Page 8 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

How the fuck had I ended up at school with Stellan Bishop in the first place?

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Aurora

"Rise and shine," Jenna squealed. She had way too much energy for so early in the fucking morning, and I contemplated throwing my lamp at her for a moment to shut her up. But then the goddess set down a steaming cup of coffee in a bright pink, sparkly mug on my nightstand and I decided that violence was not the answer.

Anyone who understood the importance of coffee first thing in the morning needed to be protected at all costs.

I hopped in a quick shower, then ran my fingertips through my hair to double check my roots. Even though my dye job was fresh, I couldn’t let it grow out at all. I couldn’t let any of Delilah slip through.

Aurora. Aurora. I was Aurora now.

Stellan’s gorgeous, haunting eyes rose up in my memory, and my breathing quickened before I caught myself. He didn’t know. I was going to be fine.

And if I wasn’t?

I would run. I wouldn’t hurt him.

I’d done that once before after all. I’d run to protect him from The Demon.

Someone banged on my door, almost giving me a heart attack before I realized it had to be Jenna.

“Hey!” she called. “Hurry up. You’ve got an eight o’clock class too, right? We’ll walk together.”

This girl was aggressively friendly. That was probably just what my introverted ass needed, but it was still a little overwhelming.

“I’ll be there in a second.”

“You don’t need to waste time putting on makeup, you’re already rudely pretty,” she added.

I rolled my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair one last time before stepping back into our shared room. “You’re very pretty too, you know.”

“I know,” she said lightly.

I grabbed my coffee—breakfast of champions—and the two of us headed through the dorm together.

“Do you want to get lunch together?” she asked. “When are you off?”

“I’m going to hide in the library,” I answered honestly. “I love libraries. I want to take a little time to explore.”

“You skipped breakfast.”

“I promise, I’ll eat something,” I held up my fingers in a Scout’s Honor sign even though I’d definitely never been any kind of Scout.

“You’d better, or I won’t bring you coffee first thing in the morning. You’ll have to go to the cafeteria yourself.”

I’d once gone six days without eating as part of The Demon’s ‘training’. Skipping breakfastandlunch didn’t faze me much.

“I’ll be good, Mom,” I said, and she laughed before she peeled away toward the Chem building.

I wasn’t interested in Pre-Med like she was. I’d spent plenty of time with cadavers. Instead, I headed for Price Hall, where the literature classes and offices were housed.

I could’ve sworn I felt someone starting at me as I went up the steps. I pretended to pause to check my phone, even though there was no one to text me; students streamed around me, heading for class, as I furtively surveyed the area for my stalker.

But I didn’t see anyone.

And as a stalker myself, I was usually good at spotting one.

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