Page 28 of Darkness Defined

“Now, with a little more give-a-damn if you please. Failure is not an option here. This is your life. If you can’t take your classes seriously, then you have no business being in them. Am I making myself clear?”

I blanched.

Her eyes narrowed at the lack of response from the class. “Let me be crystal. If you fail any of your classes—I mean any—then you will lose your scholarship and be expelled from the university. I will escort you from campus and you will become someone else’s problem. Just remember who is still responsible for cleaning up supernatural messes.”

The threat was clear. Fail and be sent home where one day our nature would consume us. When that day came, she would be there to take care of us. Permanently.

I raised a shaky hand.

She acknowledged me with a curt nod.

“Perhaps meditation would be helpful?”

She let out an aggrieved sigh and stared up at the ceiling. Just like that, her entire fierce demeanor changed. “Well, that’s a bet I lost. Fine. Meditation it is. Everyone, take a seat.”

The class did as ordered, with substantial sounds of complaint, but I was officially shaken. I’d known there were risks for all demons when it came to mastering our powers. But this… this was something else. What horrors had Vera seen during her tenure with the Regency to make her this way?

I glanced over at Matt, kind of dying to know what he thought about all of this, especially since he’d only recently learned he was a demon. Where I’d expected to be captivated by his piercing gaze yet again, I instead found his eyes closed and face completely relaxed. I spent a minute appreciating the smooth angles of his slightly pink cheeks, the fullness of his mouth, and the delicate curve of his nose. I let out a wistful sigh at the sheer innocent beauty that was Matthew Duncan.

His lips parted, and he seemed to sink into his meditation. Then it hit me. My angel was asleep.

Chapter 9

Play Ball

M

Ibracedmyselfonthe bathroom counter and let out a breath. Two weeks and I still didn’t have a fucking clue what I was doing. School had never exactly been my forte. I’d never once considered pursuing higher education, maybe a trade school or on-the-job program, but never college.

Not for the first time, I considered walking out the door and right off campus. I wasn’t afraid of Vera finding me, or powers I supposedly had, but couldn’t use, destroying me. I wasn’t even afraid of ending up in the hospital from a fight gone south. What I was afraid of was an empty belly, of getting caught in an alley by some creep, of never being able to have a decent night’s rest again.

I shook my head and plunged my hands under the faucet that I’d left running. It wouldn’t matter what I was or wasn’t afraid of if I couldn’t get my shit together. I believed Vera when she said she’d give us the boot if we fell behind. Considering my education had been a long series of stops and starts, with more time spent in trouble than in class, it went without saying that I was behind.

The door to the public restroom swung open behind me. I glanced into the mirror to see Alex’s startled expression. Like every time I looked at him, I couldn’t help but pick out his features. His strong, perfectly straight nose. His pronounced cheekbones that paired perfectly with his angular jaw. His lips that always seemed to be moving, even when he wasn’t talking.

“H-hey.” Alex held up a hand in greeting. “Fancy running into you here.”

I blinked and turned off the water, then grabbed a paper towel.

Alex cleared his throat and shifted his backpack. “What did you think of that quiz in Demon History the other day?”

My jaw clenched. “Total bullshit.”

“Yeah. Total.” He shifted his weight, drawing my attention to his absurdly long legs. It wasn’t remotely fair. Height, looks, and good grades? I didn’t have to ask to know he’d aced the quiz. Not like my failing grade shoved into a crumpled mess in my bag. His gaze darted to the side toward the urinals.

I pushed away from the counter and swung my bag over my shoulder. “Don’t let me stop you.”

“Right. Yeah.” He crossed the room and disappeared into a stall.

Shrugging off yet another weird encounter with my awkward roommate, I wandered outside. I was still drinking from the nearby water fountain when Alex emerged from the restroom after what had to be the fastest piss ever. He glanced around as if looking for something, then stopped when he spotted me. For some reason, that made me feel good. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been anywhere people wanted to see me. Most of the time, they pretended like I was invisible.

“You up for walking to class together?”

I crossed my arms. “What if I was ditching?”

Alex’s face fell, and it was like someone kicked me in the gut. Maybe that was why people were inclined to give him whatever he wanted, because seeing him disappointed was physically painful.

I uncrossed my arms and licked my lips. “I’m not. Was just asking, you know…”