Page 56 of Savage Sacrifice
Heading toward the psych building, I’m lost in thought, bewildered by my friend’s life choices, but I quickly shut my judgment down when I consider the men I’m infatuated with.
Lincoln is a headache, but the sweetest blissful kind that doesn’t even make sense. I’m addicted to his madness, and when his fire and desire are aimed my way, I’m putty in his hands.
Wylder is all-consuming. He doesn’t shy away from his feelings, and he’s more than willing to chase me when I run. The thought of that alone has my thighs clenching.
Tatum is my gentle and kind, yet fierce man who sees me in a light no one else seems to understand. But even among the shadows and darkness, get this man between the sheets, and he’ll destroy me just as thoroughly as the others.
Asher wields dominance with precision, like a knife. Even with his head in his cell phone, he’s always watching, always listening, and when he lays out a command, there’s nothing I want to do but follow it.
Blaze has wreaked havoc on me since the very beginning. To the world, he hated me. Alone, he worshipped me, even without a single touch. It was in his actions. Compulsion or not, what he hid from me was alluring and obsessive, and I’m a glutton for it.
I’m still deep in thought as I step into my class, and it takes me a second to realize I’m the first one here. Opting for my preferred seat in the middle row, I drop my backpack at my feet, but before I can take a seat, the creak of a door catches my attention as the professor steps into the room.
His eyes land on mine instantly and he offers me a half smile as he nods. He doesn’t say a word as the tension rises in the room, and I sense apprehension stifling the air around me.
What the hell?
He stares at me expectantly and I frown, tilting my head as something about him suddenly feels… familiar.
I purse my lips, unable to speak as I think. I don’t know where I know him from, but he knows me, and he’s not afraid to hide it. I spoke to him just yesterday, but this is different. I squint, and the shadows it casts over my vision make me halt as I realize where I know him from.
The understanding must show on my face because he nods, placing his soft, brown leather briefcase on his desk.
“She told me you knew,” he states, eyebrows raised, and I gulp.
“Belladora,” I breathe, and a ghost of a smile spreads across his face at the mere mention of her name. He nods and I instantly shake my head. “I don’t know anything, it seems,” I admit, adrenaline shooting through my veins with apprehension, but I don’t feel unsafe… yet.
“You recognize me.” It’s a statement, not a question, and I nod, worrying at my bottom lip before I breathe.
“You were hiding in the shadows.”
“In the vision she placed on the chalice,” he finishes, and I nod.
He was inside the building, where everyone was plotting their demise while Belladora was sobbing in Jonah’s arms outside.
“What’s your name?” I ask, knowing it’s one of four, and he purses his lips before he speaks.
“Octantis.” I offer him a tight smile as he shakes his head. “I never thought anyone would see that vision. It was a long time ago when she placed it, never mind when it actually happened,” he admits, and the tension in the room eases enough for my shoulders to drop an inch.
I nod, but I don’t really understand. “Why are you here?”
He scoffs, shaking his head. “I’m always here. It’s the role forced upon me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I point out, and he smirks, but it’s dark, tainted, broken.
“Nothing about the blood kin curse does, does it?”
Silence lingers in the air, the darkness of our pain clouding the room, but I have to make the most of this opportunity. If I can’t see Belladora, I can still seek some kind of understanding from him.
“What can you tell me about that? The blood kin curse, I mean.”
He shrugs, not offering a single word as he looks down at his feet, and I sigh.
“Thanks.”
He looks up through his lashes at me, but still doesn’t say anything as the creak of the door opening echoes around the room again.
Disappointment takes root in my gut, the chance to learn more vanishing, but when I turn to the door, it’s not another student who enters, but a man. A man I’m familiar with for similar reasons.
