He punctuates the final word with jazz hands.
“This isn’t about you,” Delaney hisses, an indecipherable emotion sparking in her eyes.
“Everythingis about me. I decided that long ago.” Travan says this entire thing matter-of-factly.
“Isabella needs to harness—” Delaney cuts off with a scream, her gaze flicking towards her hand.
Where a blade now protrudes from the center of the limb.
Travan smiles, and in any other circumstances, I would describe it as sheepish. “Feeling cute. Might throw a knife at a bitch. Oops.”
And then everything goes from shit…to shittier.
Twelve
IZZY
Michelle moves to stand beside her brother, a decidedly predatory smile on her pretty face. It’s the type of smile I imagine a lion would have if it took human form. It looks strange in contrast to her elfin features, like the universe is decreeing that someone as small as her shouldn’t appear so terrifying.
“Isabella, long time no see.” Her voice is practically a purr as she grins at me before sliding her gaze to Ansel. “And hello, handsome.”
Honestly, it’s a testament to my self-control that I don’t punch the girl again.
But that would be one battle I can’t win, given the circumstances—not in the metaphorical belly of the beast.
“Ahh. Michelle, isn’t it?” I feign innocence as I blink up at her. “Did the gatekeeper fall asleep on the job?”
Her brows pucker. “Gatekeeper?”
“To hell, of course. How else did you get out?”
Ansel twists his head away to hide his smile, and even Dyson disguises his laugh with an ill-timed cough. Michelle’s face turns red with fury.
Good.
I want her to come at me, because that will give me the excuse to beat the shit out of her. I still remember the despondence on Reid’s face when he told me what she did to him.
She sexually assaulted him. Then, when he rejected her, she told her brother that Reid took her virginity by force and then broke up with her. Dyson may have been the one to place the curse on Reid, but all of it stems back to Michelle.
I rearrange my stance so my weight is evenly distributed and then eye the witch like the loose cannon she is. If she attacks me, I’ll have to act quickly or risk facing off against her unpredictable magic. I have no weapons on me, but I don’t need any. A fist to the face should do the job nicely.
But Michelle surprises me by squeezing her eyelids shut, taking a deep breath, and then muttering to Hecate, her voice too low for me to hear properly. After a long moment, she pushes back her shoulders and spears me with a look.
“I just wanted to officially welcome you to the school.” Each word is curt and concise, and the smile on her face is forced. Someone obviously told her to be polite to me. I don’t know if this is comical to watch…or terrifying. “If you need anything, please let me know.”
“Unless we need cloven feet for any spells we may learn, I think we’re good for now,” Ansel drawls, and my heart flutters.
Awww. He doesn’t even knowwhyI hate Michelle, yet he’s taking my side, no questions asked.
I really, really want to kiss him right now.
The red on Michelle’s cheeks branches to the tips of her ears. “I don’t have cloven feet.”
It sounds as if she’s speaking through clenched teeth.
Ansel stares at her in alarm, his eyes comically wide in his handsome face. “I never said you did. Why would you assume that?”
Ahh. Gaslighting at its finest.
