Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (Supernatural Beasts and Bullies #1)(25)

The warm carpet was a relief to my bare feet as I stepped into the room and I looked up at Darius, prepared to tell him just how little his last challenge had meant to me but everyone in the room started laughing before I could.

Darius was smirking at me, his eyes dripping over my body in a way that made me look down.

I gasped as I realised what he’d done; my clothes were gone, burned away by the fire he’d created so that I was left standing before them butt-naked.

I’d always liked my body and I’d had a few boyfriends and flings over the years so it wasn’t like no one had seen it before but this was something else. Heat raced to my cheeks as I realised he hadn’t been talking about leaving emotional ties to the mortal world behind - he’d been talking much more literally. He’d meant everything physical I’d brought, which meant my clothes and-

“Motherfucker!” I cursed as I took a step towards him angrily then stopped myself as I remembered I was as naked as the dawn. “I had nearly three grand in my pocket! Do you know how hard my sister and I worked for that money?”

Darius only smiled wider in response to my anger as he held out a key.

“Your room is on the third floor, end of the corridor,” he said, completely ignoring everything I’d just said. “If you wanna go and find something to wear?”

I moved forward to snatch the key from him, refusing to try and cover my body. It was too late now anyway and the heat crawling down my spine wasn’t going to lessen if I made a pathetic attempt to hide. My only defence against what he’d done to me at this point was in trying to pretend I didn’t care. Though the blood which filled my cheeks must have been clear for everyone to see if they could tear their eyes away from my ass and breasts for long enough to notice it. Tears prickled the backs of my eyes but I bitch-slapped them down hard. I would not cry in front of this goddamn bastard.

As my fingers curled around the brass key, Darius used his hold on it to tug me a step closer.

“Of course, if you’d rather just come on up to my room, I can give you a real welcome to the House of Fire,” he suggested as his gaze slid over every exposed inch of my flesh and embarrassment prickled up my spine.

A flutter grew in my stomach as I noted the heat in his gaze and I mentally cursed myself for giving even a moment’s consideration to his offer.

I squared my shoulders, looking him over just as he had me. I took in everything from the way his jeans hung low on his hips to the swell of his muscles beneath his tightly fitting shirt. I eyed the tattoos which curved out of sight beneath his short sleeves and the biceps which cried out to be touched. His broad shoulders and towering height built a type of carnal need in me as I tilted my head back to look up at him.

A cocky smile pulled at the kind of lips that I could definitely make use of given half a chance and his dark hair fell forward just enough to make me think about fisting my hands in it.

Why did I always have to want the bad guys?

I shifted an inch closer as if I was going to share a secret with him but kept my voice loud enough to carry.

“I wouldn’t come near you even if someone held a knife to my heart and told me that the world would end if I didn’t,” I snarled, snatching the key out of his hand. “So why don’t you take a long, hard look while you can. Because I can promise you, you won’t be seeing this again.”

Darius’s face dropped a fraction as the rest of the students in the room started laughing at him instead of me and I slammed my shoulder against his as I moved past him. It was kinda like walking into a brick wall but I managed to force him to move a little, mostly because I took him by surprise.

I stalked across the room to the stairs which led to the promised dorm, forcing myself to maintain a steady pace instead of sprinting.

Eyes followed my progress and whispers broke out around me but I kept my gaze fixed on my destination, refusing to look anywhere else. The tears were coming and I knew I was fighting a losing battle against time as I fought to hold them off.

Just a few seconds longer...

“You should be more careful about the kinds of enemies you make around here, Roxy,” Darius called after me, a beat too late for him to pull it off as smoothly as he must have wanted. A sense of satisfaction filled me with the knowledge that I’d rattled him for a moment too.

I didn’t bother to respond. Getting into a pissing contest with an asshole really wasn’t my style and if I didn’t get behind a closed door soon then I was pretty sure I was going to start bawling in front of everyone. If I could keep my chin high and my face blank then maybe I’d be able to leave this room with my dignity intact even if I had had to scrape it up off of the floor.

I made it up three flights of stairs and to the end of the corridor where my key thankfully opened the door.

I spilled inside and pushed it closed behind me a second before the floodgates burst and the tears fell.

I sank to the floor and buried my head in my arms as I drew my knees to my chest. Anger and humiliation washed through me and I gave them five minutes to have their way before I was going to lock them down again.

Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.





THE ADRENALINE WAS still thick in my blood as I used the power of air to get back inside, lighting up the symbol above the doorway and stepping into a circular chamber at the base of the tower. My fingers buzzed with the tingle of magic and I couldn't fight the giddy smile that pulled at my mouth.