The only guarantee I had was right now. Asher and I were making up for lost time. The year of purple had more downs than ups, but ending like this … almost made up for the rest.
49
“Bitch, you owe me,” Ilia said, hands on her hips as she stared me down.
I wrinkled my nose at her. “Come on, aren’t you going to give that a rest? You’ve already taken my breakfast, my favorite shifter romance book, and made me go shopping with you twice. How long will I owe you for?”
She continued staring me down, and I was supe enough to admit it … she was intimidating. “You’re going to owe me until I tell you different. You’ve sacrificed yourself twice now to save the rest of us. That’s not okay with me.”
I grimaced. I probably deserved her punishments, because she’d been a hysterical mess wondering if she’d ever see me again. They all had been. The only good thing to come from all of that was that Calen and Ilia were solid as heck now. In moments of comforting each other, they’d decided to have a real shot at a relationship, and I was so fucking excited for her.
“You know Josh had his baby,” she said conversationally, and she didn’t even seem upset by it. “A little boy. He’s going to try and work it out with the mother. He wants to be in his son’s life.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Sorry, girl.”
She shrugged against me, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s okay. Calen means more to me anyway. I think the only thing with Josh is the regret I feel at how it all ended. Otherwise, I’m happy it worked out this way.”
I sighed as I released her. “Yep, fate has an interesting way of working the world.” Speaking of. “There’s no way fate would want me to wear this dress, and no amount of guilt is going to force me into it.”
Ilia stared me down and I swallowed hard.
“Ah, fuck. Okay. Whatever.” If it made her happy, then I would do it. She was right, I really did owe her.
I slipped on the purple number that was loosely masquerading as a dress. It was mostly a few strips of material all clipped together with large gold brooches. Lots of my skin was on show, and Ilia clapped her hands in excitement. “You look smokin’ hot, bitch.”
She’d been calling me bitch a lot, but I was still pretty sure she still loved me. “I can’t believe this is the last dance of the year,” I said softly, fluffing up my curls. “Year two is over … how did that happen? Feels like I was barely here.”
Ilia joined me in front of the mirror. “Uh, maybe because you skipped half of it being an Atlantean god and saving the world?”
I snorted, but I couldn’t exactly argue.
Ilia winked then, looking all kinds of amused. “And somehow … despite deaths and mourning and gods almost killing us all, you still managed to top multiple classes.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, and considering I almost missed the end of year exams…”
We’d just made it back in time—Asher and I had to study our asses off, but we’d made it to every exam, and I’d marveled at how easy school was now compared to last year. Being a demigod supe definitely had its advantages.
“One of the professors suggested I should graduate early,” I said softly. I hadn’t told anyone else that. “He said I already had the skills to finish up next year.” I was seriously considering it. Most of my friends and family were a year ahead of me, so that meant next year was our last all together. Unless I finished early.
Ilia stopped primping. “What did you say?”
A snort escaped. “Right now, I have no idea what next month will bring, let alone next year. Sonaris assured me the gods would not remain in the Underworld indefinitely, and I figure I might be dead before graduation, so I’m just going to worry about today.”
Ilia threw back her head and laughed. “Right old ray of sunshine, aren’t you, girl.”
I gave her a gentle shove but didn’t argue. I was a little dark and dreary these days.
“Come on, we should get going,” I said, pushing the bad shit aside. “They’ll be waiting for us.”
I opened the door and almost screamed. Asher and Calen were standing right in the doorway.
“Fuck,” Asher breathed.
“Double fuck,” Calen repeated.
My heart was beating so hard in my chest as I took Asher in. He was dressed in worn jeans that hugged his muscled thighs, white high tops, and a black shirt that lovingly fitted to his body like a second skin. His dark hair fell over his forehead, the gold and silver in it brighter than ever. His eyes were my favorite sea-green and they were filled with heat.
Asher snagged an arm around me, pulling me firmly against his body. “I probably shouldn’t let you out of the room,” he murmured into my mouth. “You look so unbelievably sexy.”
