Pointed horns stick from the sides of his bald head, and his sneer splits wider than it should across the exposed sinews of his cheeks, revealing a cavern of sharp teeth.
Yikes.
And his bare, blue chest isn’t helping. Neither are the scales and spikes rising from his shoulders. Is that armor, or is that actually part of his body!?
He’s got gauntlets over his arms, a thick belt, and a scaled sort of skirt. But other than that, he’s naked. And not in a hot way.
He’s like something straight out of a nightmare. Or a horror movie. Or maybe—
“Your kind?” you hiss at Mysterious Hot Guy. “Are you analien?”
He laughs dryly, stepping in front of you in the low blue light.
“I’ve been called a lot of things, but never that.” He glances back with a frown. “And what happened to staying put?”
“If I’m going to die, I don’t want it to be in a bathroom stall!”
“You’renotgoing to die,” he says flatly, and there’s something strangely comforting about his confidence. Even if he also sounds a bit annoyed. “But it’s hard to protect you if you won’t follow orders.”
“Don’t be so certain,” your ex-date says. “You may have evaded me before, butthis timeI’ve got you trapped.”
In front of you, Hot Book Guy lets out a low growl.
“It’s been a long time,Vincentius. And I can’t say I missed your ugly face.”
A bolt of blue light flashes out from Vincentius’s hand, and hot Book Guy shoves you back just in time as the bolt sizzles with a scorchingboominto the floor right where you were standing moments before.
“It’s me you’re after,” Hot Guy growls, crouching in front of you as you cower, horrified against the sinks. “Soleave her out of this.”
“On the contrary,” your ex-date laughs. “I’ve got reason to believe your little sorceress might bequite useful. So once I’ve killed you, I’ll be taking her for myself.”
Hot Book Guy growls again.
Golden light spirals around him as he stands, and the cuff on your wrist grows warm. “Alright,” he says, cracking his knuckles. With a glance your way, he says, “You might want to stand back.”
11
Falling for the Hot Guy
You
Of course you’re not just going to stand there while Mr. Hot Book Guy fights. You’re going to help him!
…Whether he wants that help or not.
Hot Book Guy holds his palms out facing each other and a gust of sudden wind rises from his hands, rushing around the room.
“It’s time to teach you a lesson,” he growls, advancing on Vincentius, holding his palms out and thrusting a blast of wind at him, knocking him back.
Woah. Cool! Hot book dude has wind skills!?
The cuff on your wrist glows in response, growing warmer with each passing second, like his magic use affects it. You rub the warm metal, wondering what will happen if he uses too much.
Is it going to burn you?
Hopefully not.
Big Blue stumbles backward through the dark doorway as restaurant-goers scream behind him, running for the stairs.
