Void(37)

As we made our way down the path that led to the feral cabin, Banner’s fingers on my waist dipped under the hem of my shirt, his fingertips brushing along my skin, causing goosebumps to rise up.

“You did good today. You were focused. Strong.”

I laughed at that. Right now, I felt anything but strong. “Look at me. I’m about a minute away from collapsing. I’m not strong.”

“You are,” he insisted. “Stronger than you think.”

A shy smile curved my lips. “I never would’ve thought I could do any of that stuff if you hadn’t helped me.”

“Sometimes, we just need one good person in our corner, and then we can do anything.”

Maybe it was my exhausted state, but I felt the words slip out of my mouth before my brain could stop them. “Are you planning on staying in my corner?”

We stopped, and I realized we’d made it to the front of my cabin. He turned so that we were facing each other, and he tucked some of my tangled blonde hair behind my ear. My eyes roved over his face, and I itched to reach up and brush my fingertips over his jaw. I wanted to run my hands through his thick black hair. I wanted to know what it would feel like if I pressed my lips against his. I wanted to know the weight of his body over mine. I wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss a super without the taste of enmity on his tongue.

Slowly, he brought his hands up to cup my face, and I shivered at the way his cool hands circled my jaw. My chest pressed against him and my nipples pebbled, making my already strained shirt feel even smaller. Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he leaned forward and gently placed a kiss against the corners of my eyes. It was soft and reverent, his lips cooling my burning eyes. “I think I’m going to like your corner, Miss Cainson. I might be in it for a while.”

My eyes fluttered open at his low, husky words, and I swallowed hard. “Good.”

His lips tilted up, his eyes crinkling with pleasure. Then he dropped his hands and stepped away, and I immediately felt the loss of his cool, comforting presence. “Rest,” he said as he started to back away. “I’ll see you for lessons tomorrow.”

I nodded, only going into the cabin once he turned and walked away. I knew as soon as I was inside and had my forehead pressed against the closed door that I was in big trouble.

There was a new hunger inside of me, and it had nothing to do with the Void.





*



I woke up to a fist pounding on my door. I sat up in bed, clutching my chest, trying to remember where the hell I was. Wooden walls, floor, and ceiling. Bed covered with a drab gray blanket. A little wood stove across from me, a small kitchenette at the other end, a desk in the corner, and a tiny bathroom I could see from here. Oh, and claw marks everywhere.

The feral cabin.

I ran a hand down my exhausted face. After Banner had dropped me off at the cabin, I’d dragged my sweaty self into the bathroom, took an ice-cold shower, and then I’d collapsed in bed.

When the knocking on my door started up again, I got to my feet, my entire body feeling sore from controlling the Void all day.

I yanked open the door with a scowl, only to come face-to-face with a guy I didn’t recognize. “What?” I snapped.

When I blinked some of the sleepy bleariness away, I realized that he was uniquely gorgeous. Tanned skin, white hair, captivating silver eyes, and a face that could be in a magazine. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit with a bright orange tie, an odd color choice in contrast to what he usually wore, the black academy uniform.

He cocked a brow at my tone before his eyes flicked down my body. Immediately, I looked down and realized that I was only wearing a thin tank top and a pair of panties. Mortified, I quickly backed into my cabin and hid behind the door. “Who are you?”

His lips quirked a little, and he did a little bow, keeping his eyes on me as he lowered. “Hyde Marr, at your service. Necromancer Paragon. Sex god. Zombie king. I have about seventeen other titles, but those are the most important ones,” he said with a sly smile before straightening. “If I had known you were this pretty, I would have cut council business short. All the others made it seem like you were awful, but I’m starting to feel lucky that I drew the short straw today.”

I glanced at his neck where the necromancer mark sat proudly. He’d added his own adornments too, a tattooed rose circled the X, as well as some Roman numerals. “You’re late for the ball, Cinderella, and Judge Braxton is asking for you. Although, Headmaster Torne told me to advise that you stay here. What a predicament, hmm?” he added before walking inside of my cabin, brushing past my shoulders in the process. I prepared for the Void to lash out against its cage, but it didn’t. My amulet was still and dark. The training with Banner had worked. I hadn’t felt hungry since I fed from Gritt.

I watched Hyde, taking in his broad back and long legs. He moved in a lyrical way, light on his feet, a bright energy surrounding him that felt odd considering he had such a dark power. He lifted his nose up and sniffed the air.

“What ball?” I was worn out from practicing with Banner and couldn’t imagine dealing with angry supes and navigating the formal politics of our community tonight.

“The ball is something Judge Braxton hosts for the paragons. It’s supposed to encourage community and let the networking supers rub elbows with the paragons and council members. Lots of people from all over come. But really, it’s just a good reason for the powerful to get their long, hard, throbbing egos stroked in public and to meet all the impressionable young minds of the academy,” Hyde replied with a grin before continuing his search around the room. “Did you know you’ve got a dead animal in here?”