To be fair, Wells wasn’t an unattractive individual. He was a Diar, and they tended to be prime specimens worthy of physical praise. But that was where the compliments ended.
Maybe if Wells had gotten to him first, it would be different, but as it were, Zane didn’t like his curly dark hair or his hazel eyes. They reminded him too much of Lyra. Didn’t matter that one of them was a man and the other a woman, the features were enough to turn him off, which meant no amount of workouts in the gym or fancy thousand-dollar suits were going to be enough to change Zane’s mind.
Kudos to the guy for trying though.
“If you continue to threaten my grades like this, I’m going to be forced to involve Kelevra,” Zane warned, pulling out the card he usually hated to use. It was impossible to stay relevant if you had to constantly hide behind the person you were meant to protect. As a Retinue member, Zane’s job was to look out for Kel, not the other way around. But after months of rejections, it was clear the situation called for the extreme approach.
“I’m more your type than Lyra,” Wells pushed. “If you’d give me a chance, I know I could satisfy you. An older man is just what you need.”
What he needed was far away from this room.
Why was leaving and finding Pavel the first thing to come to mind when he thought about walking out? It’d been his choiceto put distance between them. He couldn’t be second-guessing himself already…
Could he?
Damn it.
This was all Pavel’s fault. All of it. The only reason Wells was coming on this strong was because he’d seen the way Zane reacted to the other Retinue member. All of the Diars were piranhas drawn to the first sign of blood in the water. After waiting mostly on the sidelines, Wells had sniffed out Zane’s hesitation toward Pavel and now he was coming in for the kill.
Too bad for him Zane had no intention of allowing another member of the Imperial family to lay hands on him.
He stood with a flourish, forcing the professor back to avoid whacking into him as he slipped around the chair and to the door. “It seems like we’re done discussing my assignment, Professor. I’ll leave you to the rest of your work.”
“Zane, hold on—”
He didn’t. He stepped into the hall and slammed the door shut at his back, keeping hold of the handle for a bit just in case the older man tried to follow. When there was no pull on it and it was clear he wasn’t going to, Zane exhaled and turned to leave, pausing when he noticed Berga standing off to the side watching him.
For a second he thought maybe it was actually Pavel playing a trick on him again, but the other Retinue member had been good at following the terms of their agreement, and it became apparent it was the real Butcher eyeing him after a quick search of his expression.
“Something I can do for you?” Zane asked, heading down the hall with Berga falling into step at his side.
“It’s funny how everyone jokes about you being this unobtainable god amongst the students,” Berga stated, unaffected when Zane glared at him.
“It’s a prince title,” he corrected, “not a god. And I’m not the only person who has one.” There were at least five others on campus who’d been given them as well, like Rabbit Trace, the Prince of Music who also happened to be dating Baikal Void.
“It’s funny,” Berga continued as though he hadn’t spoken, “until it isn’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I think you know.”
“Humor me.” Because Zane was lost. When it came to the Butcher, he could honestly be talking about anything.
“I just find it ironic that someone who wants to be wanted so badly always ends up drawing the attention of those he’d rather avoid. Perhaps you should be more specific with your wishes.” Berga turned to him. “Are you no longer experimenting with Pavel?”
Zane opened his mouth, but before he could respond, another voice cut across the hall.
“Are we talking about Pavel?” Flix, another member of the Satellite appeared with a redhead by his side. “I’m looking for him actually. Know where he’s at?”
“Why?” Zane slipped a hand into his front pocket and demanded he keep his composure.
“He offered to give me a few art lessons,” the redhead, who Zane recognized as Flix’s boyfriend Aneski, explained.
“Art lessons?” He frowned. “Aren’t you a student at Guest Fine Arts Academy?”
“Yeah, but I’m a sculptor, and everyone knows Pavel is the number one art student here at Vail.”
“He…is?” That was news to Zane.
