The tension between us crackled like static,my magic buzzing all around us both, but hers was nowhere to be found. We were a collision of two worlds, nobility and low-class.
“No. You might not be drunk, but you’re still a bastard.” Her words were like a knife in the fucking gut. “Now, take your hands off me.”
I released her abruptly, a sarcastic apology tumbling from my lips with the bitter taste of my pride being wounded by heragain. “I’m so fucking sorry for tainting you with mylow-class, bastard demon germs.”
With that, I turned on my heel and stormed away, leaving the chaos of swirling books and a stunned Gravesend in my wake.
30
PANDORA
Isat on the edge of my bed, fingers tracing the softness of the blanket that lay crumpled in my lap. My silky hair formed a curtain around me. Even in my dorm, I didn’t feelsafe.Not after that nightmare. I was a soul eater, and I knew I shouldn’t be uneasy all of the time—but I was. Maybe it was something I should’ve talked to Hunter about, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. Maybe it was some freak accident?
But there was so much malice in her eyes. I wouldn’t forget her face if I saw her, but I hadn’t seen her since the nightmare.
The desert sky outside my window was ablaze with fiery hues of a sunset I used to only be able to dream of. The life that I lived now was a life I could’ve only dreamed of. It was surreal.
Hunter and I had our counseling sessionsevery Tuesday and Thursday, and there was a wall between us that hadn’t been there until the day he sat next to me on his sofa and touched my shoulder. It was alienating, and I didn’t like it. It was as if my soul rebelled inside of me every time he tried to put distance between us. I didn’t understand. He had said he wanted to be friends, but lately, I felt like I was just a job to him.
I hadn't spoken to Hemlock since that day at the library when his anger had exploded after I had interrupted him and his brother. I could still feel the weight of his eyes on me in classes and on campus, though. There was an unspoken war between us now, and I saw him as nothing more than my enemy. When he was sober that day, there was a hint of something withdepthin his eyes, but he masked it as soon as I saw it.
My thoughts drifted to Skel. He was an enigma wrapped in the fae smoke that he exhaled. He got me high that night, a moment of escapism for me that felt like a betrayal to my desire for stability. I hadn't spoken to him since, but the memory of his green eyes was both a torment and a temptation. Several times, I had debated going to the common area in the middle of the night to see if he was there.
Then there was Dex, the shadow that haunted my nightmares, literally. His mere presence sent me into a panicked flight, echoes of my mother’sshadows in his. I knew I was running from more than just him; I was running from Mother’s memory.
But Reed was the one I had become the closest with. Sweet, dream-walking Reed, who hadnotpulled me into his dreamscape again. I missed him, and I missed the solace that his presence had brought me inside of his dreamscape, however fleeting that night might have been.
My musings were shattered by the sound of the door swinging open. Dreadful sauntered in, a vision of confidence and bliss in contrast to my self-imposed isolation. She tiptoed over to my side of the room and extended a cute cheetah-print bikini to me.
“I bought this for you,” she announced, her voice sugary with that false sweetness I had become accustomed to. “As a peace offering. I want us to be friends again. I'm sorry for being a bitch.”
I eyed the bikini warily, my instincts screaming that something was definitely up. My ring turned black at Dreadful's approach – a clear sign of her intent. She and I hadn’t really talked at all since our last interaction after my nightmare. But curiosity clawed at me, and I was bored and lonely just staying in my dorm all the time, so…
That was how I ended up walking to OdysseyBluff with Dreadful, wearing our bikinis. I wore a swimsuit cover over mine, and I excused myself to the bathroom to put a waterproof dressing on my thigh.
The desert gave way to a rocky cliffside that overlooked a lake so clear I could see all of the colorful glass-like rocks at the bottom. A rickety bridge spanned the cliff, leading to a sandy beach that we walked upon.
“Woah,” I blurted, glancing at Dreadful for only a moment before turning my attention back to the beauty of nature. “This is amazing. I’ve seen it from afar, but this is my first time being so close to it.”
The scent of fresh water mingled with the earthy aroma of sand and stone, but it was a different kind of sand and stone than the cellar I rotted in. The laughter of the group of nobles Dreadful hung out with felt like a physical touch, but it was one where I wasn't sure I was actually welcomed.
Voidfire, the fear demon Dreadful was close with, was there with a few other demons I recognized. Nightwind was there, too.
Dreadful, true to her stupid namesake, smiled a pretty and deadly grin at me that gave me chills all over my body. “Why did you wear that stupid wrap around your thigh? You know this is supposed to be fun.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely giving you attention,” Voidfire murmured cheekily, tossing her short red hair with a dramatic flip.
“That’s obviously not something I want,” I rasped, crossing my arms. My bag brushed against my hip, secured on my shoulder.
“Dude, your voice sounds like, really weird,” another girl giggled, and they all laughed.
“Did you suck too much dick?” Voidfire asked, her brown eyes in slits as she glared at me.
“Voidfire,” Dreadful hissed, rolling her eyes.
“What? I only meant that sometimes my throat gets hoarse if I do it too much.” Voidfire’s cheeks reddened.
I didn’t understand what I had done to make her hate me or the rest of them, but that’s fine. I had been through so much worse than they could give me.
