“Anytime.” Amantha sipped at the rest of her slushie. The double doors to the rink slammed open, and I gave a start as Lady Magdalina swept into the rink, cheeks pink and her hair windswept.
“I apologize for the delay, Emmaline,” Lady Magdalina said as she stopped at my table. She looked down at my tennis shoes and said, “Why on earth don’t you have your skates on? Let’s get to work, chop chop!”
Amantha waved as I headed back to the locker room. I got back on the ice, but Lady Magdalina seemed distracted my entire practice.
To be honest, so was I. I kept going back and forth in my head between my two choices. Ethan, or Finlay?
Finlay seemed like the reasonable choice. If I was with Finlay, I could get my reputation back with the pack. I’d be accepted into the wolven Faction again, and the press would forget all about me. They’d lose interest and find someone else to harass.
Finlay checked off all the boxes I had. He was strong, brave, and kind. He was everything I wanted in a partner. On paper, we made sense.
So where was the magic? Despite the connection Finlay and I had, it was nothing like the bond I shared with Ethan. Being with Finlay was easy, and being with Ethan had been frustrating as all hell. Weren’t relationships supposed to beeasyif they were good?
I liked Finlay. I liked him a lot— I could even grow to love him, in time. And it wouldn’t take very long. A few more months of dating and I’d fall for him hard, I was sure.
But I’d never love him like I loved Ethan, and that was the problem. Since I’d first looked into his eyes, I’d thought Ethan would be the only one for me.
Yet Ethan was almost gone. The man I knew wasn’t there anymore. The demon had swallowed him up, leaving only a phantom in his place. How could I continue to hold on to a shadow, hold on to a person who had all but ceased to exist?
Hoping, wishing, and praying wouldn’t bring Ethan back. We’d tried everything, and failed every time. So why did my heart keep holding on?
I was no less confused when I left the rink than when I’d showed up. But if Amantha could get over her bond… couldn’t I?
She said not to do it until I was ready, and I wasn’t ready yet. We still had a few more weeks until the demon took over Ethan completely. If that happened, reality would make the decision for me.
I slowly climbed the staircase back up to the dormitories. Stairs usually didn’t bother me, but I had to take it easy. Typically, such a climb would only take me a minute, but I found that taking the stairs today resulted in nearly five, as I had to pause on each step to take a breath. Practice had really wiped me out.
Yep, this was me. The all-powerful Worldweaver, the girl fated to fight Droga… who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without getting winded.
Oh, yeah. The dark god should berealscared of me.
Delmare was at the top of the staircase with her arms crossed. Her hunched position and wrinkled nose told me she was pissed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Delmare fumed. “Oh, nothing, just that my mate thinks my new book fucking sucks.”
“I didnotsay it sucked.” Stefan popped his head out of his dorm a few rows down. He walked over, demeanor calm. “You asked me to read it, and give you an honest opinion. I just said it needs a few changes, that’s all.”
“Afew changes! You want me to rewrite half the book!” Delmare shouted. “Do you know how muchtimeit took me to finish? I can’t just dump all those chapters in the trash!”
“Babe, every book needs to be edited. It’s good, but I know you could dobetter,” Stefan emphasized.
“You’re unbelievable,” Delmare growled. She threw her arms up and stomped away.
“Babe,” Stefan whined again, and he started after her. Their argument didn’t look like something I wanted to get into. They’d sort it out. Stefan chased Delmare down the stairs, and I retired to my dormitory.
I dropped my stuff off in my dorm. Tygrys purred, and I scratched him underneath the chin before he curled up on an orchid leaf for a nap. I was going to get an early start on my paper for Enchanting class, before I heard annoyed voices in the hallway.
Gods, waseveryonefighting today? Because it was really annoying.
I poked my head out. In the Rec Room was Odette. She was arguing with Igor, who looked like he’d cornered her against a wall.
My nose scrunched in distaste. What was Igor doing here? He wasn’t even a student.
It wasn’t my business, but I hated Igor with such a fucking passion, I knew I wouldn’t get any work done if he was hanging around. I left my dorm and stomped toward him, fully intending on chasing him off.
“What do you expect me to do? I’m so out of place,” Igor hissed at Odette. “YouknowI don’t like these sort of things, and you insist on dragging me along anyway.”
