Page 107 of Spearcrest Knight

I keep glaring at him but he doesn’t seem too bothered. He turns back to his laptop with a dismissive flap of his hand. “Now get out of here, Ev. I’ve got work to do. Be on time tomorrow if you still want to drop me off at my tutoring session.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll text you.”

He gives a curt nod, and I leave. I’m too wound up to go back to my room, and it’s snowing too thickly to go for a run, so I end up going to the gym. But even the gym can’t distract me from the pressure of tomorrow’s meeting, and I end up spending the rest of the evening thinking about what to say to Sophie when I see her.

And that’s particularly challenging to do when all I can think about is kissing her and fucking her against a window while it snows outside.

Sophie

Formynextsessionwith Zachary, I turn up fifteen minutes early. Since he arrived first at our last session, it’s a point of pride for me to be there first this time.

I settle myself in the empty classroom, a paper cup of coffee nestled in my hands, my copy ofPersuasionpropped against my pencil case. The door opens a few minutes later, and Zach strolls in with long, crisp steps. In his wake, hands in his pockets and hair flopping so low it’s a wonder he can see where he’s going, is Evan Knight.

I look away immediately, but his presence glows from the corner of my vision like a flare. It’s heightened by the memory of our last encounter.

Evan was definitely easier to ignore before I found out how good he is with his stupid mouth.

“Uh, hi, Sutton.” His sheepish drawl interrupts my thoughts.

I’m reluctant to appear shaken in front of Zachary. I certainly don’t want to give him the satisfaction of witnessing any drama between Evan and me—especially after the embarrassing scene in the rec room.

“Hi, Evan.”

“I’m just dropping Zach off,” he explains uselessly.

I glance at Zachary, whose expression is completely blank as he unpacks his bag.

“That’s very kind of you,” I say, trying my best not to sound too sarcastic.

How he thinks we’re going to be exchanging pleasantries after what happened during our last meeting is beyond me.

“I wanted to say thanks for all the tutoring so far,” he says, his voice both airy and a little strangled. “You were honestly a really good teacher and pretty much the only person to ever make Shakespeare sound interesting.”

I stare at him, blinking slowly. His blue eyes are fixed on mine, and there is a dark pink flush smeared all over his cheeks. He’s not smiling—he looks totally honest. It’s not hard for lies to sprout out of Evan like water from a fountain, but he doesn’t sound at all like he’s lying.

And he’s embarrassing himself in front of another Young Kings, which is probably a risky move.

Maybe this is a clever gambit: he’s taking a loss now for a later victory I can’t quite see yet. But no matter how little I trust what he’s saying, it’s still pretty good to hear—and that’s the real danger when it comes to Evan.

No matter how much we hate each other, he can always figure out ways of making me feel good.

“No need to thank me,” I respond with as much formality as I can muster. “I’m glad I could help.”

“Zach is lucky to have you. If anybody can help him beat Theodora, it’s definitely you.”

Zachary finally reacts, throwing a quick glare Evan’s way.

I shrug. “Um, I’ll do my best.”

I try to keep my answer noncommittal; I don’t want to give Zach promises I can’t guarantee. He seems the vindictive kind, and I’m not looking to be hearing from the Blackwood lawyers anytime soon.

“Well, I better go to my own session,” Evan says, running his hand through his distracting mop of sandy hair. “I’m going to make sure your time wasn’t wasted, okay? I’ll do everything I can to pass Lit.”

He gives me this unnecessarily intense look, like there’s fire in his eyes and he’s trying to burn me with it. Not sure of what to say, I can only nod.

He sighs, long and deep and tragic, and leaves.

I turn back to Zachary, who is shaking his head with an expression of disbelief on his face. His mouth opens, but words don’t come out. He shrugs, straightens his tie, and looks at me.

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