Page 31 of Moon Cursed

“No,” I said, crossing my legs and sitting down. “I’m not making any deals with you or agreeing to anything. You don’t get to turn me into a prize to be won.”

I felt his eyes on me as I grabbed my plate and dug in. The food smelled too good for me to hold back any longer.

“But,” I continued, “if you want to keep showering me in gifts and attention—making a fool of yourself while your brain melts in your skull—that’s your own business. Far be it from me to stop you.”

He chuckled. “Understood.”

“Gods, this is good,” I moaned. “Any drinks?”

Paxton pulled out two ice-cold Maltas right on cue. I popped my lid off with my teeth and downed half the bottle.

“So,” he put forth. “We’ve got food. We’ve got a show.” Paxton gestured to the sprites. “Should we move to the sparkling conversation portion of the evening?”

I ripped out a belch that shook the trees.

“Sexy.”

“How about we move on to the silence part of the evening?” I returned, slathering that tasty bourbon butter on every inch of my steak.

“I can’t seduce you silently. I’m good, but I’m not that good.” Paxton lay down on his back, stretching out next to me and resting his hands under his head. “Hmm. You said you didn’t know the real me, so why don’t we do that? You can ask me whatever you want. If I answer honestly, I keep my clothes on. If I don’t answer, I strip off an article of clothing.”

“Yeah, no. It’s sexy when I do that. It’s creepy if you do.”

He pushed out his lower lip, nodding. “Okay, good note. What about two truths and a lie?”

“What about if you have something you want me to know, you just tell me?”

“All right,” he mumbled, “another good note.” Paxton flipped over, facing me properly. Lips parting, he said—

Nothing.

“This is weird,” he burst out after a long stretch of silence. “I’m not just going to sit here, mindlessly babbling, and pouring my heart out while you eat my food.”

I gnawed on his steak with no regrets.

“I need some back-and-forth here.” Grasping my legs, Paxton turned me to face him. “Talk to me. Tell me what you want to know.”

“Have you seen Badr in the last twenty-four hours?” I asked with no hesitation.

“Badr? No. Why?”

My eyes narrowed, studying him, but he seemed genuinely clueless.

Paxton’s a fake,a voice reminded.You don’t know when he’s being genuine.

“Because he attacked the whole school with his power, and then took off.” Like I said, I was talking to a fake. The last thing I was going to do was tell him about the graveside conversation Badr and I had in the woods. “I’d like to look him in the eye when I throw his expulsion letter in his face, but I can’t find him anywhere.” I paused to take a sip, studying him closely for the slightest reaction. “Do you know where he is?”

Paxton shrugged. “No clue. I wasn’t upright and off the bathroom floor until this morning. I didn’t even see his on-stage meltdown—although I’m told it was a next-level party-killer.”

Paxton scarfed down the half a meal I left him. Behind him, the sprites were doing acrobatics—spinning, flipping, soaring, and tossing each other through the air.

The corners of my mouth quirked up looking at them. They really were the most extraordinary, and adorable, displays of magic I’d ever seen. It was hard to believe creatures so wonderful could come from someone I distrusted so much.

“But does it matter?” Paxton went on. “He’s around here somewhere. Someone will sniff him out eventually.”

My gaze slowly shifted in the direction of the front gates. It most definitely did matter where Badr was, what he was doing, and who the hell he was talking to.

I chose Corvin Academy to make my stand because it was the most impenetrable fortress in all five dominions. The gates looked like nothing more than rusting iron, but they’ve stood tall and undefeated through every war, every battle, and every attempted coup. They were filled with magic that couldn’t be fathomed or replicated.

---