27. Ivory
You can spot this one—Orion the Hunter.
He’s one of the brightest constellations this time of year, or at least his belt is pretty clear. Look southwest for three big stars in a line.
On dark nights, you can even see a blob underneath. That’s the Orion Nebula, the closest active star formation area to our universe.
Sir Adrian
Looking for a heavenly belt, are we? Is that a hint?
Maybe. I’ve heard it can make a girl see stars.
FYI, my belt can do the same thing.
Okay, I think I found it.
She smiled as she reread their conversation from last night, especially Adrian’s response.
Almost every other day this week, she’d fallen asleep talking to him—and, as a consequence, had overslept this morning and nearly been late for the first lecture. Now that class was over, she sent him a quick message but knew he wouldn’t reply immediately.
Turned out that telling him about her schedule meant he wouldn’t distract her during Avril’s study group. It had been helpful to meet up with them twice a week, and some of them even took the same courses and could explain things much simpler than the textbook. Unfortunately, today, her mind was somewhere else.
Adrian had officially gone six days without smoking. With each new day, she grew more concerned about an impending crash. Quitting wouldn’t be as easy as he made it seem, and she wouldn’t let him do it all alone. If nothing else, she’d show up at his door this weekend armed with a plate of cookies.
But for now, she stuffed her phone into her coat pocket and geared up to brave a blizzard. Unlike grade school, college didn’t offer leniency for inconvenient weather, and an inch of snow had accumulated so far this morning, with more on the way. Pulling out her gloves, she shuffled out of the lecture hall, took a shortcut behind the main buildings, and headed for the library. She missed the days when Nia and the others would study together at the dorms.
Thick, wet flakes stuck to her forehead, and streaks of purple hair whipped past her nose as she bowed her head to avoid the worst of the wind. Why did the biggest storms always hit right before spring—as if winter wanted to leave one last impression before releasing its iron grip? Trails of slush replaced the sidewalks, filled with imprints of boots that would freeze by nightfall.
The library finally came into view as she turned the corner. Curling her fingers, she puffed out a breath and quickened her pace. Then something—someone—grabbed her arm and yanked to the side.
Her back slammed against a brick wall, and the textbooks in her backpack dug into her spine. For a split second, her body refused to function, lungs frozen mid-breath as she tried to process what happened.
Jace’s repulsive face came into focus, and the trance shattered. She wrenched her arm back, only for his fingers to dig in deeper. Fear rippled through her.
“Chill out, Ivory,” he chided, a lazy smirk curling his lips from under a dark hoodie. He kept a jovial tone to sound friendly, but the glare from his black eyes told her he hadn’t come to play. He wasn’t going to just mess around this time. Something felt off—he had hurt her on purpose.
A half-healed cut above his eyebrow gave his face a sinister look, hair still shaved into the shape of a dragon. When he smiled, she noticed one of his front teeth had been chipped.
“Leave me alone,” she hissed, wiping the hair out of her face as the wind whipped it right back.
“Let her go, Jay.”
Ivory snapped her eyes over his shoulder to see Serena, a sympathetic look on her face as she shivered from inside a fur-lined jacket. “It’s not like she’s gonna run.”
Jace seemed to agree, scoffing before he let go and crowded her against the wall. As he withdrew his hand, scars similar to the ones Adrian had crisscrossed his knuckles, the skin cracked and red from what must have been a recent fight. The imprint from his fingers throbbed, and she rubbed her arm furiously to get rid of his touch.
“Why’d you do it?” Jace asked, drawing her attention and pinning her with a cold-as-steel gaze.
“Do what?” She glanced over to Serena, pleading for help. Snow began to settle in a layer over her clothes, and she shivered down to her toes.
“Send your new boyfriend after us,” Serena clarified.
“What?” Ivory asked. Surely they didn’t mean Adrian, why would he—
“Don’t play dumb.” Serena stepped forward. “I know you and Nia have a vendetta against Jewelle, but sending Adrian to torment her cousin won’t change the past with Caspian.”
Was she talking about last semester? Hadn’t that all been settled? Adrian would have told her if something new came up, wouldn’t he? Ivory pressed herself into the wall, wishing she could disappear.
“I don’t know anything,” she said, glancing around. Most other students kept their heads straight due to the storm, unable to hear or see what was happening.
Serena clicked her tongue. “Well then. Maybe they left you out of it after all. I knew all along Nia coerced you into standing up for her.”
“Nia and Caspian aren’t out to harm anyone,” Ivory insisted. “Despite confronting Jewelle, they don’t want more drama, and neither do I.”
“I couldn’t care less what they want,” Serena sneered. “But I’m just as capable of standing up for my man as Nia is.”
“I’m sure Adrian got the message loud and clear when I left him bleeding out in the snow,” Jace gloated with a smirk. “But you better tell your friends to back off.”
Time froze. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. When did—how long ago had Adrian been—oh no, was he still out there? Balling her fists, she choked down a sob and forced it to stay lodged in her throat. Jace didn’t get to see her weakness.
But despite her restraint, his eyes tore into her, and his smirk grew as he saw behind her fa?ade. Leaning forward, he whispered, “And if it happens again, I’ll tell Serena just how much of a friend you and I were. I’m sure she’d love to know what you did behind her back.”
