He scowled but still didn’t turn. “It’s the afternoon, actually.” His eyes went to the glass bottle that was placed in the corner of his desk, glad the other man couldn’t see the flicker of surprise on his face.
Pavel had been the one giving him the Doc & Bros drink?
Damn it.
Using the side of his right foot, Zane pushed the small black garbage bin from beneath his desk out. Then he tapped the drink off the table, giving no reaction when it dropped into the trash.
There were more gasps from the students and he clenched his jaw, lifting his gaze to glare at some of them. A few had the good sense to step back and at least pretend to turn their attention elsewhere, but not all of them.
Pavel sighed behind him, the type of sigh a parent might give their unruly child, but then set something else down where the drink had been.
Zane’s hand was already moving toward it, intending to give it the same fate as the drink, but when he saw it, he paused.
“I fished it out of the river for you,” Pavel explained.
His star dagger glittered in the bright early afternoon sunlight spilling in through the windows to his left. There wasn’t so much as a speck of dirt on it, even though considering where it’d spent the night, there should be.
When he’d stayed quiet too long, Pavel’s other hand wrapped around his throat, his thumb pressing beneath Zane’s jaw, forcing him to tip his head up. There was a glint of the same frenetic energy sparking behind Pavel’s dark eyes, and Zane sucked in a breath before he could help it.
“Aren’t you going to thank me?” Pavel asked, voice dripping with poisoned honey.
He bristled. “No.”
It was so tempting to argue with him, to be drawn into the banter, but all that would do was cause more rumors than this visit was already going to. Zane didn’t need that. He didn’twantit either. There was a reason for his reputation as calm and collected.
“Everyone is staring at us,” Pavel said then, dropping to a mock whisper.
With the hand still holding him in place, Zane’s eyes moved to take in the students once more. “They’re afraid of you.”
“Are they?” he didn’t sound convinced. “They’re always staring at you, Zane. But I’ll agree, it’s never quite like this. Why? You don’t get this attention when you’re with one of the other Retinue.”
Which meanthe’dpaid attention to Zane when he was with one of them.
“You’re making them nervous,” Zane reiterated, hoping the other man would finally get the hint. He wasn’t making it up; the energy in the room had shifted the second Pavel had placed his hand on Zane’s neck. “They’re not used to you being here. You’re not one of the other Retinue. Not to mention…”
Had the guy seen himself lately? He was dressed the same as the rest of them, in tight black jeans and a black button-up that signified his status as a senior, and there was even a leather messenger bag slung over his shoulder. But…
“Your eyes are glowing,” Zane finished, swallowing, knowing that Pavel could feel the motion beneath his hold.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen it, but it was rare. Pavel’s usually stormy, almost black eyes could light up a vibrant neon yellow color in the dark, and it happened sometimes in the sparring ring at Friction, the exclusive club the Devils of Vitality owned. He’d always been known for his control and quiet disposition, kind of like Zane, but with less tension.
Last night, however, he’d been anything but, and if the quickly brightening gleam of yellow was any indicator, he was losing his grip on that calm now as well.
“Are they?” Pavel was clearly lost in his own thoughts.
Zane swallowed again. “Let go. This is Vail.”
He quirked a brow. “So it would matter if this was somewhere else?”
Not bothering to dignify that was a response—because of course not—Zane glanced away.
Which was apparently a mistake.
He was hauled out of his chair so quickly, his mind barely processed what was going on until his back slammed into the window, head whacking back against one of the metal panes. He hissed at the pain, bracing himself for a fight.
Pavel grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged his head to the side, exposing his neck, giving Zane only enough time to plant his hands on his hips, intent to shove him away, before he attacked again.
This time with his teeth.
