Page 27 of Wicked Ends
I swallow hard. “Is that all?”
She straightens, lips pursed. “Leave, then.”
She turns to Ollie. “See her out.”
Ollie nods, and for a split second, his face changes, and I see the serpent under the skin. The snake he really is. My breath gets stuck in my throat, and I get out of my chair fast, wanting to put as much distance between myself and both of them as possible.
Jasmine catches my arm as I pass. Her grip is stronger than it should be for such spindly fingers. “Grow stronger, Rose.” She lets go.
Ollie escorts me back to the hallway, silent as before. When we reach the end, he pauses, turning to look at me. For a split second, I see the old Ollie, the Ollie I felt sorry for, the Ollie I sneaked dinner to when he hadn’t had a chance to eat.
But he smiles, and it’s so, so wrong, and his eyes move sideways. “Mistress always gets what she wants.” And then he’s gone, disappearing down the hall.
I walk back to my room quickly.
Fourteen
Rose
After I’m safely inside my room, I lean against the closed door for a second, forehead against the wood, and force myself to breathe, trying not to think about Jasmine’s creepy touch, or the cold look in Ollie’s eyes.
I need comfort. I need something warm and alive and not liable to snap my neck on a whim. I need Hank.
“Hank,” I whisper. “You can come out now.”
It takes a minute, but then there he is, big, green, and googly-eyed, perched the desk, looking at me.
“Ribbit,” Hank says.
I scoop him up and press him to my chest, feeling his little heart thump. He licks my thumb with his tongue, then just sits there, perfectly content to be held. He’s the only thing in my life that doesn’t want anything from me. And I can’t believe I ever didn’t want him, because I can’t imagine my life without this little green amphibian in it.
“You missed some serious shit, Hank. Helena tried to kill me, but then Helena’s psycho sister took her out in front of me. Then the psycho decided I should have my magic turned on full strength, plus she’s the new headmistress. And Ollie is a snake now. Like, literally. Also, Ash might not be the worst. But he also might still be.”
“Ribbit.”
I tuck him into the front pocket of my hoodie, his usual ride, where he settles in, and I decide that I should eat something. Lucien would kill me if I starved to death now, after everything.
I’m on my way to the dining hall, but my feet don’t cooperate. Instead of heading towards the lasagna and chocolate cake, I find myself wandering towards the faculty wing, towards Soren’s quarters, and before I can change my mind, I’m standing in front of his door.
My hand is halfway up to knock when the door swings open. Soren stands there, his hair sexily messy, shirt unbuttoned and exposing those abs that if God didn’t make them the Devil surely did, sleeves rolled up over tattooed forearms, looking exactly like the kind of guy you absolutely should not be left alone with at midnight.
His eyes glance down at my bulging hoodie pocket. “Is that a frog, or are you just happy to see me?”
I tilt my head back, rolling my eyes dramatically, anything to hide the way my heart races when he stands this close. “Hilarious,” I mutter, but Soren’s already reaching for me, one hand against the doorframe while the other catches the fabric of my sleeve, drawing me forward with a gentle tug. I brush pasthim into his room, ignoring the drumming in my ribcage that threatens to give me away.
I set Hank on the edge of Soren’s desk, where he immediately starts sniffing a stack of old books. “I liked you better when you didn’t tell bad jokes.”
Soren gives me a lazy, crooked smile. “You liked me better when I came to you in your dreams and did whatever you wanted.”
My cheeks go hot. “You stopped,” I say, the words out before I can take them back. “You don’t come anymore.”
That stops him. He blinks, genuinely caught off guard. He watches me for a moment. “I was trying to, you know, respect you.”
I cross my arms.
Soren seems to get it.
I step forward. “You could have asked me if I wanted you to stop. Before you stopped.”
