“I hope she does get lost,” Celeste whispers vehemently. “She can be added to the list of missing students.”
“That’s not funny,” Maxon says sharply, and Celeste recoils as though she’s been struck. Could it be that he’s thinking about Terrence? “That’s not funny at all.”
To my surprise, Celeste has the grace to look abashed. “I’m sorry,” she says, placing a hand on his arm. “It’s just…I just don’t like you going into town with her. What if people see you together?”
“Theyaregoing to see us together, because I’m going with her as a chaperone,” Maxon says impatiently. “You’re going to have to get over that, Celeste.”
“But what if they think you left me for her?” Her eyes fill with tears I’m almost sure are fake.
“They won’t.” He sounds ready to throttle her.
Her lower lip trembles. “Do you think she’s prettier than me?”
I clear my throat before he can answer, knowing that whatever he says is only going to get him into more trouble. The two of them jump and turn to face me, Celeste looking murderous, Maxon exasperated.
“Hey, guys.” I force a smile and hope the color rushing to my cheeks doesn’t give away the fact that I just overheard their conversation. “So, town. Exciting, right?”
Celeste huffs and walks away, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
“She’s a keeper, that one,” I say, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. God, how can he stand to be around her? I know it’s an arranged match and all, but damn. If I was going to be tied to that for the rest of my afterlife, I’d be doing anything and everything I could to get out of it.
“Don’t,” he warns, tone cold. Hello, button. I’ve definitely pushed you. “Let’s just go into town and get this over with.”
The anger in his voice pushes a button of my own, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t worry about it,” I say in a frosty tone. “You don’t have to come.”
His dark eyebrows wing up. “You don’t want to go into town?”
“Of course I do,” I snap. “But it’s obvious you don’t, and the last thing I need is for your grumpy ass to ruin the experience. I’ll go with Kaia instead. She knows her way around just as well as you do. I won’t tell anyone you didn’t come with me, so you won’t get into trouble,” I add as he opens his mouth to protest. “You can go hide up in your room, or make out with your girlfriend, or whatever other important thing it is that I’m keeping you from.”
I spin on my heel, intending to march from the room. Strong fingers dig into my shoulders before I can take the first step, and Maxon whirls me around to face him.
“Listen,” he hisses, striding forward. Instinctively, I step back, and my back hits the stone wall. “Do you think this is easy for me, having to spend all of my free time with you?”
“Why, because I’m so horrible to be around?” I snap, my face heating with anger and embarrassment. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but it’s not like either of us has a choice! I need to catch up, and you need to help me if you don’t want to get expelled!”
I try to push past him, but Maxon grabs my wrist and roughly pushes me back against the wall. My heart jumps to my throat, and I can feel heat coming off of him in waves. He’s so close, and I’m suddenly aware of every little detail about him. The way his chestnut hair falls against his face. The way his eyes glimmer when he’s angry. How delicate my wrist feels in his grasp, with his long fingers wrapped around it. He’s tall. Muscular. With full lips. It’s not a school day, so he’s wearing casual clothes. I can see bits of his tattoos peeking out from under the sleeves of his black T-shirt. Thick veins are visible along the muscles of his forearm.
“I know that this is hard for you,” Maxon growls, “but you’re not the only one with problems. My best friend was taken from me, my fiancée badgers me constantly because of all the time spent with you, and I barely have time to focus on my own homework because I have to spend all my free time tutoring you. It would be nice if, just for once, you would consider how I feel.”
We both stare at each other for a long while, breathing hard. He’s so close that I can feel his warm breath on my face, and his heaving chest brushes against mine, sending an electric thrill through me. I want to shove him away, to tell him that I don’t care about his problems, that he wouldn’t even be here to complain about them if I hadn’t saved his life.
But something changes between us as the seconds stretch out, the charged silence between us morphing into something more. The heat in his gaze shifts from anger to lust, and my heart races even faster as his eyes drop to my mouth. What is happening? Is…is he going to kiss me?
You can’t do this,a voice in my head snaps.He’s betrothed. Do youreallywant to give Celeste evenmorereason to make your life hell?
“You’re right.” I clear my throat, and the spell breaks, the heat between us dissipating so fast that I shiver. “I’ve been so overwhelmed by all these changes that I haven’t given any thought about how you must be feeling.” A twinge of guilt hits me as I remember the empty bed in his dorm…of course he must be missing his roommate. Did he have anyone to comfort him? Did Celeste even care? “I’m sorry.”
Maxon lets out a slow breath, finally releasing my wrist. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get out of here. I’ve already signed us both out anyway.”
I nod and suck in a shaky breath. My heart is hammering against the confines of my chest and I have to hold myself against the wall for another second before I can take a step forward, following Maxon out through the large doors of the academy.
A cobblestone path cuts through a grassy courtyard, leading to large iron gates. The gravel road lies right beyond that, disappearing into a thicket of trees and bushes.
“How do we get to Grimsby? It’s close enough to walk, right?”
“You can, but it takes a while. A train goes through the realm, and since the academy is near the capital, it comes through here pretty frequently on a loop through the afterlife. If you don’t want to walk to take the train, you can ride in a carriage.”
“Carriage? Like with horses?”
