Page 37 of Cruel Destinies

Virginia Drake, a frequent star of the show, was sitting across from him, and they were making eyes at each other. Octavia smiled beneath a pair of sad eyes, then nodded and left the room.

“What the hell?” Arya hissed.

“Yeah…” I hedged. “It’s pretty common knowledge that Arthur Dracul has this ongoing affair with Virginia Drake. There’s even a rumor that her two sons are his.”

“Damn, how sad,” Arya lamented. “No wonder Tobias is so emotionally stunted.”

I tilted my head in agreement. “Good point.” I glanced at her sideways. “Speaking of the devil, any news on the dragon douche front?”

Judging by the way her cheeks instantly pinked, I knew there was.

“Okay, spill,” I demanded, pausing the show again.

She pursed her lips with embarrassment for a moment. “We might have, kinda, maybe had sex yesterday.”

“What! How did that happen?” I tossed the tablet onto the bed because this was so much better than celebrity gossip.

“Well, he asked me to heal him in the greenhouse because he was too ashamed to return to Ms. Heather after…well, you know,” she explained. “But before I even started, we made out a little bit, until I hurt his injured leg and remembered what I was supposed to be doing. After I healed him, we went back to his room, and…yeah…”

My pretzeled legs were bouncing beneath me with excitement. “Omigod, that’s great! Wait, was it great?”

She giggled and nodded. “It was pretty great.”

“So, what does that mean? Are you two dating now?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really care what it means. He’s such an emotional mess that I’ve decided not to read too much into his flaky behavior. But he hasn’t done his normal thing and run—yet—so, who knows? I’m sure he’ll find a way to fuck it up again.”

She gave a sardonic laugh.

“You know, maybe that’s what you need to get out of your funk,” she suddenly suggested.

I frowned at her in confusion. “You want me to have sex with Tobias? I don’t care how great it was, I’m done with dragons—”

“No,” she laughed. “A rebound.”

“A rebound? You do remember that Niko was my first boyfriend, right? It’s not like I have experience pulling guys in. Getting Niko to acknowledge me was its own battle. And honestly, I’m just not ready for that.”

Arya rolled her eyes. “That was before everyone knew you were such a badass. If you come with me to eat in the dining hall tonight, I could point out three guys who would gladly take the title of your new boyfriend. Besides, you know what they say. The fastest way to get over someone old is to get under someone new.”

“Mmm-hmm, and how did that work out with Kendall?” I quipped.

She scowled at me. “Low blow, Ash. Low blow.”

I chuckled apologetically. “I know. Sorry. And yeah, I am a badass. It’s just going to be difficult to find someone worthy of my badassary. And frankly, right now, it’s not worth the trouble.”

Arya sighed. “You’re probably right about that.”

“Of course, I am. Love is overrated, and just as fake as Virginia Drake’s boobs. Now, let’s keep watching the reason your psycho boy-toy is so screwed up.”

With a devious smirk, Arya reached for the tablet. “You are wise beyond your years, Ashlyn Summers.”

“I know.” I unpaused it, and we continued to visually indulge on Tobias’s fucked up family life.

I didn’t need that drama. Niko breaking things off was a good thing. Chances were, if we had ended up together, I’d be on this show in ten years. No thank you.

Chapter 14

Caesar

---