“I volunteer to partner up with venom bab—I mean, Rune!” Slater said immediately, raising both hands in a defensive posture.
“Denied,” Pops said flatly, not even glancing at him. “Go study. Pop quiz on Wednesday.”
Pops shooed us out of his class early, and I assumed it was due to my venom-ized state, though the venom had already worked its way through my system.
As we walked out of the classroom, I felt the sudden, crushing squeeze of strong arms around my shoulders. A familiar but unwelcome scent of glacial amber assaulted my senses.
“I missed you, babe,” Darian drawled lazily into my ear.
My entire body stiffened, and my skin crawled in revulsion. “Get your fucking hands off me.”
Darian only chuckled, tightening his grip. “Not a chance.”
rune
. . .
A hiss curledfrom deep in my throat, raw and feral, as I tapped into my basilisk strength. Power surged through my muscles as I shoved Darian off with enough force to make his feet screech against the stone.
“I thought you got the hint when I paralyzed you and Tibby left that pretty burn scar across your face. Where is the scar, by the way?” I cocked my head, smiling sweetly. “Did you find a way to glamour it because you were embarrassed?”
His jaw ticked, and I knew I hit a nerve.
Frost spidered across his shoulders, white vapor hissing from his skin as his ice magic pulsed to life. It dripped down his arms in shimmering tendrils, chilling the air until my breath fogged. His shaggy, dirty blond hair crystallized at the tips, each strand glinting with frostbite.
I used to find it attractive, but now, it just disgusted me.
“We had a fight,” he said, the chill infecting his voice, cutting each word like a shard of broken ice. “You’re being dramatic.”
Before I could spit out a response, the temperature dropped. A sudden blast of glacial wind slammed into me, so cold it sliced over my exposed skin like knives. I had never been so thankfulfor the academy-issued suit than I was now. My skin stung, frost webbing along my jaw and shoulders as he cupped my face with cold fingers. They burned where they touched. Not like it would with fire, but with a bone-deep cold that stole warmth straight from my marrow.
I clenched my jaw and withstood it.
“We had a good thing, Rune,” he murmured, his greenish-blue eyes narrowing. “You never said it was over.”
Slater took a hard step forward. Snakey manifested around his shoulders, fangs bared. “Pretty sure being paralyzed by her is a fucking given.”
Zuko cracked his knuckles. “If it wasn’t clear then, it’s fucking clear now.”
I lifted my hand without looking at either of them. I had to handle this my way or he’d keep coming at me. Darian was a possessive asshole, and he needed to know I wasn’t his to possess.
I smiled sweetly at Darian, wrapping my hands around his wrists and tugging them away from my face. “Oh, D,” I whispered. “I’m so fucking sorry.” I leaned in slowly with intent and pressed my lips to his cheek.
“Good thing you—” His body locked up, and his eyes widened as blood welled along his tear ducts. Dark red blood gushed from his nose, his ears, and from the corners of his mouth. It spilled from every orifice in thick streams, staining his pale skin red as panic overtook his face.
“If it wasn’t clear before,” I said coldly, “I’ll make it clear now. It’s over between us. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Zuko moved fast, shoving Darian away from me, Slater and Koa flanking him instantly, blocking me from him.
Darian’s talons came out instinctively, silver-blue scales erupting over his forearms. But he stumbled, breath hitching, as his vision blurred and blood dripped from his mouth. “You usedyour venom on me,” he gasped, fury cutting through his voice.“Again!”
“Obviously,” I deadpanned. “You didn’t think I would actually kiss you without a motive, did you?”
“Don’t fucking touch her again if you want to keep your hands,” Zuko snarled.
“She’snotyours to touch,” Slater growled.
“Touch her without consent again, and I’ll burn your hands off,” Koa added, flames dancing from his knuckles.
