Page 76 of The Blackened Blade

I swallow, trying not to read too much into his idea ofplayingtogether.

He was clearly insane. So why would I even care?

His idea of fun probably involved a pick axe, a dark forest and prey that could talk.

He was a walking, talking horror movie, and clearly the antagonist. The type that would poke the bear for a reaction and then have the beast running from his deranged grin.

His gaze flickers between my eyes and lips as a dark smirk pulls at his cheeks.

Why would he think I’d evenwantto play with him? No matter how godly his appearance, clearly there were more than just a few screws and bolts that went missing when he was created.

I shake my head. Why was I even thinking about this and about him? I had enough on my plate and something likethis, whatever it was, wasn’t possible for me anymore.

His piercing blue eyes meet mine, something deeper in them, something pushing me closer and niggling at me.

But all too quickly, he pulls away again, taking all those strange thoughts and feelings with him as he looks toward the board once again.

“Red, you're disturbing my lesson.” He shakes his head, a small playful smile tilting his lips as he continues to pretend to pay attention.

A small grin stretches my lips as I follow his gaze, deciding to play along.

“I didn’t know you were so studious. Especially since you haven’t turned up to most of the classes.”

He freezes, a slow wicked smirk taking over his face and pulling at his cheeks.

“Missed me, did you?” He glances back toward me. “Well don't worry, I’ll make sure you don’t feel lonely from now on.”

My brows scrunch together. What did that mean?

“What–”

Suddenly his phone rings, and the class goes quiet as he pulls it out from his back pocket. He glares at them and gives Mr. Finch a menacing scowl before answering.

Mr. Finch continues his lesson more quietly as Annex frowns at whatever he hears on the other end.

“Fine. I’ll be there soon.” He grits out.

He stands up, making his way past me before turning back quickly for one last glance.

“We’ll play later, Red.” With that he heads down the stairs and leaves the room, slamming the door as he goes.

What did he mean by what he said? Was he going to attend all of his classes now?

A visible sigh of relief spreads quickly across the rest of the room with his absence.

I glance around the room, already missing their anxious or panicked expressions.

Maybe having Annex around more wouldn’t be so bad after all.

CHAPTER 21

Imake my way to Music class, wondering if Morgan would be there or not after the attack on Friday.

Thankfully she hadn’t been badly hurt like in my previous life, but the attack had still happened, and something she drank or ate had made her unable to fight back.

Someone in this life and my last, had planned this. They wanted to hurt Morgan or even worse, kill her. But why?

And who?

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