I couldn't shake the feeling that they would leave a permanent mark on my soul, and for some reason, Idesperatelywanted to know their names.
“Hello?” Dreadful snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I jolted as I glanced at her. “Oh, shit. Are you covering up hickeys?”
My face flushed with heat. “What are you talking about?”
“Your thigh covering,” she stated with a scowl. “Maybe you’re more of a deviant than I thought.”
“Fates, n—” I went to deny that accusation quickly.
“Who really cares, though.” She rolled her eyes, picking up speed as she noticed the guys. “Oh, my Fates! Were you just eye-fucking Hemlock and Grimshaw?”
Hemlock and Grimshaw?
Surely those were their last names, but…it was a start.
My gaze darted to my ring.
It was black…but was it black because of the guys or because of Dreadful? Deep inmy heart, I knew the answer, but I didn’t know why that bothered me so much.
Shame slid through my veins like sludge. “I was just staring because I didn’t know them, and they’re…interesting.”
“You don’t know much about anything,” she teased, but there was thick judgment in her tone. “Interesting? Hemlock, the one with the drinking problem, is a disgrace to nobility. Like, seriously. He’s fucking worthless. Grimshaws are overpowered even without being nobility, and that one is an absolute freak that’s always high. Even his sister stopped hanging around him.”
“Why are you talking about them like that?” I stopped walking, and she stopped a few feet ahead, glaring back at me. “Do you even know them personally?”
“Do you?” she laughed, a manicured hand running through her hair. “If you want to mess around, I guess they could be a good fuck for you, but that’s it. You’re a legendary Gravesend.” She scrunched her nose. “They’d be lucky to dip their dicks in a noble pussy, after all. But you? They’d be fucking blessed.”
My stomach churned, and I felt like I was about to actually get sick.
What the Fates was her problem?
“I’m not interested in anyone but my fated,” I bit out.
My face felt like it was on fire from embarrassment and anger. I knew they could hear us if they wanted to, and nobody deserved to be talked about like that.
Another condescending giggle belted from my roommate. “You actually think you’ll meet your fated? Demons don’t always find our mates, and in the past decade, fated mate discoveries have been in the trenches. Besides, there’s no way you’ve been holding out for your fated. Get real, Gravesend.”
I hadn’t heard anything about the lack of discoveries, but she wouldn’t change my mind about waiting for my fated. I wanted a love story like the one I’d read so many times—a love story like Wren and her mates.
Pursing my lips, I said, “It’s not fair to judge them based on their families.”
I didn’t know why I cared so much, especially when I couldfeelHemlock and Grimshaw’s glare burrowing into me. But I didn’t like her disrespecting them. Maybe it was because I also grew up with a less-than-ideal mother. If Dreadful knew where I really came from, she would probably bully me relentlessly.
Throwing her head back, she chortled. “Oh, you’re funny. Meet me at eleven at the cafeteria on the top floor, ‘kay?”
She didn’t even wait for a reply as she turned and strutted into the building.
I couldn’t help but glance back at the guys. I was met with a red pair and a green pair of eyes glaring holes into me. Contempt literally spilled from them, and they were in full demon form. Hemlock’s horns and tail were a dark maroon, but they were stunning. His tail was forked. Grimshaw’s horns were a spiral of white and black, and his tail was black and forked.
They were furious, and I knew they’d been listening to Dreadful and me.
I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and checked to see if my ring was still black. It was. I forced myself to walk past them and into the building.
Dizziness swept through me as I numbly walked through a sea of other students and toward room 103 for Demon Basics with Respa.
I’d been so excited about classes, but after what had happened between Dreadful and Grimshaw and Hemlock, it put a damper on my mood. Still, this was much better than being trapped by my mother.
If I could survive that, I could survive this academy, right?
