Page 38 of Demon Hunger
“My patience is wearing thin, Regina. You’d better quit or—”
“Or what? You’ll raid my closet and leave your ratty clothes behind?” She scoffed and her friends laughed.
“You think your money makes you a better person?” I sneered. “Pathetic.”
“Only a broke-ass idiot would think that. I’ve gone to the best schools, had the best tutors, play the cello, and speak three languages. I could go on and on. Of course, I’m better than you. You’re the one who’s pathetic.”
“Shut your stupid mouth, Regina,” Jenna said behind me. She had stayed back talking to Professor Fennix, but she’d come out just in time.
Her presence diffused my anger somewhat. She didn’t need to get involved in this petty argument and rivalry.
I turned. “Don’t worry about it, Jenna. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, you scurry away. I have no time to spend on charity cases. I prefer the company ofbetter people.” She glanced at her friends, who preened like cocky birds.
As she turned to leave, I wanted to blast all my telekinetic power against her. The need was especially hard to resist when she got near the stairs. My fingers curled as my hand shook with the desire to shove her.
Jenna’s hand slipped into mine. “Don’t let her get to you.” She coaxed my fingers to relax. “You can wipe the floor with her. You can outdo her in every subject the LDH teaches. You’re better with the sword. You’re a more powerful Skew. You have a big heart.”
“Pshaw!” I pushed her teasingly and started walking toward the cafeteria. Now she was blowing smoke. A big heart? “No one who knows me well would ever use the wordbigto describe my heart. Dark? Nonexistent? Wicked? That’s more like it.”
“You’re freaking saving the world one subject at a time, Lucia. Of course you have a big heart.”
I shook my finger in her face. “Nope. I’m doing that for selfish reasons.”
“Yeah, you tell yourself that, but I know better. You’re risking it all, and I don’t know many people who would do that.”
The risks were undeniable, but none of this had anything to do with my heart. It wasn’t as if I really had a choice, did I?
14
WithStriker’sQuellerstrappedto my back, I went down the league’s front steps in the company of Jenna. Giuseppe was waiting for us in a compacted limousine, which meant Drevan was in there. I winced and my chest tightened as if preparing itself for the usual jolted his presence gave me.
As we approached, one of the back doors opened, and the Prince himself stepped out. He was dressed in worn jeans, a white T-shirt, and a navy suit jacket. He offered Jenna his hand, who took it and climbed in.
“Good evening, Lucia,” he greeted me, his deep voice doing things to my body that made me feel like I was a flower and he was the sun itself.
What choice did the little plant have but to turn in the direction of the light? That was how it was with him, how it had been from the very beginning. I was powerless, driven by instincts that couldn’t be denied.
I stopped and met his gaze. “Hello, Drevan.”
He leaned forward and inhaled as if taking in my scent. He seemed to shudder, and for a moment, I felt as if our roles had reversed. I had become the sun, and he was in desperate need of my heat.
He reached for my hand to help me climb into the limousine. “After you.”
I slid into the seat next to Jenna. A minute later, Drevan was sitting across from us and we were on our way to visit Kody. For an irrational moment, I wished Jenna wasn’t there and imagined myself straddling Drevan, sinking my fingers into his silky hair and leaning forward for a kiss that would never end. As if he could read my mind, Drevan’s golden eyes flashed in my direction, a gentle glow in their depths.
His gaze lowered to my mouth, down my neck, and to my breasts, which tightened to peaks in response. The air inside the cabin was so thick with innuendo that Jenna glanced out the window, humming a song and looking self-conscious.
“I wish we could ride the subway,” I blurted out, trying to dispel the tension. “The limousine isn’t exactly an appropriate ride for two young journalists from the LDH Magazine.”
“Don’t worry,” Drevan said. “No one will see the limousine. By the way,” he reached into his pocket and produced two small stacks of business cards. He handed one to Jenna and the other to me. “These are for you.”
Lucia Sunder
Junior Staff Writer
LDH Magazine
