Page 56 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

Smiling, she began to tell him about her mundane classes and study routine, then got interrupted by a huge yawn. “You drained all my energy,” she teased.

He hummed proudly. “We both need some rest. Call me tomorrow when you’re free.”

“Okay.” She hated to go, but sleep was going to happen whether she liked it or not. “Sweet dreams,” she whispered.

“You too,” he whispered back. “Goodnight, Iv.”

Reaching over a pillow, she went to set the phone on her desk but noticed he hadn’t hung up. Her eyelids began to slide closed as she waited, watching the phone screen.

If he wasn’t going to hang up, then she wasn’t either. And as sleep descended, it felt a lot like being cradled in his arms.

TWENTY-SEVEN

You can spot this one—Orion the Hunter.

He’s one of the brightest constellations this time of year, or at least his belt is pretty clear. Look southwest for three big stars in a line.

On dark nights, you can even see a blob underneath. That’s the Orion Nebula, the closest active star formation area to our universe.

Sir Adrian

Looking for a heavenly belt, are we? Is that a hint?

Maybe. I’ve heard it can make a girl see stars.

FYI, my belt can do the same thing.

Okay, I think I found it.

She smiled as she reread their conversation from last night, especially Adrian’s response.

Almost every other day this week, she’d fallen asleep talking to him—and, as a consequence, had overslept this morning and nearly been late for the first lecture. Now that class was over, she sent him a quick message but knew he wouldn’t reply immediately.

Turned out that telling him about her schedule meant he wouldn’t distract her during Avril’s study group. It had been helpful to meet up with them twice a week, and some of them even took the same courses and could explain things much simpler than the textbook. Unfortunately, today, her mind was somewhere else.

Adrian had officially gone six days without smoking. With each new day, she grew more concerned about an impending crash. Quitting wouldn’t be as easy as he made it seem, and she wouldn’t let him do it all alone. If nothing else, she’d show up at his door this weekend armed with a plate of cookies.

But for now, she stuffed her phone into her coat pocket and geared up to brave a blizzard. Unlike grade school, college didn’t offer leniency for inconvenient weather, and an inch of snow had accumulated so far this morning, with more on the way. Pulling out her gloves, she shuffled out of the lecture hall, took a shortcut behind the main buildings, and headed for the library. She missed the days when Nia and the others would study together at the dorms.

Thick, wet flakes stuck to her forehead, and streaks of purple hair whipped past her nose as she bowed her head to avoid the worst of the wind. Why did the biggest storms always hit right before spring—as if winter wanted to leave one last impression before releasing its iron grip? Trails of slush replaced the sidewalks, filled with imprints of boots that would freeze by nightfall.

The library finally came into view as she turned the corner. Curling her fingers, she puffed out a breath and quickened her pace. Then something—someone—grabbed her arm and yanked to the side.

Her back slammed against a brick wall, and the textbooks in her backpack dug into her spine. For a split second, her body refused to function, lungs frozen mid-breath as she tried to process what happened.

Jace’s repulsive face came into focus, and the trance shattered. She wrenched her arm back, only for his fingers to dig in deeper. Fear rippled through her.

“Chill out, Ivory,” he chided, a lazy smirk curling his lips from under a dark hoodie. He kept a jovial tone to sound friendly, but the glare from his black eyes told her he hadn’t come to play. He wasn’t going to just mess around this time. Something felt off—he had hurt her on purpose.

A half-healed cut above his eyebrow gave his face a sinister look, hair still shaved into the shape of a dragon. When he smiled, she noticed one of his front teeth had been chipped.

“Leave me alone,” she hissed, wiping the hair out of her face as the wind whipped it right back.

“Let her go, Jay.”

Ivory snapped her eyes over his shoulder to see Serena, a sympathetic look on her face as she shivered from inside a fur-lined jacket. “It’s not like she’s gonna run.”

Jace seemed to agree, scoffing before he let go and crowded her against the wall. As he withdrew his hand, scars similar to the ones Adrian had crisscrossed his knuckles, the skin cracked and red from what must have been a recent fight. The imprint from his fingers throbbed, and she rubbed her arm furiously to get rid of his touch.

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