Void(51)

“Oh. My. Gods.” My mouth dropped open in shock as the bulky zombie dude started to clap his hands in time to the music. Hyde’s voice sang the lyrics embarrassingly off-key. The zombies were slowed down and off beat, the movements sluggish and disjointed, and their river dancing was terrible. But it was fucking hysterical.

One of the zombies did a little spin before dropping into the splits, and I grimaced at the sound of breaking bones and tearing muscle. Once he crawled himself back up into a standing position, he started limping from side to side with the music, shaking his hips. Even the animals were dancing, twitching their tails, clapping their paws, bobbing their furry little heads. It was...well, it was weird as fuck. But it was fun, too.

Hyde started picking the strings while biting his lip, spreading his stance wide while he rotated his arm and nodded his head. “You gonna dance, Void? This is better than that damn ball they made us attend.”

Hyde set down his guitar and moved over to me, continuing to belt out whatever song he was singing. I was pretty sure it was something from the ghoul band that was popular in the super world. As soon as he got in front of me, he grabbed my hands and spun me around. My ankles crossed, and I felt myself falling, but his arms wrapped around my waist to stop me, and then pulled me closer to him instead. “You’re terribly uncoordinated. This didn’t go nearly how I envisioned it.”

“Sorry to be a disappointment,” I joked while looking him in his silver eyes. Up close, I could see how his nose was slightly crooked and his teeth were straight. I watched, captivated, as his pink tongue flicked out to taste his bottom lip. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he said he didn’t want me gone. Had he been telling the truth?

“You’re crazy, necromancer,” I whispered just as the zombies dropped with a thud on the grass, making me jump at the dull sound. All life had fled their bodies. We were surrounded by dead-again corpses, Hyde was still humming and attempting to make me dance, and all I wanted to do was kiss his full lips.

“There’s that smile,” he said in a whisper. “I know the idiots of this school haven’t been welcoming, but I happen to like having you around for some reason.” I scrunched my nose up at his choice of words but didn’t comment on it. Was he like Render? Regretfully drawn to me for some inexplicable reason? “Don’t look so upset,” he added, like he could read my thoughts. “What I mean is, I don’t like anyone. The dead are much more fun to be around. Unlike the other paragons, I happen to think this school could be good for you.”

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” I asked.

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

I was starting to realize that Hyde liked to answer my questions with even more questions.

“Aren’t you worried I’ll take your powers?” I pushed. I needed to understand his motives; were the guys trying some good cop, bad cop routine?

“You can never really steal death from a person, Devicka. It’s an inevitable part of us all, regardless of immortality.”

His words made me pause. He had a different view of the world. “Okay.”

“I drop a philosophical bombshell in your lap, and you reply with okay? I’m pulling out all the stops here. A little swooning would be appreciated.” He chuckled before running a hand through his white hair.

In that moment, my heart swelled. Hyde wanted to make me swoon?

Before I could stop it, I found myself lifting up onto my tiptoes. Then I was leaning in, brushing my lips against his. I’d been with guys before, but this was different, I had the fear of rejection heavy on my back. When my lips touched his, he froze, not moving. Feeling embarrassed and awkward, I quickly pulled away.

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ha—”

My words were cut off when Hyde grabbed my cheeks and slammed his lips to mine. I was so shocked that I didn’t move for a second, but then I gasped in his mouth, my eyes fluttering closed, and he consumed me. His sweeping tongue tasted like the syrup from breakfast, a hint of orange juice still on his lips. He let out a pleasant hum as we kissed, his chest vibrating as he threaded his hands through my hair and pressed his other hand lower down my back.

My heart beat faster and faster as we licked and sucked and tasted each other. I had never felt more alive. It was like all the destructive things I felt about myself were starting to fade away, leaving me with confidence and desire. I could feel how much he wanted me, and it reminded me of how Render had had that same thirst. Gritt, too, when I’d fed from him. These paragons...they left me a jumbled mess of emotions while my body thrived from every connection.

His teeth nipped my upper lip, and he tugged slightly before drifting his hand to find the curve of my ass. Squeezing with his long fingers, he yanked me even closer to his towering body. I could feel his hardness pressing against my stomach through the thickness of his uniform pants, and I lifted a leg up, wrapping my body even more around him.

The movement must have caught him off guard, because he pulled back, leaving us both panting. He stared down at me, looking almost surprised at how caught up we’d been. He leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead before releasing me. “I’ve never been much of an exhibitionist, Devicka,” he whispered over my skin, and I looked up at him in confusion.

“What?”

Pulling back, he smiled at me before gesturing over his shoulder where the corpses still were. “I mean, I’m down to try anything once, I just don’t think I want the dead hearing you scream my name. And if we don’t stop this now, that’s exactly what will happen.” I tilted my head back and laughed at his serious expression before lifting up to kiss his chin.