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“Oh, shut up, you like me regardless.”
He just grinned.
“Kingston? What about you?” I glanced over at the dragon shifter.
“Guerrilla Warfare.” He made a face. “Gym first thing in the morning? Who do they think I am, Rambo?”
“I have Magic: Personal Protection,” Hannah said. “Sorry, Piper, looks like you’re on your own.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I looked across the cafeteria where Kai sat scowling at his class assignments. “Or maybe I’ll get to pester Kai.”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Xero murmured, following my gaze. “He’s on a whole ’nother level of nope these days.”
God, don’t I know it.
I shrugged, trying to hide how much that hurt. But honestly, my crap mood was only partially due to the coffee shortage. Some of it was the dank feeling of hopelessness and evil that permeated the air in the underworld, seeping into the school—but most of it was Kai. I wanted him with me. By the end of our first year, he’d finally integrated into the group. He and I had finally had a bonding moment—one so intense I couldn’t stop thinking about it—and now he’d just turned his back on all of that without even telling me why.
It sucked. Hardcore, deep throat, full-on-gagging sucked.
As it turned out, he was in my first period class, though I didn’t see him right away. His red tunic was the exact color of the wall, and his toffee skin and black hair were a near perfect match for the patterns that were painted on it. I shifted my appearance until I was utterly unexceptional and completely average, then sauntered over to the seat beside him. He didn’t even look at me.
“Trying to be teacher’s pet already?” I asked him.
“Excuse me?”
“You blend right in with the wall. This is the Hiding in Plain sight class, right?”
“Yes,” he muttered, shifting uncomfortably. “Coincidence, I assure you. Unlike your attempt, which was clearly deliberate.”
“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You know what I mean, Piper.”
I scowled and shifted back into my usual shape. “Oh, fine. How did you know?”
“My mark itches when you get too close.”
“Does not.”
“It does.”
“Then why hasn’t anybody else told me this?”
“Because they enjoy the sensation.” He looked pointedly away from me. “Oh, look, a seat just opened up all the way over there.”
“Kai, stop.”
“Class is starting.” He stood in a preternaturally smooth motion and picked up his satchel. He didn’t even look at me as he walked across the room. The seat he chose was two rows in front of where I was, so he would literally never have to see me unless he was deliberately looking. I took the hint, but I didn’t like it.
Toland hadn’t been kidding about the classes changing. It seemed every class I went to was solely focused on life in the underworld. Nobody even mentioned how the skills they were teaching us could be used back on earth, though I could see the applications for myself.
“Jesus. It’s like they’ve given up hope of ever getting home,” I griped to the guys later that day. We’d all met up in the library after classes had finished and were lounging around in a loose group.
“Maybe they’re just being practical,” Kingston said absently. He had a book up to his face like he was reading, but he hadn’t turned a page in over ten minutes.
“I don’t think so.” Jayce heaved a sigh. “I think you’re right, Piper. They aren’t just trying to help us stay hidden in the castle temporarily. They’re teaching us like they expect us to graduate here.”
“I think they do,” Xero said, his voice carefully neutral. “They’re teaching us how to win a war from behind enemy lines.”
