29

P oppy and Mel are eating like they’ve never been fed before. Each crunch of their breakfast makes my nerves spike. I try not to get snappy with them as they finish their food while discussing their partners and how they’ve progressed well with the tasks.

Meanwhile, I have managed to skip the deadlines until Dane returns to class. If he returns. From what I’ve gathered from reading too many books in the library, it’s unlikely.

But I can’t help but feel uneasy about the possibility of him suffering. He is suffering. Going on the bruises and marks over his body last night, he’s being beaten down there.

He might be getting beaten right now.

I worry my lip as I look around us, everyone eating their breakfast and chatting among themselves. Orsen keeps glancing over, probably trying to get Mel’s attention. The moody princess is mad at him for some reason, giving him the finger when he asks to speak with her. He’s been quite lost since Dane was arrested. He has other friends, but Dane was his best friend. Orsen was his right-hand man, stuck to his hip unless Mel clicked her fingers and wanted attention.

I’m surprised he hasn’t asked me where Dane is. Maybe he knows and doesn’t want to make it obvious to others. Or maybe I’m trying to pass the time by thinking of anything but Dane and what he could be going through right now.

Worried about me, little mortal?

I lift my gaze to the bickering twins and shove a spoonful of porridge into my mouth, suppressing my shift in mood. I refuse to show that his voice uplifts me.

Never .

Liar. I can feel how anxious you are about my current living situation. Would it make you feel better if I said the other person looks a lot worse?

Get out of my head. I gather more porridge on the spoon and put it in my mouth, a bid to hide the annoying smile trying to break free from hearing his voice.

A few minutes pass, and some students leave the food hall. Dane’s mother watches me as she walks in, grabs Orsen, and leaves again without sparing me another scowl.

I want to roll my eyes at her, remembering the way she excused herself because she didn’t want to witness her son kissing a human.

Well, said son did kiss me. Multiple times in fact. Maybe I should tell her that he spends hours a day with me, that when he was arrested, her son was close to fucking me on his bathroom floor. That he actually tolerates my company, considering he used to hate touching me and claimed I was dirty.

Weak.

Dying.

Oh, and just a warm body, if I remember rightly. He was mortified that he had to be paired with me, so much so that he cornered me on several occasions and demanded I either leave the academy or refuse the pairing.

I squeeze my spoon in my hand, growing unsettled.

“You’re very quiet today, Sera. Everything okay?”

Poppy is smiling at me—a small, gentle, friendly smile.

There’s a fire in me that ignites anger, and I snap my next two words without intending to. “I’m fine.”

How can they sit here and act like everything is okay? Their realm is in ruins, they killed their father, and they’ve been sent here. Poppy is beyond excited about being around humans, and Mel couldn’t be any more disapproving of it. They sit here and eat their breakfast, laugh between them, discuss lessons and what to do on our days off as if we can go to the movies or have sleepovers.

We can’t. Because we’re trapped on this stupid, godforsaken island, with rules that stop us from doing anything but being good little students.

Dane is in the dungeons, I have gloves on to hide the curse slowly killing me, my memories were messed with by Valin, and all they want to do is talk about the stupid ball and what we’re wearing.

I clench my teeth, the twins staring at me, waiting for me to say something else. “What?”

Mel narrows her brows at me. “She was only asking if you were okay.”

My shoulders sag. I don’t know what’s gotten into me recently. I’m losing my patience with everyone.

“I guess I’m not as good as you both at pretending everything is okay. I’m sorry. I’m tired, and this entire experience is exhausting.” I swallow but then hold my breath as Valin pushes open the main doors to the hall, marching in with his assistant behind him.

Although I was just a bitch to her sister, Mel gets to her feet. “I’m going to kick his ass.”

Poppy grabs her arm. “Please don’t.”

Mel listens, and I offer her a half-smile when she gives up glaring at the professor. “I’m going to speak with him after class tomorrow. Alone,” I add when she goes to speak.

Well, Dane will be in my head, but yeah. I imagine Valin will refuse to talk to me if I have the twins with me, so I need to go myself.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sera. He’s a lunatic!”

My shoulder raises in a shrug. “I need to know what his deal is. Surely I deserve to know? I can’t wait for Dane to be released and deal with him. I’m not a feeble human who needs backup.”

“Human, yes. Feeble, no.” Poppy leans forward. “And who said Dane was being released? He’s being charged with murder, remember?”

Then Mel adds, “He’ll be lucky if he gets to see you again in your lifetime. Not that either of you wants to see each other anyway.”

“Right.” The word feels like poison on my tongue, but I refuse to admit that my hatred for Dane is starting to be dominated by something else, something strong and… undeniable.

I like when he magically blows into my room and insults me. I also like it when he gives me a certain look that sets all my nerve endings on fire and warms my cheeks.

I mean, he held my breast last night when we lay in bed, and I enjoyed it.

What is happening to me?

Valin sits at the furthest-away table from us, and I’m thankful. He does, however, keep looking over, trying to catch my eye. Mel gives him one of her deadly stares, and he quickly retreats to his food while chatting with his assistant.

“Who are you going to the ball with then, Sera?” Poppy asks, leaning her chin on her hands, elbows on the table.

I hum then shrug. “I don’t have a date. The professor hasn’t mentioned a replacement.”

“Do you want me to ask Brandt if any of his friends need a date?”

Answer that and I’ll set your bed on fire.

In my head, I’m tutting and saying, Shut up . “Only if they want to.”

Human.

