“You better,” I murmured, leaning in and kissing his lips.
“It’s not fair that Reed and I don’t have the same class as you,” Dex pouted.
“It sucks,” Reed muttered in agreement.
“We can watch in the shadows,” Dex whispered to him.
Reed nodded his head. “Yeah, we can skip our class.”
“No, you can’t.” Hunter glared at them. “Both of you, go to your class.”
“Do you really want her to be alone, though?” Dex clacked his tongue ring on his teeth again. “Surely not.”
“She won’t be,” Skel chuckled. “Bram and I will be with her.”
“And me,” Jenni added with a grin. “You’ll be just fine to go to your own classes.”
Both Dex and Reed sighed in disappointment.
“Oh, you two will see me after.” I slid off Hunter’s lap and walked over to Dex and Reed, kissing them both on their lips before straightening. “Go to class. Okay?”
They frowned and shared a side-eye that told me they might go to their class for a moment but would definitely skulk in the shadows of our class instead.
“Were you two hanging out for lunch?” Hunter asked Joel as he gestured between him and Jenni. “Where’s Death?”
“Daryl’s busy with council work.” Jenni pouted. “But he joined us for a quick lemonade before he had to get back to it.”
“I’m not very useful with council work until my powers come back...ifthey come back,” Joel whispered.
“They will,” I added softly. “Hold on to hope, okay?”
Joel’s sorrowful expression tilted up as he met my gaze. “Oh, I am! Honestly, I’m just grateful to still be alive. I’m not complaining!”
Jenni touched his arm. “It’s okay to be both grateful for your life and sad about your powers.”
Magic sparked back to his soul as she touched him, and I stretched that magic further toward the center. But Jenni let go of his arm, and his magic went back to the sidelines.
“You’re right,” Joel murmured. “Skip class and hang out with me instead?”
Jenni giggled. “Daryl would kill me if I skipped!”
“As your counselor, I’d advise you to go to your class.” Hunter barged into their conversation. “And as your friend, Joel, stop being a bad influence.”
Joel’s face turned red as he smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry!”
“You canwalkme to class, though.” Jenni crossed her arms and left the room, with him following behind her like a lost puppy.
My gaze stayed trained on the way his soul lit up with his magic as he followed behind her.
The door shut, blocking my view of his soul.
Dex had his hand around my throat in an instant, angling my head up to look into his fog gray eyes. “Why are you staring at the broken incubus like that, trouble?”
My breath hitched.
“That’s a rather rude way to refer to Joel,” Hunter grumbled from behind me.
“Answer him,” Skel prompted, crossing his arms. His green eyes filled with uncertainty. “I’m also curious. I mean, fuck, princess. What about Joel had your attention so intently?”
