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“Tell me to stop,” he says.

I glare at him. “Stop.”

He leans in a little closer. “Mean it.”

He presses his thumb against my neck, and something grows in my pants. I want to crawl out of my own skin. Preferably leave my body here and move to another planet.

He notices the exact moment I notice, and his eyes flash with something so darkly pleased I consider dislocating his jaw.

“See?” he says softly. “You want me too.”

I reach behind me, but he tracks the movement instantly.

My fingers close around the knife at the back of my belt, and before he can say another thing, I yank it free and throw.

Kento dodges it. The blade slices through the air and buries itself in the ring post behind him with a thunk.

He turns his head to glance at where it landed. “Mm,” he says. “So violent.”

I bare my teeth.

He takes one step forward, eyes fixed on mine, voice lower now, roughened by something that shouldn’t sound as good as it does.

“You stabbed me once, prince.” He tips his head, studying me. “Let’s not repeat that.”

I did stab him once, when I found out he went out on a “date” with my sister. I still remember the anger I felt back then.

And I know the scar exists somewhere under all that black fabric.

I scoff, but it comes out thinner than I want. “Then stop standing so close.”

“No.”

I glare at him, then rip my knife out of the post, wipe the blade against my thigh, and point it at him once in warning. “Stay away from me.”

Kento’s gaze drops to the knife, then lifts back to my face. He smiles again, that same unforgettable, ruinous smile.

“You never mean that.”

I want to throw the knife again.

I want to throw myself through a wall.

Instead, I slide the blade back into my belt, duck through the ropes, and start walking away before I do something that’ll keep me awake for the next ten years.

Ilya

The dining hall is loud when I push through the double doors. I spot Dimitri and Alexei at our usual table near the back corner, away from the windows. Dimitri is gesturing wildly with a fork, mid-rant about something, while Alexei listens.

I drop into the seat across from them and steal a fry off Dimitri’s plate.

He doesn’t even pause. “—and I’m telling you, if he tries that shit again—”

I chew a fry and let Dimitri and Alexei argue somewhere in the background. My heartbeat is still bouncing off the walls of my chest for absolutely no reason. Kento isn’t even in the building anymore, yet somehow my body hasn’t received the update. Great. I’ve developed phantom Kento syndrome.

I reach for my water and take a long drink.

Dimitri finally notices I’m here. “You good?”