Page 7 of Satanic Shadow
My traitorous thighs tingle with the aftermath of him pinning me to the chair. I blame the fact I’ve been stuck here for weeks with no attention.
He’s just trying to scare me. He doesn’t really want me dead. Right?
I pack up my papers and walk out of the classroom, stopping when I see him staring at the board with a deep grimace. It looks like the professor has already placed students into pairs, and when he glares at me over his shoulder, I know who I’m partnered with.
“This is your fault,” he snaps before disappearing again.
It is compulsory for this module that students completeallassignments. The first one is due in two weeks, and you are both, as a TEAM, required to show that you understand the system on mobile phones by using the text messaging service at least once. No abuse will be acceptable.
On the board are names side by side. At the very bottom, I find my own with my new partner.
Seraphine Winters and Dane Dalton.
4
How many times should one knock on the door of the headmistress’s office before giving up? I’ve reached ten so far, but I don’t have anywhere else to go on a Sunday night. If she doesn’t eventually open it, I’ll resort to kicking the thing in.
Maybe not. I like my shoes. And I’m not that strong.
Mel leans against the wall while I continue bruising my knuckles against the wood. “Have you ever considered that she may be in her room, sleeping? Not everyone sits in their office after hours.”
“No.” I continue knocking. “She’s probably standing opposite the door, trying not to laugh. Mrs. Dalton knows how much we hate each other!”
She rolls her eyes. “She’s not going to change partners for you. Dane already tried, like, a million times.”
Even his name makes me mad. “He set my papers on fire when I told him to help me with the project. Do you know how much work that was? A lot! I’m telling her I’m either going to kill her son, or she needs to give me another partner.”
My friend inspects her nails—still long and sharp like blades. “You need to start fighting back.”
I sigh and drop my forehead to the door. “And what exactly am I to do? I’m certain he can read my mind, for God’s sake!”
“I hate when you say that. We don’t have the same god.” Then she shrugs. “The mind reading could be fun. Throw him off with some sex thoughts.”
I groan. “He’s powerful. I’d be toast before I could even blink if I attacked him back.”
“Humans are very dramatic. I have no idea how I’ll ever fit in with your kind.” She pushes off the wall. “Come. She’s not in her office, and the castle guards are probably on their way with all the noise you’ve made.”
“Fine.”
Just my luck—Dane and his friends are in the courtyard as we make our way to our dorm. I can feel his deathly stare on me as I try to ignore him, my fists tight and itching to smash into his face.
But Orsen, his little sidekick, appears beside us, giving an unimpressed Mel his best smile. “You haven’t replied to a single message. Care to explain?”
She crosses her arms and blows a strand of white hair from her face. “Go away.”
His laugh is deep as he shakes his head. “Come on, ice queen. Either reply to my message or let me fuck you. I’ll make it worth your while. We are partners for human relations after all. Either way, my dick is going inside you. Let’s make it fun.”
Dear God.
She smiles the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. “I’d rather fuck myself with my fingers, but thanks.”
I stare at her blade-like nails in horror.
Orsen, with his charming smile and blacker-than-black eyes, goes back to stand beside Dane, who hasn’t stopped glaring at me.
“The offer stands!” Orsen calls to Mel. “And message me back!”
“The offer can fuck off,” she mutters, taking my arm and pulling me away from the courtyard. “I swear, ever since I’ve been partnered up with him for nearly all my classes, he’s gotten clingier. I say we kill them both in their sleep.”
