Page 42 of Radiant Shadows

“Gee, thanks, Arya. You finally get this guy to loosen up, and then you monopolize all his time.” Brett’s stupid, playful smirk only made my blood boil faster.

“Maybe if you did something besides play games all day, he wouldn’t be so opposed to hanging out with you,” I snapped.

Brett leaned back, holding up his palms. “Whoa. Okay, then. Not likeIgot him the game for Christmas.” He leaned toward Tobias and muttered, “PMS much?”

I narrowed my eyes as I leaned toward him, placing both my hands on the table. “I’m sorry, but does me being agirloffend you?”

Tobias placed a hand on my shoulder, and the tension coiling in my chest unwound. “Are you okay?”

I knew I was way overreacting, that I was acting like a raging bitch. But my emotions were so sensitive, it was like every action by others was a trigger. I needed to get a hold of myself. This wasn’t me.

I blushed, shrinking in my seat. “Yeah. Sorry. Just haven’t been feeling well the past few days.”

“Told ya,” Brett whispered loudly, and my rage was back in an instant, urging me to rip his fucking face off.

Tobias ignored him, giving me a concerned look. “You mentioned that yesterday in your text. Is everything okay? Did you go see Ms. Heather?”

“I thought harpies didn’t get sick,” Brett commented, and I really just wanted him to shut the hell up.

I bottled my irrational fury, clenching my fists under the table to vent some steam as I answered. “Yeah. It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”

Despite my super casual tone, Tobias didn’t seem convinced, so I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Well, I’ll just have to beat Flesh Eaters 4 without you,” Brett said, ducking out of Tobias’s reach with his tray. “Later, suckers!”

“You be careful with that game,” Tobias called after him. Brett waved and laughed. “It’s a collector’s edition!” he yelled over the din of the dining hall.

I shook my head and popped a chicken nugget into my mouth. I was glad that he had left us, but the idea of him damaging the gameIgot for Tobias had my left eye twitching. If he got so much as a scratch on it, I’d—

“Seriously, though, are you okay?” Tobias asked as he turned back to me.

I shoved another nugget in my mouth, hoping the chewing would muffle my words and make them more convincing. “Yap, jus’ tye-erd.” I swallowed. “Sorry if that makes me a little moody.”

He nodded, though the crease didn’t leave his brow. “Do you feel up for a flight?”

I stared at him dumbly for a moment, like he was speaking a foreign language. “A flight?”

He chuckled. “Your harpy, my dragon, topside. What do you say?”

My eyes widened as understanding finally dawned on me.

“Yes! Ohmygosh, that would be a-may-zing!” Since learning how to fly, I hadn’t done it outside of a training room. Now, the idea of spreading them through fresh air under the unfiltered sun,with Tobias by my side, made me positively giddy. “Where will we go?”

Tobias smirked. “You’ll see.”

“Wait. Topside?” The memory of his last tantrum flashed in my mind, and I folded my arms and fixed Tobias with a stern stare. “Last time I went topside, you went berserk on me. What makes this any different?”

Tobias made a playful grimace. “Yes. And I believe I’ve apologized for that. But now that I’m your boyfriend, I can go with you and personally see to it that you’re safe.”

“Ooh,boyfriend. I’ll never get tired of that word,” I mused with a coy smile.

“It’s a good word. Almost as good asgirlfriend.” He nudged me with his shoulder, and I leaned my head on it, trying to draw as much comfort as I could from his presence.

This flight would be a good thing. A great thing! It was going to be a completely new experience. I just hoped that the were potion would last until I came back.

***

I watched Tobias take off his clothes with my mouth practically watering—apparently, it wasn’t just my mood and appetite that were affected by my erratic ursa hormones. Were all weres this horny all the time?

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