I pulled it out and looked at the secure message that had come through.
I NEED MORE
“Fuck!” I cursed out loud.
It had been hard enough getting in there last time. Now I was going to have to go again.
And I couldn’t do it alone.
I placed my tray away and walked up to their table. Seph visibly tensed when I arrived.
“Good morning,” I said quietly.
She winced and nodded. “Good morning, K.”
Dev leaned back in his chair and glared up at me, as if waiting for me to attack.
Ash just growled, his eyes on Seph like a guard dog. If we threw down here, we would be answering to him.
“Dev, I need to talk to you,” I said finally.
He just stared at me with those dead green eyes of his. In his hands he held his blade, flicking it through his fingers like a threat.
“Ok,” he said finally, standing up.
And then he did a strange thing. He looked at Seph and he smiled. “Will you be ok?”
“I’m here. If anyone comes near her, I’ll just rip off their fingers.”
Ash shrugged, chowing down.
Seph looked at him, half amused, half horrified.
But I don’t think she realised he wasn’t actually joking.
Dev stood, blade still resting casually against his palm—even though nothing about him was casual. He jerked his head toward the hallway without taking his eyes off me, silently daring me to try anything stupid.
As we moved away, Seph’s shoulders tightened like she was bracing for bad news.
She didn’t trust me enough to think any conversation involving me ended well.
That shouldn’t have hurt.
It did anyway.
Ash scooted his chair closer to her the second Dev and I stepped away, body angled protectively, one hand hovering near the pulse point of his magic.
He was gearing up to fight.
For her.
For Seph.
I swallowed the bitter taste in my throat.
Dev and I stopped just outside the cafeteria doors. The hallway was empty, shadows long and quiet.
He didn’t bother waiting.