No. No, he wouldn’t—
Bile rose at the memory. The one night between them happened long before Serena even wanted to get with him. They’d hardly met…
Serena’s eyes shifted between them, and Jace leaned away. “Nice hair, by the way,” he said, putting an arm around Serena. “You’re welcome to show it off at Beta Rho, and we can teach you how good girls are supposed to behave.”
Hot, searing anger melted the icicle of fear lodged in her chest. Of all people, he didn’t get to use those words. Especially not with her. “I said leave me alone ,” she repeated, raising her voice and stepping closer to the main path.
Jace laughed, holding Serena close when she tried to turn away. “Actually, I think I like you better this way. A little feisty, like an adorable kitten with miniature claws.”
“ Fuck off,” she shouted. His jaw clenched before she spun, putting as much distance between them as she could.
The exclamation caught the attention of a group of students heading into the library, and they all stopped to stare in her direction. She shrunk under their gaze, hating how vulnerable Jace made her feel.
A familiar brunette in a beanie separated from the rest and walked over. “Woah, are you okay?” Avril asked. “Was that Jace and Serena?”
“Yeah,” Ivory replied numbly, rubbing her arms. She couldn’t feel the cold anymore. Couldn’t feel anything but Jace’s eyes lingering on her back.
“It looked like he was harassing you. Should I call campus police?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“No—he was, but I’m sure he’ll be gone by the time they get here.” She hoped he had left already but wouldn’t let herself look. Her fingers were trembling, curled into tight balls as her nails dug into her palms.
“Seriously, I don’t know what Serena sees in him,” Avril muttered as she started towards the library. “And it’s freezing out here. Why would they want to talk outside like that?”
“Actually,” Ivory mumbled, hesitating as Avril opened the door. “I have something else to do right now. I don’t think I’ll make it to the study session.” Her chest constricted as if Jace physically reached out and hit her.
He’d certainly wanted to.
“I’ll have to skip out on this one if you don’t mind,” she finished.
“Sure, no pressure.” Avril looked her over with concern. “You take care of yourself. We’ll see you next week.”
“Thanks. See you then,” Ivory put on her best smile and hoped it would put everyone else at ease. Avril didn’t look convinced but stepped into the library with a final wave.
Ivory turned and walked the opposite way, sucking in a deep breath of ice-cold air. But soon the smile faded and tears resurfaced, hot and sticky on her cheeks. Her vision blurred with every step, the wind snapping at her face as she blindly navigated away from the crowds.
How pathetic. Jace was a jerk, the lowest of low. Yet he’d still gotten to her. He’d gotten to Adrian.
Little shudders from her chest grew into uneven gasps, and once she was alone, the brave exterior crumbled. She bent over and braced her hands on her knees, hating Jace and hating how he’d treated her like he could do whatever he wanted because she’d let him. Because he thought she was weak.
Maybe he was right. She certainly didn’t feel strong.
His words replayed over and over, reminders of that awful night like a dark stain in her memory. And worse, the image of Adrian’s blood seeping into the snow.
Nia and Caspian would never go out of their way to start trouble, and even if they did, they wouldn’t send Adrian on their behalf. This only made sense if Jace made up a story to tell Serena, and his real goal had been to prove he could get anything he wanted—even her.
She ripped off her gloves and fumbled in her pocket for her phone, needing to see if Adrian had tried to contact her.
No notifications.
She hiccupped, fingers shaking as she navigated to his number. If she could only hear his voice. Just one word. Even if something bad had happened, she’d know it would all be okay if he picked up the phone.
The moment she dialed, the phone shut off. Her fist nearly crushed the useless device. Now was not the time for this! She pressed the power button harder, and the charge symbol appeared. The cold must have drained her battery.
Great. Flipping fantastic.
She swallowed, unable to break the lump in her throat. Then again, she had no reason to panic. The story could’ve been made up to scare her. Adrian wouldn’t go down without a fight. Jace couldn’t have beat him up and walked away with only a chipped tooth and some scratches…right?
Wrong. Jace would never fight fair, and Serena might be easily swayed, but she wasn’t a straight-up liar.
She needed to see him. Now.
Where was he? Work? Class? She couldn’t remember his schedule. What if he ended up in the hospital? She wiped her eyes and stood up straight. Glancing around, she spun in a circle as a pit formed in her gut. Nothing looked familiar.
Snow blew in every direction. Tall buildings in the distance became barely distinguishable, and a flat patch of land sprawled just ahead. Everything looked white except for a menacing iron gate that enclosed whatever was across the street.
Freezing and lost—what could she really do like this? She couldn’t help anyone. There was no point in pretending she could make a difference. Something terrible had happened, and it was all her fault.
Her heart fell and then shattered into a million bleeding shards. If Adrian had been hurt, he wouldn’t want to talk to her.
The storm blew her sideways with snow and ice, but she couldn’t go back. She forced her legs to move, carrying her away from where she’d come. Away from her comfy dorm, away from the threat of Jace, and away from everyone she’d only disappoint in the end.