Page 39 of Dark Embers

I didn’t know why I was sitting at our table. I wasn’t hungry, even though I had skipped breakfast, and every instinct urged me to leave the dining hall and proceed with my plan.

I didn’twantto see Arya. I had successfully avoided her all weekend and this morning—hence, why I skipped breakfast. But the nagging itch that had escalated in her absence had reached a level of agony I could no longer ignore.

After ghosting her since Friday, she probably wouldn’t even talk to me. Which I absolutely deserved. I should have apologized. Should have at least given her some explanation—not the truth, obviously, but something.

No, it was fine. I didn’t need her to talk to me. I just needed to be in the same room as her for a couple of seconds. That should be enough to sate this torturous need.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Niko asked me behind a mouthful of cheeseburger.

“I’m not hungry,” I answered flatly, bouncing my heel under the table. I’d convinced myself that moving any part of my body helped settle the anxiety. It didn’t, but it was the only thing I could do to keep from losing my damn mind altogether.

Niko swallowed, examining his burger for the best place to take his next bite. “Then why are you sitting with us? I mean, no offense, but you usually study or workout when you skip meals.”

“He’s waiting for Arya,” Brett interjected, flaring one of his eyebrows teasingly.

“Shut up,” I ground out, tightening my arms around my chest.

He put up his hands in faux submission. “Whoa, someone’s testy today.”

I opened my mouth to shoot him an insult, but a flash of blue caught in my peripheral vision, and I turned my head to see Arya and Ashlyn entering the dining hall. Just the sight of her made my anxiety lessen slightly and the bouncing of my heel pause momentarily.

She was laughing at something Ashlyn said as they got in line at the buffet, and a traitorous smile began to spread my lips at seeing her happy. I bit down on my lips to stop it, telling myself to get a fucking grip.

I watched her like a hungry hawk as she filled her tray, and when she began to walk this way, my heart began to pound. What would I say to her? Would she say anything to me? The ire I had forced myself to feel toward her—or rather, to the imprint that bound me to her—melted away into acquiescence, and I entertained a thousand different things I could say to placate her.

When she reached our table, she stopped, locking eyes with me. Her smile fell like a dove shot out of the sky, and my heart knotted painfully inside my chest.

“Hi, Ashlyn,” I said without taking my eyes off Arya. “Arya.” I offered her a nod in greeting.

“You know what, let’s sit with Kendall today,” Arya suggested to Ashlyn, then started walking away without waiting for Ashlyn’s agreement.

“Ooo-kayyy,” Ashlyn said awkwardly, glancing at the three of us before shrugging and following her.

“Ouch,” Brett hissed.

My insides stung at the rejection, and I welcomed the ire once more. I shoved away from the table. “See you guys later.”

I had gotten what I came for, and now, it was time to get to business. I strode to a table in the far right corner of the dining hall where a group of naga girls sat.

“Petra,” I said to the pixie-cut blonde as I came up to the table. “I need a word with you.”

She eyed me under her thick black eyeliner, then waved an inviting hand. “Alright, go ahead.”

“In private,” I added.

Her friends looked back and forth between us as she deliberated. Petra Adder may have been the most petite-framed of the nagas on campus, but her impressive skills had put her at the top of the food chain,which was exactly why I was coming to her for this.[1]

Finally, Petra shrugged. “Okay, I need a smoke anyway.”

She got up and headed for the exit with a nod for me to follow her. We went through the main doors and came out onto the lawn, skirting the wall to the corner near the greenhouses. She pulled a vape pen from inside her shirt that I assumed she had tucked into her bra, then put it between her lips and sucked.

“So, what do you want?” she asked after blowing out a thin line of vapor.

“I need you to hypnotize me,” I said bluntly.

She furrowed her brow as she took another hit and exhaled. “Seriously?”

I nodded.

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