Page 40 of After Darkness Falls

Each word echoed around the room, amplified, sounding like a growl.

And for some strange reason, Chloe was…amused. Like this was what she'd wanted all along. To piss him off.And she’d been looking forward to doing it all day.

She had no fucking idea why, but poking the bear was…fun.

"So that's what you look like without the broomstick," she said.

Maybe she had hit her head.

Levi took a step back and pointed to the door. "Go. Just go."

"I will. As long as you promise me you understand that I will not be bought."

"Chloe, I am so very close to snapping your neck like a twig."

Do it.

What the fuck? She had never, until this day, exhibited any sort of suicidal tendency, so the thought popping out of her clouded, deranged mind shocked her. So much so that she finally did what she was told and headed out the door.

She'd just started down the flight of stairs when her coat flew out of the study, falling right on her head. The next instant, the door was closed.

Damn him. He definitely had a thing for having the last word. She walked down, feeling like she hadn't entirely lost today's argument.

Although it did look like she had a new coat.

19

Blades and Fangs

Chloe couldn't decide whether she was giddy or horrified at her conduct. She hadn’t just acted like an immature, spoiled brat; what shocked her was not feeling like she was in control. She hadn't consciously chosen to say any of the crap that had spewed out of her mouth. Chloe had wished she could blame someone else, something else inside her. Her symptoms sounded too much like schizophrenia. Should she speak to someone about it?

She reached the hall and found it mostly empty; one lesson had ended twenty minutes ago, and the next bell had already rung. She stilled. There was no one around her at all, but it truly felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced outside at the already dark sky; night fell at four-thirty in this part of the world.

She could see the courtyard littered with training witches and sparring huntsmen. Chloe surprised herself, realizing how much she envied them.

She loved practically everything about this place, and part of her wished she truly belonged here. But she didn't. As soon as she finished her studies, she'd leave it behind. Join a finance firm somewhere. Maybe a bank. A week ago, that would have sounded like a considerable improvement over her situation. Now, she couldn't imagine a more boring fate.

Remembering that Gwen was waiting for her in the cafeteria, she crossed the entry hall and walked in.

Chloe smiled when she saw Gwen chatting away with some of the hunters they'd hung out with the previous day; she surprised herself by remembering their names—Natalie, Tris, Chris, Bat, and Jack, of course.

She picked up a plate of lasagna and a salad before joining them.

"Here's our Cheetah."

"All right, anyone have another nickname submission? I accept applications, please."

"Doll-face?" Natalie proposed.

"Angel cheeks," said Bat, chewing on a mouthful of his burger.

Chloe sighed as she sat down. "You all suck at this. How about you stick to my actual name?"

"No way," said Chris, shaking his head for good measure. "Huntsmen go by nicknames. It's a thing."

There were nods all around the table, except from Gwen, who was too busy laughing at her.

"Good thing I'm not a huntsman, then. Huntswoman? Is that a thing?"

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