Page 8 of Death

“Yeah,” I say, clearing my throat. “That’s from aristo, right? It means best?”

“It does, Tannis. Form of Tanith.” He smirks, almost proudly. “You know your stuff.”

“I dabble,” I say with a shrug. “Four years of high school Latin. And my mother is Greek so I might have picked up a word here and there…”

My voice falls beneath his piercing stare.

“Okay, my bad,” Dina says. “Not cool. Kinda dorky.”

His eyes flick in her direction but he says nothing.

“So, are you new around here?” she asks, digging into him a little more.

“Kind of,” he answers vaguely.

“Good! Because we’re about to go get some coffee at this fabulous place down the street and I’m sure Tannis would love to treat you. You did save her life, after all. Right, Tannis?”

Fuuuuuuck.

I swallow hard. “Uh… actually, I’ve gotta get home soon,” I say, my voice cracking. “Remember?”

Dina scoffs. “No, you don’t.”

“I said I’d be home by ten.”

“Rebel!” she whines. “For just one night. Fly! Be free!”

I shift uncomfortably.

Ari notices. “Actually, I’m not big on coffee but I’d be happy to walk Tannis home. Turns out, the streets around here can be quite dangerous.”

My cheeks flush.

Dina slaps my back. “Perfect!”

“Uh…” I swallow hard. “You don’t have to. I’m sure you have somewhere else to be.”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Ari says. “My plans were very boring and something far more interesting has come up.”

Excuse me, what?

Dina hums loudly, looking rather pleased with herself as she latches onto Riley’s thick arm. “Well, we’re gonna get going, then. Starting to freeze my tits off and I need coffee, so we’ll see you later, Tannis!”

“Okay…” I give her and Riley a wave. “Bye, guys.”

“Nice to meet you, Ari,” she adds, flashing a wink at him as they pass us by.

“You, too,” he says, bowing his head.

Riley looks from me to Ari and back again. “You good?” he mutters.

I nod. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Dina drags him off and I stand still, permanently clenched in front of Ari until they’re officially out of earshot.

“I’m sorry about that,” I say. “She can be a little…”

“No worries.” He chuckles. “I know the type well.”

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