My laughter continued as she glared and threw her straw wrapper at me. The playful teasing loosened something inside me, and I thanked the gods for moments like this with a friend to balance out the bad thrown at me lately.
“He’s cute,” Rani admitted, stealing glances behind me. “ButI deserve more than a playboy, and his reputation precedes him.”
She one hundred percent deserved better, but Ezra wasn’t all he appeared to be. I learned that much from being around him this past week. He was growing on me.
“Maybe you’re different,” I suggested. “He’s always talking about you.”
“I’m sure,” she scoffed. “Because I won’t give in, and he likes the chase.” I opened my mouth, but she kept going. “Look, you’re dating his cousin now, so I’m sure we’ll be thrown together more often. I’ll play nice for your sake, but that’s all.”
I nodded and thanked her. It wasn’t like I expected them to get together. She was right; one night was all Ezra could offer, but not for the reasons she thought. A relationship with a human was impossible for him and not exactly something he could easily explain. The rest of dinner ran smoothly, and I easily dodged her probing questions about my sex life.
I enjoyed myself up until the point when someone triggered my supernatural radar. Little ripples of power were a common enough occurrence that I no longer panicked over them. They were usually so faint that I could tell it was someone passing through. But this…this was a shock to the system. Enough that Rani asked if I was choking. The use of that much power wasn’t casual; it was a warning. The jig was up. The djinn knew I was alive.
“I’m fine. Wrong pipe,” I assured her, and gathered my trash on the tray. “Why don’t we head back, and you can finish telling me whatever it is that has you bouncing in your seat.”
A quick peek behind me on our way out confirmed I had at least one shadow as Kaiden disappeared to check the source of that blast. Ezra followed us at a discrete distance until we reached the safety of the dorm and our warded room. Rani prattled non-stop all the way back, but my mind was toopreoccupied with what I needed to pack and how quickly I could do it before Kaiden returned to escort me back to the apartment.
Vivid images of djinn surrounding the truck as we tried to speed off campus distracted me enough that I wasn’t sure what I grabbed and shoved into my bag. It’s not like I had much anyway.
“Not those!” Rani grabbed the purple shorts from my hand and threw them on my bed. “Have you not listened to a word I’ve said? The judges said you could remain on the team.”
“I don't get what that has to do with me packing them.”
I really had tuned her out after she gleefully announced the Zombie Run judges wouldn’t disqualify me for having food poisoning and missing the last challenge a few nights ago. To be fair, the games weren’t as important as what I had going on.
“Youweren’tlistening!” The rest of my team outfit flew at me, spares from Rani’s never-ending closet. “I said, our team’s next challenge is tonight, along with what’s left of teams green and orange. So, get dressed!”
She pranced out the door and down the hall to the restrooms. Now in a full-blown panic, I paced next to my bed and racked my brain for any excuse to get out of this. What would satisfy Rani and keep her off my back? I couldn’t feign being sick, and using Kaiden as an excuse would only turn her against him.
The truth was definitely off the table.Shit.
A brief warmth in my chest, followed by a knock at the door, revealed a haggard-looking Kaiden. I ushered him inside, where it was safe, casually scanning him for obvious injuries.
“What happened?”
He shook his head and double-checked the room for dangers, despite me already having done so when I arrived.
“Nothing,” he grumbled. “No traps and no djinn to befound.” He growled in frustration and hit the window. “Somethingis going down.”
With a blast of power that large, I had no doubt.
“Well, we have a new problem to figure out. And fast.” I cringed, holding up a purple bandana.
He stared at it, then at my matching outfit, and his eyes narrowed. “Absolutely not! Are you insane?”
I ground my teeth at his tone but tried to remember that we were both on edge. Neither one of us wanted a repeat of the last time I wore these colors.
“Do you have a plan to get us out of it that won’t put us back to square one? Further than square one, because if Rani gets suspicious, then our plan for me to continue building my life here is over.” I shoved a finger in his chest. “You said you could protect me and that I could get my degree. That was the deal.”
I refused to go back into hiding or, worse, be forced to reside with the tribunal for safety. I’d tasted freedom and had a glimpse of what my life could be like, both with and without Kaiden at my side. Dying wasn’t part of that plan, but neither was cowering in the dark. Kaiden read the determination in my gaze and challenged it with a glare.
“We stay long enough to complete the challenge, and that’s it. Any sign of the djinn, and we’re gone.”
“Agreed.”
“I can’t believe we’re doing this. Again.” His jaw popped as he checked his watch. “It’s late enough. Find a sleeping human and let’s get you fed. We’re not going out there without you at full strength.”
This was truly a horrible idea. There were about fifty of us spread wide through the small section of forest; not right on top of one another, but close enough that there was still a small sense of security. Rani vibrated with excitement beside me; she lived for this shit. She squinted against the dark, trying to make out if our stupid piñata was in the tree ahead or if that was a wasp nest. I voted to avoid both.
