Then I remembered that Hunter had gifted me an infinitely cold water bottle.
“It’s just hard for me to be considerate,” she admitted, frowning. “I’ve always had everything I wanted, and I’ve been told many times how important nobility and purebred demons are my entire life. I don’t have to respect anyone else’s boundaries except my parents’, but I realize that I may have crossed a line last night.”
“May have?” I placed the bottle she’d given me on my nightstand before digging through mybag and pulling out the one Hunter gave me. “You did.”
“Yeah…I did,” she admitted again. “I’m…sorry,” she choked out the last word, expression twisting like it actually pained her to say it.
Life was too short to hold grudges. I’d read that once.
“You’re forgiven.” I brought my bottle to my lips and felt the cold liquid pour down my throat. The scratchy and achy pain dissolved as the water went down, and if it hadn’t been enchanted, I knew I would’ve drank the entire thing. “But don’t ever touch Nebula again, or else I won’t be able to control my reaction.”
“Right.” She stared at the bottle in my hand. “Where’d you get something like that? It’s enchanted, isn’t it?”
“Hunter got it for me, and yeah, it is.” I placed the crystal lid over the bottle and put it back in my bag.
“Hunter Darkmore?”
I nodded.
She inhaled sharply before turning and going back to her routine of getting ready for the day. “Why is Darkmore getting you gifts? Are you fucking him?”
I flinched as I moved over to rummage through my clothes. “Hunter’s nice. He justnoticed that I liked cold water.” My heart swelled with warmth. “He’s really kind.”
She groaned. “Your counselor really goes above and beyond, huh? I wish Ravencliff would do that. What do you talk about in your sessions? Ravencliff just lets me gossip about everything. I think she’s as interested in societal fuck ups as I am, you know?”
I made a little noise of acknowledgment before I answered her question. “We talk about life before.”
“Before what?” She scrunched her nose up as she pulled on a pink strappy dress. “Your clothes are too cute, and I’m trying really hard to respect the boundary of not just wearing your clothes.”
“Before I killed Mother and Daryl found me,” I stated simply and honestly as I picked out a satin cream blouse with subtle ruffles on the sleeves and a black a-line skirt that hit at the knee. I’d still have to wear a wrap, though. Just in case.
I kept the wrap on last night because I didn’t want Dreadful to come back and catch a glimpse of my scars. I would make sure to constantly wear it now since I found out how she was. Since we lived together, she had plenty of opportunities to see me without it. The wrap on its own caused gossip and rumors to circulate. I didn’t want to think about what the scars themselves would make the other demons think.
“Youkilledyour mom?” she exclaimed, whirling around to gape at me.
“Mother wasn’t…nice.” I set out the clothes on the bed and grabbed some new dressing before sitting on the edge. Wasn’t nice was the grossest understatement of the century.
Dreadful slowly moved over to me with a fake, concerned smile that sent chills down my spine. “Oh my. So you weren’t just hidden away from high society until now?”
Furrowing my brows, I shook my head. When had I ever suggested that to be the case? Then again, nobody ever asked and instead just had preconceived assumptions about me. I figured it wasn’t worth the headache.
“You’re only a charity case. A noble charity case.”She hummed, tapping her finger against her glossy lips. “I didn’t think that existed. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course. You’re still nobility by birthright. Halfway.”
Glancing down, I noticed that my ring was still black. “My father is still Daryl.”
She blinked her long eyelashes at me. “Absolutely. I’m going to head to class.” She plastered a smile on her lips before heading out the door without much of a glance back. “See you there!”
“Fates.” I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh. It probably wasn’t the best idea to tell herabout where I’d come from, but at least she didn’t know any of the gruesome details.
It wasn’t a secret, but I had a feeling that not being a purebred noble would come to alter her perception of me, not that I really cared one way or the other.
Golden rays of the morning sun crept through the window, casting a soft hue over the room as I pushed to my feet and made sure the door was locked.
I discarded the clothes I’d slept in and changed my underwear, wishing the dorms had connected bathrooms to the rooms themselves instead of the communal ones we had. I’d read that most academies for adult supernaturals had their own bathrooms, but not this one. It was disappointing. I had been taking my showers during the night since I didn’t want anyone to see my scars.
I slipped the skirt on, the thick fabric gliding over my skin, and I pulled on the blouse, buttoning the pearlized buttons until each one was in place. The ruffled sleeves fell just below my elbows.
I paused, glancing at Nebula’s skull. He was still asleep.
