“Relax.” Stefan rolled his eyes. “You were hardly around last semester. Plus, your dorm was always empty at night. The Phantom didn’t show up until after your dad died. It wasn’t hard to piece two and two together.” He shrugged.
“Does anyone else know?” The sickening feeling of being exposed pressed in all around me, until I felt like I was being crushed.
“How should I know? I don’t read the news.”
“Stefan!”
“Would you chill out? No one knows you like I do.” Stefan leaned against the wall lazily. “I doubt anyone else has figured this out.”
I relaxed, but only slightly. “You’re taking this a bit too casually.”
“This isn’t a surprise. I always knew you’d do something freaky when we got older,” he said. “I thought it’d be male stripping, but this is weird, too.”
I threw a pillow at him. He smacked it away, and it fell to the floor with a flop. “I’m not a male stripper,” I said.
“With abs like yours? You’d make a killing. I’ve been thinking about a side gig that shows the ladies what I have to offer myself.”
Stefan flexed his muscles, and I hit him. He made anoofsound and held his gut.
“This isn’t the time for jokes!” I said. “Are you going to keep this a secret?”
“Naw, I’m gonna run and tell your mom.” Stefan gave me a scathing look. “Do you really think I would blow your identity? I’ve been covering your ass. You aren’t as obscure and discreet as you think you are.”
I scowled. He was right. I knew I’d been sloppy and made mistakes in the past few months. The King’s Contest had me distracted.
But that was over now. I wasn’t distracted anymore.
“You have to be careful. If anyone finds out you know who I am, you’ll be a target,” I said lowly.
“Like that’s different from any other day of the week. My ass is already a target for being your friend. Good thing I’ve got some firepower to back you up. I’m bringing theheat.In more ways than one.” Stefan blew out a puff of smoke, then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Dragon shifters were insufferable creatures. “Your puns are awful. You should get a better sense of humor.”
Stefan gave a dramatic groan. “Comeon, man. You’ve been a crabby bastard ever since you lost the Contest. Are you going to act like this when Emma comes back?”
At the mention of Emma, I froze. It both hurt and made me feel wonderful to hear her name. She’d been the reason we’d lost the King’s Contest.
But she was also my mate. And my very reason for breathing. Existing without her was like no kind of existence at all, and I’d hardly been living since she left to spend Christmas in Krakow with her mother. We’d parted the night of the King’s Contest with tense words, and hadn’t spoken... or seen each other.
Her absence from my life, even for a few short weeks, was the main reason I was losing my mind.
“We had an agreement not to talk about Emma,” I began.
“Because you still needed time to cool off. But school starts in a few days. She’ll be back from her vacation with her mom any day now,” Stefan said . “She doesn’t need a guilt trip from you on how she fucked up. She feels bad enough.”
I took a deep breath. The last thing I wanted was Stefan lecturing me on my love life. “Why don’t you worry about your relationship with Delmare?” Which was nonexistent, by the way, because they weren’t together— though it was obvious Stefan pined for her.
It was a low blow, but effective. Stefan’s tone became darker. “We’re talking about you right now, not me. I’m not the one wearing a mask and running around like a psycho torturing Black Claw cultists. You’ve got issues, man.”
“I wasn’t torturing anyone,” I sneered.
Stefan snorted. “Yeah. That’s why there’s blood all over your cloak. It’s like you think I don’t know you at all.”
I glanced down at the bloodstains, then glared Stefan’s way. “What I do as the Phantom is my business.”
“Dude, can’t you see that I’mworriedabout you?” Stefan came forward and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You haven’t been the same since the Contest ended. It’s like... I don’t know. You’re turning into someone I don’t recognize.”
I shrugged him away. “Maybe it’s better this way.”
