“FromCats?” I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not sure rolling around on stage in a pair of leg warmers is going to improve either of our social positions. I was thinking about—”
“Morning, Meat,” a voice rasped in my ear.
A rich, silky voice caressed my ear, sending a shockwave through my body and an ache pooling between my thighs. I’d never heard a voice that hot before.
As the voice rumbled down my spine, a heady scent wrapped around my body, filling my head with all sorts of images. Rich incense smoking in a pagan temple, spices roasting over an open flame, opium curling from a long pipe, soft lips on mine, fingers like fire curling around my neck…
Ayaz.
My back stiffened. His scent… it was like being kissed by sin itself. I couldn’t describe how it blew up my senses, teasing me with temptations I didn’t even understand. That scent carried forbidden pleasure, but it also bore an edge – a knife blade that would draw blood as surely as it could draw ecstasy. Ayazhatedme. He couldn’t be standing behind me, his body pressed up against me, for any good reason.
My fingers curled around the edge of the table. Across from me, Loretta froze, her spoon halfway to her mouth. Greg and Andre looked down at their meals. The entire dining hall lapsed into silence, waiting to see what the King would do next.
“If you can’t afford to pay your own school fees, then you shouldn’t be eatingourfood. But don’t worry, I’ve got your breakfast right here,” Ayaz rasped. Before I could figure out what he was talking about, he dumped something on top of my plate and backed away.
My heart hammered in my chest. I peered down at my plate. A pile of brown sludge now sat on top of my bacon, emitting a fecal smell. Tiny white things crawled from inside it and over my bacon, rolling off the side of my plate and wriggling across the table.
Across the table, Loretta shoved her chair back and stumbled away.
Bile rose in my throat as I stared down at the heaving, wriggling mess. My ears rang. I knew everyone in the dining hall was laughing at me, but I couldn’t hear them over the roar of my own heart.
All I could do was watch, frozen and helpless, as a pile of maggots crawled from stinking shit to devour my breakfast.
Chapter Seven
“Fuck. Fuck!” Greg grabbed my arm and yanked me back from the table. “We’re leaving. Now.”
I could barely hear him over the ringing in my ears, the pounding of my heart in my chest. I tore my eyes away from the pile on my plate, but the maggots remained etched in my mind.Wriggling, squirming, twisting…
I let Greg drag me toward the exit. The ringing dulled, and the laughter rolled over me, shaking me inside and out. Students pounded their spoons against the tables. A chant started up, “You don’t belong, gutter whore. You don’t belong!”
In the corner, two teachers on duty had their heads bent together. They didn’t seem to have noticed the horror. As Greg yanked me out of the dining hall, my eyes fell on Ayaz. He was back sitting with the other monarchs, basking in the aftermath of this latest assault. His mouth was set in a cruel line, but his eyes…
He looked sad. Tragically, impossibly sad.
My whole body stiffened. I couldn’t understand it. What would a guy like that have to besadabout? And why would he have that look after he pulled off such a successful humiliation?
And worse, why do I care? Why do I want to know about the secrets behind those dark eyes? Why do I want to hear that silky voice tearing through my veins again, or yield to the temptation of that intoxicating scent…
“Fuck.” Greg jumped on the cobbles, frantically dusting off his jeans. “Can you see any on me?”
I shook my head, although I didn’t really look. Greg wiped down the front of my skirt and blazer, wincing the entire time.
“I think we’re both de-maggoted,” he said, his shoulders relaxing.
“Did you see him?” I whispered.
“Ayaz? Yes, I saw him dump a whole bowl of shit and maggots over your breakfast—”
“No, I mean, did you see his face? He looked upset.”
“He probably got a maggot on his shoe. Bastard!” Greg kicked the edge of the path. “That wassick. The monarchs haven’t done anything like this to me or Loretta or Andre. You must’ve really pissed them off. What did you do?”
A laugh escaped my throat. It rumbled in my stomach until it became a wild cackle. I doubled over, aware that I must look nuts, but I couldn’t stop. “What did I do? Fuck, I don’t know. I exist?”
“Are you… are you okay?” Greg looked at me with concern.
I gripped his shoulder as I finished my laugh with a gasp. I wiped tears from my eyes. “Oh, it’s been a while since I laughed like that. You should go into comedy, Greg. To answer you, I have no idea what I did. For all I know, Courtney’s put them all up to this because I ate Trey’s toast in front of her and she’s on some gluten-free diet and has a hard-on for anyone eating carbs in front of her. People like that don’t need a reason to torment people like us.”
