Page 9 of Prince of Malice

I can’t help but laugh. “More like a bad weekend.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?” he coaxes me in.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to bore you with the details, but my mom got married.” The memories flood back, but I try my best to keep them at bay.

“I assume congratulations aren’t in order?” He moves even closer to me.

“Not quite. My new stepdad is a distant asshole, and don’t even get me started on my stepbrother.” The words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. “He’s just so entitled and arrogant.”

“He sounds awful. Maybe I can help—” he attempts before I cut him off.

“You have no idea. He’s so manipulative and snide. He just gets under your skin, and god, I hate him.” I rant until I notice Darius’s face turn sour. “I’m sorry. I’m just complaining.”

“That’s okay. You’ve got a lot going on. I’m just going to grab myself another drink.” He backs away. “It was nice talking to you, though.”

He walks off, cramming his way through the crowd until he’s merged into it and disappears from my sight. I sigh and down the restof my drink, already searching for another person to talk to.

Scanning around, I catch sight of the one person I least expect to see and my heart sinks. Luca Valenti stands in the doorway to the house, a confident smile resting on his face that makes my insides twist.

Why the hell is he here?

Angelo’s arm brushes past me as he tries to walk by, but I grab hold of him to stop him. “What’s he doing here?” I ask as I gesture toward Luca still standing there.

“No clue. Probably knows someone,” Angelo responds with a shrug, trying to pull free from my grasp. “Just avoid him. Distract yourself, remember?”

I let Angelo free with a huff. Closing my eyes, I try and assimilate myself back into the energy of the party. Feeling the vibrations of the speakers reverberating through the floor. Smelling the mixture of tequila and sweat hanging in the air. Listening deeply to the swelling music and the sound of people’s feet moving as they dance.

“I’m just gonna grab us some drinks, and I’ll meet you over there.” Luca’s voice cuts through everything else.

I flick my gaze over to the drinks table; I’m standing between it and him. I don’t want him to see me here, but he has to walk right past me. Hoping he won’t notice, I duck my head and dash into the next room.

This is just my luck.

With a deep breath, I return my focus to having fun tonight and perk my head back up, searching for someone to talk to. The crowd seems to blur into one splotch. No one person looks all that unique mixed in amongst each other. Then I see him again, Darius, leaning off to the side and talking with some other people from our class, I think.

For his height, he’s very slim and has a distinct slouch. For someone so noticeable in this crowd, he’s definitely trying to blend in. I have to talk to him again.

Wading through the crowded room, I try my best not to be too obvious. I don’t want him running off like he did before, and I can’t quite forget the other person I want to stay hidden from.

“Darius, hey.” I speak softly in comparison to the music. He notices me and turns back toward his friends as if he didn’t see me. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was being weird, and it won’t happen again. Like I said, I had?—”

“A tough weekend, I know. Look, I shouldn’t have rushed off,” he replies.

“I don’t blame you for it; I would’ve done the same. Can we just start over?”

Darius smiles. “Sure thing.”

“Thank you. How was your day?” I try to settle back into the normal conversation we were having before.

“It wasn’t too bad. It’s nice being back at college you know? I visited my family over the summer, and it’s just so chaotic with them…” His voice fades.

I catch a glimpse of Luca stepping into the room, his small bunch of friends surrounding him and ushering him in. I don’t think he’s seen me yet, but I know he will eventually. No matter where I go, he seems to follow close behind.

“Look, if you want to have this conversation with him instead, you should just go.” Darius catches on to my sightline. His scowl tells me I’d messed this up again.

“It’s not like that. That’s my stepbrother,the one I was telling you about.” I clammer for some chance at changing his mind.

“Your brother’s Luca Valenti?”

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