Page 43 of A Drop of Anguish
I suck in a breath as the two demons storm outside, shaking the walls of the school as they go. I blink rapidly, trying to wrap my mind around what just happened.
The lunchroom is utterly still, with only the distant sound of rumbling and the desperate breaths of those surrounding me.
No one dares to move or even speak. There are no whispers, just panicked stares.
Then, Ms. Bhatt enters the room, hands clasped behind her back.
Once all attention is on her, she holds up her hands, as if surrendering. “All is well. Please return to your meals.”
I huff. Is she kidding? The tables are frozen solid, and everyone is petrified.
Her lips twist into an annoyed frown when no one moves.
“As you all know, this is one of the risks of housing such powerful supernaturals. Prince Jarron’s passion got the best of him, but he is working out his emotions in the arena with his companion, as is part of our protocol for such situations.”
A blast in the distance makes me flinch.That’s what they’re doing?
Many students lean to peer out the window in the corner. The arena can just barely be seen. Black magic flashes then recedes. Oh my God.
That was not the reaction I’d expected. I don’t know what I expected. The last time I was injured, we were in a public relationship and he had to react—it was expected. Not that I thought it was false, I just… was prepared for it.
But this time, it wasn’t really like he was angry. It was like he was devastated.
My cheeks warm. I don’t even know what to make of that.
The other students seem to finally take Ms. Bhatt’s words to heart and begin shuffling back to their seats. I don’t move until Janet comes up next to me. She twists her arm in mine. Lola flutters over too and sits on my good shoulder, nestling into my hair.
Janet guides me to our usual table and sits next to me without a word. I’m certain the rest of the lunchroom is talking about me, watching me. But today, I don’t hear it. I don’t see any of it.
“Are you okay?” Janet finally asks.
“What the hell just happened?” I whisper. It’s not an answer to her question, but I don’t have one, so it’ll have to do.
“Jarron lost control,” she says gently, like a mother explaining a hard truth to a toddler.
“Has he ever done that before?”
She shakes her head. “He’s shown his magic before, like the frost, but I never got the impression that he had no control over it or that he was on the verge of exploding like he was just now.”
“Yeah, that was really scary.” Lola shivers against me.
“We basically had an atomic bomb land in the middle of the cafeteria,” Janet says.
Lola clears her throat. “But, uh, the good news is, I don’t think anyone else is going to mess with you. Like, ever again.”
I huff out a bitter laugh. Then, I force a deep breath. “Where are Marcus and Thompson?”
“Marcus is over there.” She nods to a table across the aisle. “He decided it would be safer to stay with his Major Hall friends for now. And Thompson never came to lunch. I think he suspected something might happen, and he wanted to steer clear in case Jarron’s rage turned on him.”
“He—he expected this to happen?”
Janet shrugs.
“We expected him to react,” Lola answers. “We just didn’t know how.”
Another distant explosion rattles the room. “Is Laithe going to be okay?”
“Yeah. They’re bonded, so he can’t technically harm him.”
