“I’mfine.” I pulled up chapter three on my device. “Do you want me to read this? It looks like we have to build a simple battery with zinc and copper, then measure its voltage—”
“Forget the bloody lab.” Orion leaned closer. “About Saturday night…”
“What about it?”
“Well.” He suddenly seemed nervous. “I thought it was quite lovely before we were so rudely interrupted, and I was wondering…” He cocked his head. “Are you sure you’re all right? If it’s because of Elowen, I’m sorry. I should have—”
I kept my eyes on the screen. “You don’t have to be sorry. I get it.”
“Get what?”
“Look, I’m not going to give you a hard time about it or expect anything. So don’t worry, you’re off the hook.”
“Off the hook?”
“Yes. We can forget the whole thing ever happened.”
“Maybe I don’t want to forget it happened.” His nervous smile returned. “Look, I’m bungling it. You may have heard, I don’t normally do this—”
“Look, Orion, you don’t have to make nice or pretend. It’s just been made abundantly clear to me where I stand in the social order of things, and I’m not interested in playing Richie games, okay?”
His brows came together, and for the first time since we’d met, he looked truly angry. I sort of loathed that it had to be this way, but if he hated me, so be it. It was better—
“Who?” he demanded.
I blinked. “What?”
“You said it was made clear where you stand. Who made that clear to you?”
A fluttering in my stomach, like a hundred butterflies taking off at once. Same as when he’d put his jacket on me at the bonfire, and I’d been enveloped in the clean, masculine scent of his cologne and soap and the lingering heat of his body. Now the feeling came again, from watching Orion’s handsome face turn threatening and protective. His smile morphing to a snarl. Histwinklyeyes darkening with menace.
Dammit, this is not how this was supposed to go.
“No one,” I said, looking away. “It’s just the Academy in general. It’s pretty obvious how it all works. The caste system. You said it yourself…”
“Harper. Tell me.”
His stare was unrelenting, and the commanding tone in his voice nearly had me obeying. But I wasn’t a snitch. I cleared my throat and recovered my sense of self. No,stoleit back from this guy who had the ability to break through my defenses more easily than anyone I’dever met.
All the more reason to build them higher and stronger.
“Just leave it,” I said. “I’ve got too damn much on my plate. I’m your lab partner and that’s all. That’s all I’ll ever be. Okay?”
“What? Why?”
“Because it’s better that way.”
“Says who? Harper,what happened?”
“Nothing. Everything. I’m…” I shook my head, willing my stupid eyes not to betray me. “I’m just done, okay? I’m fucking done.”
Orion stared at me, a thousand thoughts playing over his features. For a moment I thought he might protest or tell me flat-out that this was unacceptable.
But he didn’t.
“Fine,” he said finally. “If it’s what you want.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Should I read the lab instructions?”
