Page 100 of The Serpent’s Shadow

“I’ve been following you instead. Obviously.”

My head lurched. “Really?” I thought I’d felt his watchful eyes on me a few times while cruising through campus, but I never expected him to admit it so openly and unabashedly.

“Yes. For the same reason. So no one fucks with you.”

My lips moved but no words came out. I closed them, trying again.Do you just realize you actually said somethingnice, Sven, and, dare I say . . . romantic?

He was hopeless, because he surely didn’t notice it. “Nice” was not one of Sven Torfen’s settings. He spit everything out with vitriol, like he had a chip on his shoulder.

I would likely never understand it. He came from a powerful family, well-respected in the community, and I . . . did not.What the hell could Sven Torfen have to be so angry about all the time?

I shook my head gently, coming back to the present, focusing on his imminently kissable lips. So full, perfectly pink, curved at the top with a lovely divot in the middle . . .

“Stop staring at me like you’re the wolf, little menace.I’mthe wolf.”

I gulped. Looked down at my book, trying to suffocate my flushed face. “Don’t I know it,” I murmured. Clearing my suddenly dry throat, I sheepishly glanced back up to him. “So you’ve been following me . . .”

“And it’s been boring as hell! You haven’t done anything in days! You’ve just locked yourself here, whiling away your time, ‘studying,’ allegedly—”

“. . . and you didn’t come say hi?”

“—or whatever it is you’ve been doing here surrounded by boxes of candy.” He paused, and I could see his mind rewinding, mouth still open. “Wait, what?”

I shrugged. “Should have joined me. Maybe it would’ve been more fun.”

Sven stood. He eyed the discarded cartons at my feet, making a disgusted face. “Oh, we’ll have our fun. You can count on that, you little fucking menace.”

I blushed furiously when I noticed the trio of boxes he stared down so judgmentally at—peanuts, candy, and more peanuts. He was right, I was being a slob, and this wasn’t usually like me.

Wait a second. Am I fucking . . . depressed?Therewassomething I felt like I was missing in my life. A piece that had been torn asunder.

Hells above, maybe it was Sven.

Hellsbelow, maybe it’s the missing link in this strange cornucopia of men I’ve become so accustomed to. The one I haven’t seen at all since my return, yet who still walks beside me in my dreams.

Corym E’tar.

Sven left my presence after his promise of our upcoming “fun,” which admittedly got my blood running hot. As he walked away, I stared at his strong shoulders and thought of a different man. An elf.

Locked away, just like Sven accuses me of doing over the past week. Has Corym wondered about me? Has Arne found him and the Lepers yet? Surely that must be where Arne has gone.

Regardless, I made a decision right there.

After this finals week, with either success or failure, I would find Corym E’tar.

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