Page 18 of Fated for Dawn

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. “I’m Ruby. Bet you’re amazing at this,” she added, clearly thinking her flirtation was working.

Viper recoiled, his face twisting in disgust as he shot a furious glare back at me. “This is all your fault,” he snarled.

But something shifted as a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad you’re not dead, crazy witch.”

I blinked, surprised by the sudden softening. “Feelings mutual,” I shot back with a smile.

As he continued on his way, Ruby was still chattering behind him, talking a mile a minute.

“All right, warm-up time! Laps, everyone!” Professor Tamsin clapped her hands, signaling the start of what was sure to be an excruciating return to form.

Adrien and Raven groaned in unison, and I laughed.

Yep, the first few days are always the worst.

6

Evelyn

“So, Evelyn, how was your first day back at the Academy?” Lucien sat across from me, his gaze catching mine as he raised an eyebrow.

We were all gathered around the dining table, enjoying Mrs. Cook’s fine dining, the kind of food that made you want seconds before you’d even finished your first plate.

I swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes and shrugged. “It was…fine. For me, it felt like I’d never left. But, at the same time, everything was different. Seeing my friends was nice, but there were a lot of whispers, stares, and a few people who looked like they’d seen a ghost.”

“Technically, they kind of have,” Chad pointed out, piling more meat onto his plate.

I snorted. “Fair point. Oh, and I almost forgot—I need to retrieve that siphoning book from the new professor’s office.” Icringed, imagining the poor teacher who was being affected by it.

“I already retrieved it,” Lucien said, surprising me. “Hiding it directly inside the wall was clever, by the way.”

I grinned. “Thanks. Professor Saris seems like a good one. I didn’t want him getting siphoned just because it used to be the witch bitch’s office.”

The table fell silent momentarily as everyone focused on finishing their meals. After swallowing my last bite, I glanced at my empty plate and shot up from my chair.

“Alright, Rafe. You ready to go kick some Shadow Guardian butt?”

Rafe followed, his footsteps light behind me.

As we entered the gym, I unsheathed my sword, and he did the same.

“It’s go time,” I muttered, more to myself than to Rafe.

I caught our reflection in the mirror and nodded to him. “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

Rafe’s shy smile made my heart flutter. “We do.”

I closed my eyes, picturing the door to the shadow realm. Dark and imposing, it materialized before us. With a deep breath, I pushed it open.

The Guardian was waiting, a massive figure of swirling darkness. I gripped my sword tighter, adrenaline coursing through me.

“Let’s dance, big guy,” I taunted, charging forward.

Rafe flanked me; his movements were graceful and strong. We struck simultaneously, our blades slicing through the air.

Until, suddenly, everything went black.

I blinked, finding myself in the gym, flat on my back. Rafe groaned beside me.

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