Page 60 of Hallowed Bones

He drifts off as the Hummer turns into the student parking lot and parks in an empty space.

“And?” I press, leaning closer, nearly over the console.

Lyall turns his head and peers back at me. “Us,” he finishes. “Stories and us—our powers, the fact that we exist and do so with abilities beyond normal comprehension. We are the primary proof that deities exist, don’t you think?”

That’s just the thing. I don’t fucking know. If my existence has a purpose, then what is it? Why am I here? Why did I live and not my parents?

“I think that’s enough of the heavy topics for now,” Lyall murmurs as he turns off the engine and opens his door.

I press a hand to my forehead as he hops out. “Heavy topics” is an understatement. My brain feels like I put it on a treadmill at the highest speed and incline and forgot about it. It’s worn out and tired.

I nearly jump out of my skin when the passenger door swings open. Lyall stands there, hand outstretched, and just like that, there’s no more time for contemplation. I slide my hand into his and let him help me down from the cab, the quiet spell breaking the second my shoes hit the gravel. I move to let go, but he doesn’t. His grip tightens, and then—I’m pulled flush against him.

His arm snakes around my waist, anchoring me there, and suddenly, the only thing I can feel is the hard press of his body against mine. I arch a brow up at him. “Lyall?”

“I answered all your questions, Rabbit,” he murmurs, lowering his volume until his words are a brush across my skin. “Now it’s your turn—tell me, do you like ice cream?”

“Ice cream?” My brain scrambles, caught between his heat and the closeness of his mouth as he bends to bring our eyes level with one another.

Golden sparks flicker in his irises, full of wicked promise. “Yeah. Chocolate. Vanilla. Mint chip?”

I shrug, dazed. “I mean … sure. I like it as much as anyone.”

“Perfect.” He nods like I’ve confirmed a vital theory. “Then I’ll pick you up after your last class on Wednesday. Wear something cute.”

“What?” My heart lurches, but before I can process it, he releases me—too fast, too sudden. I stumble back a step before my mind catches up.

Lyall pulls something from his back pocket. My phone. My phone.

“Hey!” I lunge for it. “That’s mine!”

His grin is a feral thing, and I watch in horror and indignation as he lifts it just out of my reach. “What the fuck, Lyall?” I smack his chest, and he doesn’t even flinch. “Give it back!”

“Only if you agree to go out with me Wednesday.”

“What?” I glare. “No. Give me my damn phone.”

He waves it like bait. “Ezra hiked all the way back into the woods to find this and get it fixed for you. The least you could do is repay the favor.”

“That makes zero sense!” I snap. “If he’s the one who fixed it, why would I owe you a date?”

“Because I’m the one holding it hostage,” he says, like it’s the most reasonable thing in the world.

I groan and turn away, marching toward the edge of the lot—only to stop dead. I need that phone. Damn it. Whipping back around, I glare at him, heat prickling up my neck. “Fine. Wednesday!”

His grin turns smug as hell. He strides over, slow and predatory, like he’s already won. Which, annoyingly, he has.

As soon as he’s close enough, I snatch my phone from his hand.

The screen is flawless. Smooth. Not a single crack or scratch—like the chaos of last night never happened. Had Ezra really gone out, found it, fixed it all in one night? How? Why?

Before I can ask, Lyall’s hand cups the back of my head, and I look up just as he bends down.

He presses his lips to my forehead. A whisper of a kiss. A promise wrapped in fire.

“See you on Wednesday, Rabbit,” he murmurs. “Be a good girl until then.”

And then he’s gone, turning without another word, striding back to that beast of a vehicle like he didn’t just short-circuit my entire nervous system.