Page 42 of Demon Sworn
William just scoffs. “Aw, Mr. Kastros is cool. And he knows we’re dating.” I watch William’s hand slide across his desk like a snake about to bite me.
Ohhh no. I’m not about to be the reason that World War III breaks out, even though I know Mr. White might get a hard-on from being there to witness something historic. I shoot up out of my seat and screech, “I gotta go to the bathroom, it’s an emergency!”
And I don’t even care about the laughter that follows me into the hallway. Because letting people think I’ve got the runs is far superior to anything else that was just about to go down.
Fudge.
I only make it about four steps into the hallway before I hear Kastros’s heavy tread behind me. I blow out a breath as I wrap my arms around myself and wish that all of this was already over. I turn to face Kastros, and all of a sudden, I’m tired, so tired. I’m bone-weary from all this battling and fear and worry, and I just… Tears fill my eyes, and Kastros holds out his arms, offering me a hug.
I know how good his arms would feel around me and how much his hug would comfort me, but… I stare at his arms and then up at his face and start to shake my head as my shoulders shudder and sobs take over.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”
Aw fuck.
William Washington tromps right over to Kastros and shoves him. A teacher.
I hear a faint, “Oh shit!” from someone who’s heading to the counseling office down the hall, and my spine stiffens in utter horror. This is the fight that I was trying to prevent.
I rush forward, tears forgotten as they drip down my cheeks. I grab William by the arm and tug him away from Kastros, whose eyes have gone red.
“What are you doing?!” I hiss at William, dropping his arm as soon as he’s out of reach of the big demon.
“Well excuse me for defending your honor. I guess boyfriends shouldn’t—”
“WE ARE NOT DATING!” I yell. My fists clench so hard that I swear they’ve turned into rocks, and I want to pummel William with them. “We went on one date—”
“We went to that party together, and I serenaded you—”
“We were both at the same party, buttface! I went with Zolroth, not you!”
William’s expression twists in a way that’s unnatural, and I find myself stepping back from him.
“No, Katrina. You see, that’s not possible. I want you as my girlfriend. And I always get what I want.”
It’s official—the hot guy in the movie has turned out to be the serial killer. Oh fuck. I make a move to go scurry and hide behind the big vengeance demon, but because God hates me and the universe is an utter bitch, I slip and fall face first onto the tile.
William grabs onto my ankle and starts to pull me back towards him. As my body squeaks along the tiles and Kastros storms forward, I twist around and put my hands on William’s face, and then I shove.
Those pink sparks show up again, but that’s not all. This time, I fly up out of William’s grip—literally. I rise up into the hall until my head bumps up against the ceiling like I’m some lost party balloon. Thank fucking fuck the hall is empty right now
Both Kastros and William stare at me in shocked disbelief, but their surprise has nothing on mine.
I’m up in the air, without one of my guys holding me, and I have absolutely no idea how to get down. OMG, this is not normal, and I’ve come to accept a lot of unnatural things in my life. But all of those have been around me. Thisisme. And I don’t know what to do about it or how to control it. Panic streams inside my brain. You know how when you watchBridgerton, you end up talking with an accent? Well, it's as if my brain has binge-watched some show called Meltdown, and all of a sudden, I’m having one.
I push my hand against the ceiling, trying to shove myself off it towards the floor, but I just bounce right back up, knocking my skull hard enough to send a bright red line of pain across my vision. I jiggle my feet, and all that happens is that one of my shoes falls off.
William lunges for me, but Kastros’s hand shoots out and knocks the heartthrob out with a single punch. His fist connects with William’s face so hard that the sound is like the crack of a whip, and I flinch. But by the time William’s head hits the hallway floor with a dull thud, I’ve recovered.
Kastros turns back to me and holds out his arms again, just as he had minutes before. Our eyes lock together for a moment, and I’m stunned by everything I can see swimming in the depths of his gaze. All the torment and guilt and the self-loathing surrounding the purest love.
He takes a breath, and I swear that somehow, my heartbeat changes and my pulse aligns with his. Somehow, his emotions flow over me, soaking into my skin. And there’s this tenderness there that I never knew about, this sense of precious fragility.
I press my lips together and reach for him. Bright joy swells inside my chest and bursts, raining down little sunrays when he pulls me down from the ceiling and takes me into his arms.
I expect him to put me down, but he doesn’t. He keeps me in his arms and marches down the hall and out the door.
“Hey! I can walk.”
