Kenzie gives me a relieved smile, and two goblets of wine appear in front of her. “Here.” She places one to the side of my plate. “That’ll do, Shade. That’ll do.” Her eyes sparkle, and I get the feeling she’s making some kind of joke, but I have no idea. Humans are so weird.
Thankfully, the other students aren’t as interested in me after that, and I’m glad to have their attention away from me.
“Don't worry,” Kenzie murmurs. “My first meal was even more boring. I started with toast.”
“Toast? Please tell me it at least had something good on it?”
She shrugs. “PB and J. It’s not for everyone, but I was homesick.”
Truthfully, I have no idea what that is, but then again, I still don't know a lot of things.
I turn to my chocolate bar, already drooling at the idea of eating it, but before I pick it up again, Kenzie shakes her head at me.
“What?”
“We can’t eat yet. We have to wait for them.” She tips her head to the professors.
My mouth drops open. “You can’t be serious?”
“When they finish, then we get to eat,” she explains. “You know, academy hierarchy and all that.”
I’m still in shock when Knox lifts a forkful of rice to his mouth and smirks as he eats it.
“Okay, but have youseenhow much food is on their table?” I pout. My stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly. “I should warn you, I get mean when I’m hangry.”
“Hangry?” She frowns.
“You know, hungry and angry at the same time. It’s a thing.” Okay, so I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m going with it.
“I’ll survive,” she replies, humor dancing in her eyes.
I rest my elbow on the table, and place my head on my palm, staring down the professors as they eat. I realize I’m probably being rude, but this is insane. We have to get to the dining hall before the professors only to watchthemeat first. I settle on the idea that it must be some psychological form of torture.
Time seems to crawl by, and I could be imagining it, but I could swear the professors are purposely eating slowly. Especially Knox. His dark eyes aren't staring straight at me, yetI swear I can feel his gaze on me as he lifts another forkful to his mouth and takes forever to chew.It’s official. I hate him.I glare at the man, determined to make him uncomfortable by watching his every mouthful. Problem is, at some point I stop thinking about what an ass he is, and instead, I start thinking of my chocolate bar. Melted. And me dripping it onto his chiseled abs… About me smearing it on him. Licking down to his…
My stomach growls again, and this time it’s so loud a few students look my way. I let out a small laugh, joking about being starving, but I’m no longer hungry for the chocolate bar. The next time I look at Knox he’s stopped chewing all together. His jaw is clenched so tight it looks uncomfortable, and even Galen, Raith, and Thane are looking my way.Oops.I’m left wondering whether these four shadow daddies can read minds. Wait. Would that mean the other professors could, too? No, they don’t look nearly as interested in me.
Clearing my throat, I look away, choosing to stare at the high, vaulted ceiling instead. Hidden near a structural beam, I finally spot Tarlaz and Elgen staring down at me. There are a few other shadows with them now. Two of the new shadows look like they’re playing some kind of jumping game, leaping over each other’s back in turn.At least they look like they’re having fun.
It feels like it takes forever for the professors to finish eating, but eventually Knox sets down his fork, and I let out the biggest sigh. “Oh finally!” Snatching up my chocolate bar, I shove half of it into my mouth. Digging my teeth in, I rip the bar, moaning loudly and closing my eyes as the taste of the soft, delicate jelly and chocolate comes alive on my tongue. It’s the best chocolate bar I’ve ever eaten, and I’m almost willing to forgive the professors for making me wait so long when Bonfang starts growling.
My eyes snap open, and I find Kenzie staring at me, horrified. That’s when I realize a few things. Firstly, I just said that outloud. Secondly, no one else is eating. And thirdly, everyone is staring at me again, especially four specific shadow daddy professors. Galen looks amused, Raith is grinning like an idiot, Thane looks a little disappointed, and Knox is…furious.
The ball of chocolate suddenly seems like a hard lump in my mouth, and I chew it faster, swallowing before it's really ready so it hurts my throat as it goes down.
“What’s going on?” I whisper to Kenzie.
“You're supposed to wait until we get the signal from the professors. You can’t eat until then,” she hisses back.
“But I waited!” I protest in disbelief. “They’d all finished eating.”
Kenzie gives me a sympathetic look, and I wince as Knox calls out my name and orders me to stand.
Climbing to my feet, I quickly wipe the crumbs from my face with my hand. All eyes remain glued to me.
“Tell us,” Knox says coldly, projecting his voice across the room, “why you feel entitled to eat before everyone else?”
Heat rushes to my cheeks.
