“That’s what I thought,” Elliot adds, shoving a cup of brew into their hands.
Kitty downs hers in one giant gulp, while Dame decides to sip on his at a more even pace.
“Don’t you three have someone else you could go harass?” Dame asks, frowning down at us.
“Of course,” Elsie says, downing her drink. “But you make it so easy.”
In response, Dame shakes his head.
“You should pace yourself, Rosewater. You’ve got a long night ahead of you.”
Elsie frowns as she pours herself another drink.
“Don’t be such a baby, Dame. This isn’t my first time.”
“I’m aware of that,” he answers dryly, taking the cup from her hand and setting it on a nearby shelf, well out of Elsie’s reach.
She pouts, crossing her arms and stomping her foot as he chuckles under his breath. If it weren’t for her dark complexion, she’d probably be beet red right now.
“What’s up, Iris?” Dame asks, tilting his chin toward me. “You planning on terrorizin’ my wolves tonight?”
“That depends on how well behaved they are,” I say.
Dame cringes, drawing a sip of brew from his cup.
“In that case, I apologize in advance. This year’s lot isn’t the brightest.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’ve noticed.”
I gesture toward the far end of the kitchen, where two first-years are struggling with a barrel of brew. They’re having a hard time finding the spout, and it takes them a while to realize the barrel is upside down. Then, as if sent by fate to prove Dame’s point, a group of Crescent wolves waltzes by, howling and carrying a squirming boy on their shoulders.
Dame’s ears droop, utterly defeated, as he shouts, “Put the dwarf down!”
When they don’t immediately comply, he dismisses himself, handing Kitty his drink and stalking off behind them.
Kitty frowns, downing the fiery brew and muttering under her breath, “Buzzkill.”
I only laugh.
I like Damien. He’s one of the few guys who doesn’t drool when he looks at me. I’m not sure whether it’s the alpha in him or the fact that I’m his sister’s best friend, but he never looks at me with anything more than curiosity, as if he’s just waiting to see what I’ll do next.
If only I could say the same about his second-in-command.
“Elsie.” Elliot greets her politely and retrieves her cup of brew.
She takes it, lips pinched in a slight grimace, but doesn’t say thank you.
He’s on her shit list this week after making a joke about her poor taste in men last Sunday. It wasn’t that harsh, milder than what he usually serves up, but it didn’t help that the rest of us laughed.
Elliot doesn’t mind the cold shoulder, though. The seemingly permanent smirk remains firmly fixed on his face as he passes me a cup of my own.
“Princess,” he says, dipping his head in my direction.
He plants a kiss on my cheek before flashing his silver-plated smile, and I roll my eyes.
“Demon.”
“You miss me?”
