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I broke away, blinking hard to keep unexpected tears at bay. With effort, I matched his soft smile. “Goodnight, Deus.”
“Hey.”
I looked up from the fire-lighting spell I was trying to parse for basic incantations.
There stood Ezric, looking like a glorified woodsman in a green plaid shirt and jeans so tight that anyactualwoodsman would’ve laughed him out of the forest. His two-day stubble and his smirk suggested he’d spent a couple days with his latest fling.
“Can I help you with something?” My tone made it clear I didn’t actually want to be helpful.
I wasn’t happy to see him, but I was mainly irritated at the interruption. Parsing was my least favorite homework, and now that my concentration was broken, it’d take me at least fifteen minutes to get back into the zone.
“So polite, Red. I can see why Deus likes you.” Ezric fixed me with his dark eyes and flashed what he probably thought was a rakish grin. It made me want to vomit. “He said you got a good grade on the alchemy mid-term.”
Clearly, Deus and I had different ideas of what constituted a good grade.
“Better than I would have gotten without Bianca’s help,” I admitted.
I’d already found her and thanked her, but that was none of Ezric’s business.
“So. Study group works. Which brings me to my next point.” He leaned over the table. “Study session, fifteen minutes,Spellcaster’s.Let’s go.”
I stared at him for a moment. Did this sort of thing work for him normally? Did he go up to other random girls and say things like,Sex, my room, fifteen minutes?
“No thanks,” I replied, looking back at my scribbled notes.
“Why not?” Ezric crossed his arms over his chest. His biceps were the size of my head, and I couldn’t help but swallow as I imagined them around my throat.
Remembering what Deus had told me about Ezric’s rough home-life, I debated being nice to him… but he didn’t deserve it. Besides, I wasn’t at Slaymore to make friends.
“Because you’re a bit of a douche.” I rolled my eyes. “And I prefer to study alone.”
And I don’t want to spend any time in your company,I wanted to add, but kept it to myself.
I looked back down, intending that as the end of the conversation. Then a large hand came down over my paper, obscuring my notes. My neck snapped up to Ezric’s face.
He wasn’t smiling anymore. “I’ve known Deus for ten years. I’m his closest friend. Have you ever considered that it’s in your best interest to get along with me?”
The thought had never crossed my mind, and I opened my mouth to say so, but the memory of Deus’ anxious face, and what he’d said about Ezric after the last disastrous study session gave me pause.
Even if Deus and I were keeping things casual, perhaps itwasin my best interest not to push a potential wedge between us.
And regardless of how he made my skin crawl, maybe it was best not to alienate Ezric. Besides, it would be better if he knew me as a friend before he found out what I really was…
“Anyway, Tatiana’s really good at basic incantations. She comes from a long line of witches and would totally know how to do”—he waved his free hand—“Whatever it is you’re doing.”
I toyed with my cuff. Maybe parsing with a companion would make it more bearable. And Deus got a wounded seal-pup look every time I turned down an invitation to hang out with his friends. Imagining the happy look on Deus’ face if I showed up had flying fish fluttering in my stomach.
“Fine.” I gathered my notes.
At worst, it would be a couple of hours of tooth-grinding frustration, right?
Oh, how very wrong I was.
Spellcaster’swas a witchy spot where students could have potions competitions, duels, and magic shows. They had no mochas, but they did have a large variety of mocktails, so I ordered something called a Sassy Senior while Ezric found our study table.
When I finally had my drink, I scanned the place for him—only to find him sitting alone near the door.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, still searching for the rest of the group.
