Before she vanished into her dorm, I saw Kiara give a triumphant smile.
She’d gotten her revenge. I just didn’t know what it was going to cost us.
Chapter Eighteen
Emma
Ethan Nowak was a prince all right. A prince of oral sex. He was a master with his tongue.
My mind was still swooning with thoughts of the night we’d shared. Every brush from his skin felt like the touch of the gods. I never wanted the sensations to end. His intoxicating love was worse than a drug, and more addicting. I understood fully why people died for their mates. I would’ve laid my life down for Ethan if he’d asked me to, when I was on my back in his bed the other night. His affection made me that delirious.
Too bad the night had been spoiled by Kiara’s revenge. I couldn’t comprehend she’d go that far to get back at Gabby— though, in her mind, I’m sure she thought of it as protecting Alexei.
She hadn’t gotten caught, thank the gods, but damn if the school wasn’t trying. They’d opened up an investigation to figure out who had slipped Gabby the crystal.
Gabby had actually been taken down a peg. The curse must’ve scared her. She was quiet in class, and kept to herself. She didn’t even sneer at me, just ignored me. No features of the curse remained on her skin, but it was obvious that the spell had been so painful, it’d done psychological damage.
Gabby had killed people. I shouldn’t feel sorry for her. And yet, I did. What was worse, I was angry Kiara was turning into a monster because of what Gabby had done.
The end of April arrived. Spring was finally here, and it was blooming in Dolinska. Every street corner was lined with the most beautiful and vibrant flowers. On campus, the gardens absolutely erupted. Flowers were grown in such a way they looked like flowing fountains and streaming waterfalls.
I was on a stroll and enjoying the sun when I saw Delmare sitting on a concrete bench near a waterfall. She was casting an illusion spell, changing birds in a cage to bats and back again.
“Hey, Mare,” I said in a tease, sliding up to her. “Whatcha doing?”
“Working on transfiguration spells,” Delmare replied. Her brow was knitted in concentration. She changed the birds into bats again. “Not difficult by any means for me.”
“Let me try.” I set my intention on the birds in the case, imagining bats in their place.
It didn’t work. Feathers exploded everywhere as the birds poofed up and became big pink puffballs with eyes, staring at me crossly.
Delmare let out a laugh. “They’re pissed at you!”
“I can see that. Let me change them back.” I cast the spell. The puffballs became birds again, though their feathers were pink this time instead of blue.
Delmare sighed. “I think we’ve tormented them enough. Fly away, little birds.”
She opened the cage door, and the birds came flying out of it in a flurry. The pink color bled out of their feathers and fell onto the ground like liquid as they flew into the sky, making for the safety of the branches within the forest.
She set the cage aside, and I wiggled my eyebrows. “So... how’d things go between you and Stefan the other night?”
Delmare chewed on her lip. “I told him about my dad. And my mom,” she said. “It was hard opening up to him about my past, but after that night, he deserved to know.”
“Did anything happen?” I asked, hanging on her every word.
Delmare blushed as she admitted, “We might’ve kissed.”
I squealed. “Mare! Did you do anything else?”
“No. It was a moment of weakness,” she said. “We’re not in a relationship.”
I let out a groan of frustration. “You should be!” I said. “Why didn’t you say yes?”
“You know why! I can’t let a man get in the way of my career,” she said.
I huffed. “Mare, you’re impossible.”
“It’s not like I’m making him my boyfriend. If I say yes, he’ll become my mate. We’ll be bound for life. It’s like accepting a proposal. We’ll have to get married,” Delmare pointed out. “And I don’t know if I want to be a wife. It’s a big responsibility, committing yourself to someone else like that forever. I can’t play with Stefan’s feelings. I have to be serious about us before I commit.”
