Page 12 of A Drop of Anguish
His brows rise. “No?” He shrugs. “Well, my very own potion master bestie is a pretty good reason.”
I cross my arms again and turn to face Janet and her boyfriend.
“I’m Janet,” she says with a grin, ignoring my rage.
“Thompson. Nice to meet you.” He turns his wide grin to Lola, who casually adjusts her pigtails.
“And you are?” Thompson asks.
Lola’s wings flutter when he winks at her, but she remains on her perch. “Lola,” she purrs, in what I assume is an attempt at sultry but nearly squeaks with her tiny voice.
“Nice to meet you all. Except you.” He chuckles in my direction.
“I don’t trust you,” I say, crossing my arms. And I’m now super pissed that the whole “now everyone won’t pay you as much attention” thing backfired big time.
“I don’t trust you either.” He shrugs. “I don’t trust anyone outside of my direct family. That’s just how these things go. I’m not looking for friends. I’m looking for leverage.”
I purse my lips. Well, that’s about as honest as it could get.
“So, no warm fuzzies?” I keep my voice steady, but my eyes are narrowed. I don’t like this at all.
“Nope. Not my style. I mean, I don’t mind the occasional benefits that come with alliances, but no pressure or anything.”
I consider this. A brand-new shifter joins the school without any allies at all—which is exceptionally unusual for his breed—and heads straight for me. He admits he’s only here for leverage.
So, he thinks he can get some kind of advantage from me.
That just leaves me wondering if that leverage will be to my benefit or at my expense.
4
DEAR CANDICE
When will you see?
When will you notice how much you do not belong?
You’re like a child among giants.
One wrong move, that’s all it takes.
One blink. One stutter. One moment of arrogance.
Who will be crying over your cold corpse? Who will be left to seek your justice?
The Jinn
5
Facing My Nightmares Alone
Ilay on my small, stiff twin-sized bed and stare up at the discolored ceiling.
Though Corrine did return to school, and she doesn’t avoid meentirely, she did change rooms, leaving me all alone. She never explained why, and I never asked.
The biggest benefit of not being in my room is that she’s separated herself from mystellarreputation. There have been whisperings of other students that were involved in the games, but those were forgotten fairly quickly.
Corrine has successfully flown under the radar since her return, despite the fact that she had a relationship with the school headmaster. That’s also not something I’ll ever bring up with her, since apparently, she shares that fact with my sister.
