Page 51 of Vicious Kings
"You okay?" he asks, and his voice is warm honey dripping over me. His hands are still on my arms, steadying me even though I'm perfectly capable of standing on my own.
"I'm fine," I say, shrugging out of his grip. "Sorry. Wasn't watching where I was going."
"Must have been some meeting to have you running out of there like the building's on fire." His smile is easy. Friendly in a way that immediately makes me suspicious. No one at this university has been friendly without an agenda.
"Fruitless quest," I mutter, trying to step around him.
He moves with me, not blocking my path exactly, but not getting out of the way either. "Let me guess. Roommate troubles?"
I snort before I can stop myself. "My roommate would sooner stab me than lend me a spare pen, but no. I was trying to change my schedule."
He laughs, and the sound is rich and genuine. "Ah, well, there's your problem. This is a Fae-run university. They're not exactly known for their flexibility when it comes to rules and regulations."
"Yeah, I'm getting that." I study him, trying to figure out what his angle is. Everyone here has an angle. "Look, I appreciate the sympathy, but I really need to get to class."
"Of course." But he doesn't move. Instead, he extends a hand. "I'm Tallon, by the way. Tallon Fairfax."
The name chokes the breath out of me.
Tallon Fairfax.
One third of the Golden Triad.
The mysterious familiar Isabella had mentioned along with Prince Corvinus and Professor Drakiss.
And here he is, standing in front of me with that easy smile and those strangely familiar eyes, acting like we're just two students having a casual morning chat.
One of the two alphas soul-bonded to the prince I'm here to kill.
But also, potentially, my ticket to getting close to Corvinus.
I realize I've been staring at his outstretched hand for too long. Slowly, I reach out and shake it, trying not to notice how his grip is firm but gentle, how his skin is warmer than it should be.
"Billie," I say, watching his face carefully for any sign of recognition.
His smile widens, but there's something in those green eyes that tells me he knew exactly who I was before I said anything. "Billie Moreau. You're the new student everyone's been talking about. The hunter."
The way he says it, casual and without judgment, throws me off balance. Everyone else whispers the word like it's a curse or spits it out like something bitter. But from him, it's just a fact. The sky is blue, water is wet, Billie is a hunter.
"Formerhunter," I correct, playing along with whatever game this is. "Current omega and professional disappointment to my family."
He laughs again. "Well, you're in good company here. Half the students here are disappointments to their families in one way or another."
"Somehow I doubt your family is disappointed in you." The words slip out before I can stop them.
"You'd be surprised." He tilts his head, studying me with those unsettling green eyes. "So you've heard of me?"
I laugh, and it comes out more bitter than I intended. "Hasn't everyone? As a matter of fact, I've been explicitly warned to stay away from you."
His eyebrows rise toward his hairline, and his smile turns into something closer to a smirk. "Is that so? By whom, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Isabella Larue." I watch his face carefully as I say her name. "She seems quite confident that you belong to her. All three of you."
The laugh that escapes him is bright and delighted in a way that would probably send Isabella into a murderous rage. "Does she now? Well, she's certainly confident. I'll give her that."
"Confidence seems to be her strong suit."
"Among other things." He leans against the doorframe, completely at ease despite the early morning traffic of students starting to flow around us. "But Isabella can get in line with all the others who think they have some claim on me or my triad."
