Page 33 of The Stone Initiation
Looked like the abrasive male was going to be on the same floor as us.
He growled with displeasure when he realized this, then stomped off in the opposite direction to us when we got to our floor.
“At least his room isn’t next to ours,” Touron said. “I bet he snores.”
“He probably fucks loudly too,” Sharniza said coolly coming to a standstill outside her door.
“With commentary,” Touron added with a shudder.
Sharniza snorted in amusement. “I dated a goyle like that once. Wouldn’t stop telling me what he planned to do, or how good it all felt. I ended up shoving a pillow over his face until I was done.”
Pindrop silence followed her disclosure.
She grunted and shoved open her door. “Night.” She slammed it shut and Touron and I exchanged glances.
“She likes us,” he said. “She totally wants to be friends.”
It wasn’t until I was in my assigned room that it hit me I had no personal effects with me. My bag was back on the bus, and even then, I’d brought only one change of clothes and some toiletries.
But my bag sat on my bed waiting for me.
O-kay, the academy was certainly organized. Made me wonder what happened to the effects of all those gargoyles, or goyles, as Sharniza called them, who didn’t make it.
I unzipped my small holdall and sighed. At least the bed was made. I’d need more stuff though. Clothes to fill the dresser for starters. I tugged open the top draw and found it neatly filled with T-shirts and vests.
I lifted one, and the label glared at me. Lastonflex. It looked my size. And there were more clothes—pants, socks, and some sports bras. The wardrobe had a couple of pairs of leggings and two joggers and zippy tops all made with the same material. They even had Lastonflex sneakers.
One size could fit all. It explained why they didn’t ask you to bring loads of stuff. They had it covered.
Khaki, gray, and brown.
Looked like these would be my colors for the next, however long it took to find what I’d come looking for.
But where to start? I hadn’t thought beyond getting into the academy. The next step would have been getting close to Romi’s elite team. But Orix’s reaction to me, his whole trying-to-kill-me thing, meant I needed to tread carefully there. I needed to figure out what his problem with me was, and whether it was more than him trying to keep a halfblood out of Stonehaven. Because honestly, murder was a little excessive. There had to be more to it, but I wasn’t about to do the dumb thing and corner him to ask.
Serath saved me once, but there was no guarantee he’d be around to do so again if Orix decided to finish the job.
Serath was my obvious entry point.
The thought of the elite shifter made my chest tight. There was something undeniably compelling about the male and the way my body had reacted to him…
I didn’t know much about the mating habits of gargoyles, but I knew when I was attracted to someone, and I was attracted to the elite, and something in the way his gaze had lingered on me in the warping circle told me he was intrigued by me too.
I didn’t need this. I had Levi.
I was falling in love with my halfblood boyfriend, and although I’d broken it off with him before coming here, part of me hoped that we could patch things up once I got the closure I needed. That is,ifhe waited for me.
My heart sank at the thought of Levi with someone else.
The attraction to Serath was a fluke. Too much adrenaline and the whole flight or fight situation must have messed with my senses.
But if he was attracted to me, then maybe I could use it to my advantage?
He’d jumped into the water to save me from whatever monster had been about to take a bite out of me. Pretty sure that was a breach of the rules, and not something done lightly. So, either he couldn’t bear to see me hurt or…Oh shit! Maybe he knew who I was and felt compelled to save my ass.
Either way, he was my target. If I could get close to him and earn his trust, I might finally get to the truth of Romi’s death.
Whatever I decided, it had to be done before the initiate exam. Before I was officially contracted as a guardian. There was no way I could pass that exam. I’d be delusional to think otherwise, and once I failed and got put into administration, any hope of getting close to Romi’s team would be gone. Any hope of answers wiped.