Poppy pulls out her phone while Mel gulps down her water. “I’ll message him and find out.”

“Thanks.”

Are you trying to anger me? Because it’s working.

I don’t have a date. If this bothers you, which it shouldn’t, then maybe you should have thought about the consequences of your actions before deciding to kill someone.

Funny. His voice holds no amusement, yet it has me fighting another smile I conceal with a bite of my lip.

When we finish up and head to a lesson in socialization with mortals, I drown out the voices around me and focus on doodling stick men in my jotter.

“Miss Winters,” the professor says. “Can you explain to the class what your life expectancy as a mortal is?”

My eyes go wide as everyone turns to face me. “Oh, uh…” I fidget with the gloves concealing my fingers, gripping the hem of my skirt. “It depends on one’s health, I guess, but a lot of people live to their eighties, some even a few years over a hundred.”

“That’s all?” someone asks with disgust on his face. “That’s sad.”

Someone else giggles and says I’ll be dead before they’ve even lived, and another student comments on my skin and how awful my hair is—that it’s no wonder I cake myself with makeup.

For the first time in forever, I feel like crying. Not from their words, not really. I’m just drained. So drained.

I wet my lips and look down.

This class sucks.

I want to ask Dane to blow into here and take me away, to stab them in the heart and crack their skulls. Rage rushes through me like an inferno, and I have to hold my breath to stop myself from exploding. Pressure builds behind my eyes, but I can’t stop it.

I gasp as a blistering sensation comes from my fingers under the gloves, like a bolt of raging fire, hot and stingy and awakening.

I narrow my eyes at the burned fabric at my fingertips then hide my hands under my thighs, making sure no one questions me.

You have some horrific scraps of material for underwear. How does one even feel comfortable in these? The white ones are hot though. I think I’ll keep them.

I stand abruptly. “May I go to the bathroom?”

“Can’t you wait?”

Someone says, “She’s a human, professor. She can’t do anything but waste oxygen.”

I grit my teeth, my nostrils flaring. I want to reach over and gouge their eyeballs out. When the teacher tells me to go, I grab my satchel and head to the door, wishing his chair would fly away from beneath him and—

A yelp comes from behind me, and I stop to see the person on the ground, their chair nonexistent. I freeze for a second but then inwardly groan that Dane evidently heard me.

When I reach my room, ready to give Dane an earful for going through my things, he’s sitting on my bed, leaning back on one elbow while reading my notes on famous musicians and songwriters.

“If you have any of my underwear in your pockets, I want them back.”

He doesn’t look up from the book. “You better check for yourself, human. My hands are busy.”

If he thinks for a second I’m taking a back seat, he has another think coming. I throw my bag off and shove his chest, so he’s flat on the bed. The book slides to the side, and Dane watches as I search the pockets of his cotton shorts.

Why is he wearing mortal clothes again?

I narrow my gaze on him when I come up empty. “You’re such an idiot. I left class because of you!”

My hand trembles as he captures it, studying the burn marks on my glove. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” I try to yank away but fail.

“Don’t lie to me. You were mad. I had to get you out of that classroom given how murderous you were becoming in your head. What happened?”

“Just some of the students commenting on me and how human I am, that’s all.” I manage to stand and free myself from his grasp. “Their comments are nothing compared to what you’ve thrown at me, so don’t look so offended for me.”

I rush to the bathroom, washing the burned fabric from my hands and binning the ruined gloves. I stare at my skin. When I was at breakfast, I could feel the curse growing, spreading up my palms, but right now, it’s barely visible.

“Dane,” I say, walking into the room while studying my hands. “Is it possible for the curse to… weaken? It was worse this morning.”

He stays on the bed but gestures for me to come closer, and I listen. My skin prickles when he sits at the edge of the mattress, dragging me between his parted legs by gripping my hips. “It would only be possible to slow it down or weaken it through a release of energy.” He pinches my fingertip, and I flinch. “Since you’re human, that’s not possible.”

He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, sliding his finger against my palm and sending waves of his own energy through me.

“Can you feel that?” he asks, pushing more energy into my palm, and I nod. It’s tingly, and the pulse ricochets off each nerve and settles in my chest. “Keep your gloves on regardless of the state of your hands. I’ll make new ones for you.” He releases my hand, but neither of us moves. His eyes are a beautiful, dazzling shade of green as he keeps his gaze on me. “Do you feel okay?”

“Yeah.” I nod, slowly stepping away. “You should go before your inspection. You don’t need to siphon right now. I’ll see you tonight?”

Dane doesn’t respond right away. If anything, he seems to want to stay a little longer, but it’s far too dangerous. If he’s caught, this is done. Whatever this is. A friendship? A student–student bond over human relations? Enemies who like touching each other? I think, even after the way he treated me to begin with, I’d happily be his friend.

Dane blows out a breath and stands. “No offense, little mortal, but I don’t want to be your friend.”

I refuse to show how much that hurts me. “Good.”

“Good,” he counters. “I don’t know of many friends who are tasked to fuck each other, let alone what we have to do for task ten.”

I nod and look to the side. “It’s nearly the end of day.”

“I’ll be back around eleven,” he says, flattening my duvet, which was creased from him lying on it.

Before he can leave, I step towards him. “Thank you for what you did today. He was being a jerk, and I appreciate your help.”

Dane looks confused. “I’ve no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,” he says then disappears, leaving me in silence.

I slowly blink a few times, staring at the spot he was in.

If he didn’t do it, then who did?