He had tattoos.
I’d never noticed before under his full uniform, but with each roll of that white shirt, more of his colored ink came intoview. It wrapped around his wrists and spanned up to where the shirt cut off on his forearms. Belle cleared her throat andshifted in her chair until her mouth was right near my ear. “Excuse the fuck out of me? He has tatts too. Unfair. We shouldriot.”
I was too busy smacking my hormones down to respond, but rioting didn’t sound like the worst idea.
Logan ignored the girls fawning over him like the arrogant shit he was. “The amount of power it required to banish that creatureis more than most of you will ever know. But I’ll explain the process to you, nonetheless. Just don’t expect to survive anattack using this alone.”
With that uplifting pep talk behind us, Logan went on to demonstrate how he drew upon various energy sources to blast the creature into pieces. That was the first time I realized he hadn’t banished it, or reversed the spell used to create it, he’d simply injected enough power to literally disintegrate it.
“He’s genuinely terrifying,” Haley murmured, her voice wavering.
“Would still fuck him though,” Sara said casually, keeping her voice low. “He’s very fuckable.”
Belle scoffed. “Guys, come on. He might be evil. Get some standards.” I side-eyed her since she was constantly talking aboutme taking a roll in the old enemies-to-lovers trope.
Sara shrugged again. “I mean, I wouldn’t take him home to meet the family, but I feel like he’d destroy me for all other warlocks.I’m in a dry spell. I could use some destruction.”
All of us were single, Belle’s and Sara’s previous situationships had fizzled out. At least Haley and I weren’t alone in ourangst any longer. In some ways, college was exactly as I’d expected, but in others there was way less sex.
By the time the lecture was over, there wasn’t a single witch or warlock under the misconception that they could destroy thosemonsters. We walked out feeling slightly inadequate and entirely terrified of spellcasters. “I’ve got water studies by thelake,” Belle said when we reached the hall.
Sara nodded. “I’ve got air with Professor Damone.”
Haley hitched her bag higher. “Yeah, I’m going to be late for my daily stroll through the forest.”
“We’re doing fucking excellent at this sticking-together thing,” I said with a shake of my head.
Belle’s shrug was casual. “At least it’s the middle of the day and we’re surrounded by students. Meet you all for dinner?”
“See you then,” we chorused, and all of those with affinities and specialty classes took off, leaving me to figure out the rest of my afternoon.
A plan fell into place when I caught sight of a tall, dark-haired spellcaster in the hallway. He’d been held up by a few studentswho wanted to fawn over him, but he’d brushed them off and was out of there.
Hitching my bag on my shoulder, I tried not to act suspicious as I casually strolled through the crowds of students, followinghim. He left Writworth and headed into Ancot, and I let out a disappointed sigh when he entered the darker hallway of Nightrealm.Peeking through the curtains, because there was no way this would work if I didn’t take risks, I caught a glimpse of him placinghis palm on his door scanner, and jerked back before he could turn and see me there.
I couldn’t follow him into his room, so I spent a solid minute cursing at the ornate curtain, trying to decide what the Helto do now.
“Are you okay?”
I jumped a good foot, embarrassing myself completely. If the warlock behind me had been a monster, I’d be dead. Spinning,I lifted my gaze up and up. “Noah,” I bit out. “What the fuck are you doing?”
He showed no reaction to my rude response, just watched me in that calculating way. It took real effort, but I managed tohide how intimidated I felt around him. He was as scary as Logan, and considering he wasn’t a spellcaster... Maybe it washis sheer size. He was a beast of a warlock, with an unsettling energy.
I’d never even seen him talk to anyone except Logan.
And now me.
“I’m trying to get into my dorm,” he replied in a calm rumble. Unlike Logan, he had absolutely no accent, as if he’dbeen trained to conceal everything about his origin. “You’re staring at the curtains like they’re hiding a monster from you.” He peered through them. “Did you see another monster?”
For a crazy moment, I imagined a hint of concern in his voice. “No monster,” I said, easily. Not entirely true, but Loganwasn’t the sort of monster he was referring to. “Do you know anything about the monsters? Any ideawhomight be creating them?”
The slightest of smiles played at the corners of his lips, but it was gone just as fast. “I know as much as you, Paisley Hallistar.And it might be best if you don’t wander the halls alone, especially not in Nightrealm.”
It was hard to tell if that was a threat or concern for my safety. “Don’t worry, big guy.” I patted his hard chest, and heglanced down at my hand, as if unsure what the fuck I was doing. Snatching it back quickly, I cleared my throat. “I’ve gotno plans to get myself eaten by a monster. I’ll see you around.”
Forcing myself not to race away, I could feel his eyes on me all the way along Aura. I had no idea what to make of that oddencounter, but at least Logan hadn’t caught me, which meant my stalking plan was still in motion.
Chapter 26
