“Oh. That must be hard.”
“Yeah, it can be,” I admitted.
Silence stretched between us for a moment. I was about to say something more, but Scarlet closed the distance between us in an instant, and her lips connected with mine. I was so shocked that I drew away just as quickly, but Scarlet must’ve thought it was an invitation. She jumped on top of me, pinning my body to the mausoleum staircase. The edges of the stairs dug into my back, and Scarlet’s tongue slithered inside of my mouth. She worked her succubus powers on me, entrancing me to remain still as her lips moved over mine.
My magic warred against hers. I didn’t know whether to shove her off of me or succumb to her. I wanted to enjoy this, but I just… didn’t. Kissing her felt gross, and I wanted heroffof me.
Betrayal twinged inside of me. I shoved at Scarlet’s shoulders. At first, I thought the feeling had come from me, an innate reaction to kissing another woman. But the twinge ebbed away as quickly as it came.
I realized that it hadn’t come from me at all. It’d come through our bond. Mortification swallowed me whole as I realized what had happened.
Scarlet finally drew away from me. “Whoops.”
Damn it.“Ava saw, didn’t she?”
Scarlet sucked a breath between her teeth. “She’s on the other side of the prison yard. I didn’t realize.”
Oberi,I growled through the bond.You brought her here, didn’t you?
I’m not letting you get involved with Scarlet that easily, he sneered back, sounding slightly proud of himself.
I sat up. “We should’ve picked somewhere more private. Maybe next time we can—”
Scarlet stood, cutting me off. “Let’s take some time to think about it. I just realized I’m late for class.”
I got to my feet beside her. “Well, uh, I had a good time,” I lied. I wasn’t sure where the words came from, because they weren’t true. I was certain some of Scarlet’s succubus magic had actually taken hold of me, but something had turned her off. Maybe I wasn’t as easy to manipulate as her other suitors, and that bothered her.
Or maybe she didn’t like that there was still another woman in the picture. “You’re easy to talk to. When can I see you again?” I asked lamely.
How about never,Oberi laughed in my head.
Fuck off, I snapped.
I can’t. I’m already walking toward you.
“Um, I’m not sure,” Scarlet said. “I have a lot of training to do for my next fight. Rain check?”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll see you around,” I said. I heard Scarlet’s footsteps as she hastily ran out of the cemetery.
Oberi cackled in my mind.You scared her away!
Youscared her away by bringing Ava out here,I snapped.
I left the cemetery after Scarlet, and the gate creaked shut behind me. The moment I was back in the prison yard, Ava and Oberi approached. I noticed another pair of footsteps with them, along with the soft pad of paws in the grass. It must’ve been Marcus and Rishi.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, feeling like I’d been caught doing something bad. And I had. Succubus influence or not, I couldn’t convince myself otherwise. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”
Ava didn’t say a thing. Though she tried to hide it, I heard her sniffle.
“Have you seen Kallie this morning?” Marcus asked. “We’ve been looking everywhere for her.”
“No. Why?”
He sounded worried. “We were supposed to meet in the Villain’s Den. She was going to quiz me on my history homework. She didn’t show up.”
“Maybe Oberi can sniff her out,” I suggested.
“We tried that,” Ava said, quite harshly. “He led us out here, but there are so many other smells that he lost track of her scent.”
