Page 79 of Faerie Marked

Yeah, I had no backup. I rubbed my hands on the sides of my hips, trying to wipe away the fatigue and anxiety of knowing I was alone. Trying and failing.

“Who are you?” I burst out. “What do you want?”

I’d never been more shocked in my life than watching the killer remove his mask.

Especially when I saw Roman’s shining eyes staring back at me.

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Icouldn’t breathe. The air caught in my throat and I clawed at it.Oh, God.

Bile rose to burn my insides. It wasn’t possible.

Mike’s best friend…had been killing people? Roman wasmyfriend too. He’d been there since day one, laughing with us, studying with us, eating every meal across the table from me with a smile on his face.

How had I not known he was a shifter?

He caught the look of shock and horror on my face and chuckled.

“Oh, come on, Tavi, you have to understand,” he began, taking a step forward. “Being here is a big deal for me. I need to protect my interests. There are certain things you don’t know about me and the life I’ve lived. You think you’re the only one who has to take a potion to hide their true nature? Like you’re something special?”

Roman was much larger than me. He had eight inches of height and more than one hundred pounds of muscle on me on a good day, when I was in fighting shape. Now I’d lost weight with my inability to eat anything other than salad and fruit.

I’d felt the snap of his teeth break my skin. Oh boy. Memories slammed into me about the pain from those bites. What would he do if he got his hands on me this time?

“You’re not special,” he stated. “I know a dozen half-shifters who have tried to escape using the Fae Academy. Dozens more who tried to fight their way into Faerie.”

Me? Special?Nope,not at all.

“If you’re a shifter, then how did you and Mike even meet each other?” I asked to stall him.

Roman shook his head and took a step closer. “Ah, now that is a question you should have asked earlier on. It might have given you an edge for tonight. I knew there was something about you I’d need to watch for. Knew it the second Mike told me he’d helped a girl with her broken-down car.”

“I must be special enough to leave a lasting impression on the prince.” I summoned a smug smile I knew would irk Roman, no matter how Mike and I weren’t on speaking terms.

“Sometimes, when you are powerless, you fall for things that are bad for you just to feel like you have a little bit of control,” Roman taunted. “It’s a classic move. You have a pretty face and a decent disposition. You aren’t one of those simpering tarts falling all over themselves to win his favor. Of course he’d be drawn to you. Like a drug addict.”

“I thought we were friends, Roman.” I knew I had to keep him talking. To keep him distracted while I worked to find a way to break the glamour keeping Wilson and the others trapped and immobilized.

“Keep your enemies closer and all.” To him, it was simple. “I had you in a spot where I could watch you. You didn’t become a threat until you somehow managed to make it into the top ten. Then I knew I had to act.”

Roman was cocooned in magic. I sensed it the closer he got to me. Some sort of protection spell he’d set up before our interaction. Keeping him safe…from me? Keeping him safe from anything.

Sweat drenched my face despite the chill in the air, a product of stress and adrenaline. I shifted my balance and spread my legs to stand my ground. I was the damn top first-year for a reason. I had to believe in myself.

I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded.

“It’s not even about me, not really. I mean, of course I had to make sure I kept my place. But no one deserves a spot at this academy more than Mike,” Roman insisted, conviction evident in his gaze. He took another step forward, closing the distance between us. “I’m doing what I have to do to make surehestays.”

“Wait, what?” Confused, I said, “Mike is the crown prince. He doesn’t evenneedto be in the academy. He’s full-blooded Fae and heir to the throne. Why would he have to be here?”

“Oh, but he does need it. It’s imperative. You just don’t get it. Mike is too damn honorable to fight dirty, to scrabble and claw to stay at the top. It’s up to me to make sure he stays. He has to earn his place and makes it through to next year. And I’m sorry, Tavi, but your sob story and mysterious background isn’t enough for me to think you deserve it more than he does. So, you need to die. It’s the simple truth. You’ve jeopardized his position enough already. He’s lost focus because of you.”

Roman clucked his tongue as his words skittered down my spine like a spider. Then his fingers flexed at his sides and the tension between us went nuclear.

I wasn’t talking to my friend anymore, if he’d ever been one to me. I was talking to an enemy. And only one of us would walk away from this.

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