the professors gestured my way.
Not being able to hear what they said made me even more uncomfortable, especially when their expressions soured.
I didn’t need to hear them to know that my presence had an instant dampening effect on their moods.
Chancellor Grimshaw glanced my way, his creepy smile making a swift appearance before he answered the disgruntled professors.
How mortifying would it be if they’d heard the gossip about my walk of shame? And what if they thought I’d done it on purpose? I was pretty sure that indecent exposure was a punishable offense.
Professor Holt caught my eye and briefly paused to give me a reassuring smile. I was too nervous to smile back but was grateful for her attention all the same. Within minutes, students started pouring in, filling the great hall with noise.
I pretended not to see or hear them, keeping my focus on the stage. But it took all of my willpower, especially when I heard a warlock say loud enough for me to hear, “You really saw her naked?”
“Front and back. Her tits are smoking hot, and she has a blue butterfly tattooed between her shoulder blades. You really missed out, man.”
Pain lanced through my palms, and I glanced down to see that I’d gouged my nails through the skin. Blood welled in the cuts, and I quickly pressed my trembling hands together to stem the flow.
Breathe. Just breathe, I ordered myself, squeezing my eyes shut as fresh fury writhed through my insides.
It was getting harder and harder to ignore the vicious gossip, to pretend the words weren’t wreaking havoc on my psyche.
But I couldn’t afford to paint an even bigger target on my back.
Any reaction now would reveal just how upset this morning’s bathroom fiasco had made me, and an emotion like that would be like cannon fodder to these people.