“You’re so cliché.” Levi cut in, leaning nonchalantly against a nearby tree with his friend Cillian, both lurking in the shadows.
“Shut up. He’s talking about me,” retorted Kay, who was busy filming Sylas’s speech with one hand over his heart and lounging on the entire blanket. “My boy got assigned to speak at the graduation ceremony. You’re just jealous.”
Beside him, Miguel was eating most of Yasmine’s strawberries while she focused on crafting a flower crown.
“Dalia!” Sylas waved, causing every eye to shift toward me, except for Cillian’s, who seemed fixated on Yas from the sidelines, as if he was allergic to spring.
My best friend dropped her half-finished crown onto the ground, and I rushed over to her, shouting, “I did it!”
“We know!” She clasped her hands while Miguel protectively cradled the strawberries in his arms. “I’m so proud of you.”
At this moment, Tara approached the blanket, her volleyball cradled under her arm.
Sylas turned to her, a smirk playing on his lips. “Do you know what this means? Unifiers just took first place in the House Cup!”
As subtle as ever, Tara responded by tossing the ball onto his shoulder. “The year is not over.”
Sylas’s grin deepened as he glanced at Levi. “At least you’re not last.”
We all turned to Levi, who couldn’t appear more disinterested with hands tucked in his pocket and shoulders shrugging.
“Our leader didn’t make an effort,” Kay complained, rolling one of his silver rings while Sylas took a seat next to him, draping his arm around his neck. “Are we really going to graduate fromPantheon in last place? After spending two years at the top spot!”
Levi frowned, lurching away from the tree. “Seriously? It’s my fault we’re last?”
Kay and Cillian chimed in simultaneously, “Yes.”
“Well, most likely it’s Dalia’s fault,” Kay added, winking at me. “If you hadn’t made him work for it for months, he’d have put his energy to better use and—”
Levi interrupted the banter with a decisive step forward, his hand closing on mine. He urged me to follow him with a tilt of his head, drawing us aside a few paces for more intimacy. We halted by the courtyard gothic alcoves next to overgrown bushes of dark red dahlias.
I found myself pinned against the wall, his hand firmly planted beside me.
“Congratulations.” His hoarse voice grazed my cheek. “The Cigno Nero and you are a match made in hell. I had goose bumps on my skin.”
Rising onto my tiptoes, I met his gaze, my fingertips brushing against his chest.
“We’re soulmates,” I said, giving him the answer I’d been seeking yesterday in my dorm. “Now are you going to kiss me or—”
His hand cupped the back of my nape, drawing me urgently to him. He probed my mouth open and branded his lips against mine. He sucked the gloss on my lower lip, tugging on it slightly. I’d been craving him for so long, every fiber in me was yearning for his touch, his taste, his feel.
“It was about time!” Kay’s laughter burst forth in a loud shout.
We pivoted, finding Levi’s friends leaning over the courtyard alcoves beside us.
“Seriously?” Levi deadpanned, his stare cutting through their smirks like a knife. “Don’t you guys have a life?”
“Did he tell you he bought a creepy haunted dollhouse as a manor on Pantheon Island?” Cillian said, unsmiling and unblinking.
“What? How did you find out before me?” Kay’s arms crossed over his chest, his glare fixed on Cillian as he shrugged. “I feel betrayed!”
“It’s not haunted,” Levi retorted, then turned his back on them to face me. “Sorry, those assholes ruined one of my surprises.”
“You’re cute.” I smiled, the butterflies in my belly definitely fluttering. He’d bought a house so he’d be near me next year.
“Cute? Is she blind or something?” Kay chuckled. “I’m sorry, but Levi isn’t cute.”
“Is anyone going to listen to my speech or…?” Sylas said, hands on his hips.
