“I will.” I pulled away. “You too. Don’t let the panic attacks control you.”
She sucked in her lips and nodded. I squeezed her arms and left.
I stepped out onto the terrace in front of the dorms, looking out into the darkness of the night. The wonderful scent of cedar and bergamot drifted through the night breeze and my heart beat faster. It was a scent that had begun to get more potent lately.
“Following me?” I spoke to the shadows.
“How do I know you’re not the one following me?” Ender stepped out from behind a pillar. His hair was wet from a shower, and I assessed his stance. He didn’t seem to be in too much pain from the attack.Good. “Last I checked, I was out here first.”
“And last I checked, you don’t own the terrace to the dorms.” I brushed past him, careful not to hit his injured shoulder and ignoring the ache that yelled at me for more contact.
Ender laughed his deep-belly laugh.Ugh. I kept going. I couldn’t let whatever beautiful thing we had growing between us keep me here.
“Selene. Wait.” His hand grazed my arm and I froze at the intense burn there. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. You aren’t.” I didn’t bother coming up with the lie that I wasn’t leaving. It was clear what my intentions were—it was late, we weren’t supposed to be outside, and I had my bag with me.
Ender let out a grunt.
“You aren’t going alone.” He dropped his hand, but his voice was stern.Playful Enderhad been replaced withSerious Ender.
I faced him and laughed—and not a cute laugh. A crazy, unhinged laugh. All my composure around Ender just vanished. And that was irritating.
“You don’t get to choose whether you’re coming with me. Plus, you need to recover. You were stabbed less than five hours ago!”Not to mention a dark mage began siphoning your magic. A flash of worry flitted across my face before I masked it, and I brought my hands to my hips in a not-so-flattering look. “I am leaving. Without you.”
“I can’t let you do that.” Ender stood tall, ignoring the entire part where he had been stabbed. There was fire in his eyes, but it wasn’t hate. It was … protection? Worry? Lust? Maybe it was just stubbornness.
“Then try to stop me.” I took a step forward, daring him. My gaze dropped to his lips and I could feel my anger sizzling out into something else.
Ugh. I needed to get control of myself.
“How do you plan on leaving?” Ender took a small step forward, lessening the already small gap between us. I could stick my tongue out and reach his nose if I wanted to.
Where the heck did that immature thought come from?
“Easily.” I planned on hijacking a teacher’s car. Options would be limited because most staff were escorted by the guards, but I’d return it—eventually. If that plan went south, I could always ask John if a guard could take me. By halfway through the trip, I should know if I could trust them enough or if I needed to ditch them. Why didn’t I think of that before? I debated calling John. Maybe his plan was the best.
The corner of Ender’s mouth turned upward into a sly grin, as if he was reading my thoughts—or intentions ofborrowinga car. “The guards will be on you before you can drive out of here. Allthe guards’ and teachers’ cars are alarmed. Even if you manage to take one, I’m sure they have tracking software in them, and they’ll be on you by morning.”
John had said he couldn’t stop me from leaving, but I’m pretty sure stealing a vehicle would put me on some sort of wanted list by the academy. I wasn’t worried about the tracking. I believe he had turned on some type of tracking in my phone settings, but I had no clue how to check. He could track me. He already knew where I was headed, and I had permission to leave; I was just supposed to have someone come with me …
I stared awkwardly at Ender.
“I’ll drive.” He started walking. “But we take my Jeep.”
I watched him for a moment before jogging to catch up to him. “You have a car?”
He grinned and kept walking.
Not many students were allowed to keep their car here, but I shouldn’t have been surprised the popular guy had his own car at the academy.
“You’re still hurt.” I eyed his collar, where part of the bandage showed itself.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Do I look ill and like I can’t drive a vehicle?”
He actually looked great considering all that he had just gone through. I sighed. I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
“Okay. We’ll take your car.” I told myself it was for his vehicle and his aid, but I secretly also wanted his company. Plus, it might keep John from hauling me back even though I was positive he didn’t mean for me to leave with Ender. “It could be dangerous … and you aren’t packed.”
