“Em.”
I turned at Lucent’s voice and waited on him. His hair was wet from his shower, making his bangs hang in his face. The wildness of his fresh from the shower look made my insides tingle. His blue T-shirt was stretched across his broad chest. Roaming my eyes down, I noted his white pajama pants and bare feet.
The guy had no idea how sexy he looked. I tore my gaze from him, hoping he didn’t notice me ogling him. “What’s up?”
His green eyes brightened. “I’m starved.”
I laughed and we walked to the dining room together. “You are always starving.”
When we entered the dining room everyone smiled at me briefly before going back to their conversations. As soon as Lucent and I took our seats, Cordea came in with a new student. Lucent and I both tensed.
The new student was Rhys Daniels from the Florida Clan. Of all my dumb luck. Rhys was an asshole. No that was too mild of a word for him. Bastard didn’t seem right in the head.
He was the heir of his clan and had on several occasions had his father petitioned my mother to arrange a mating between the two of us. Mom all but told the phoenix alpha to fuck off. The fact of the matter, I would kill Rhys before our honeymoon began because the fucker liked to hit on females. Like father, like son.
It was safe to say Rhys and I didn’t get along. And he hated Lucent for being my best friend and future mate. The later wasn’t spoken out loud, but everyone expected it and I wasn’t going to rule without him.
So we were going to have a lot of fun.
Rhys sat in the empty seat across from me with a cocky grin. His black eyes were creepy as fuck, always had been. Add in his shaved head, he had the hard-ass rocker look going. Most females liked that look. I wasn’t most females.
“Nice to see you again, Em.”
I picked up my fork and slammed the prongs into the wood of the table next to his hand. “It’s Ember to you.”
Rhys lifted a brow and smirked. The asshole smirked at me. Just under the surface, my fire flared to life and everyone at the table stood and backed up. Since we were all phoenixes, I knew they felt my magic react to my emotions.
Cordea walked up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I cut a glare to her. There was no fear in her eyes. “I know Rhys is an ass and I know how you feel. Just think of him as one of your trials of being here. You will put up with plenty of assholes once you take your place as clan leader.”
She was right but that didn’t mean I had to like it. “Is that why he is here?”
Cordea motioned for everyone to sit. “No. Rhys is here because his father begged the council not to kill him. This is his last chance to turn it around.”
I pulled my fork out of the wood and stood to get a new one. Cordea followed me. Throwing the bent-up fork in the trash, I said, “I can’t make any promises. Rhys is a bastard and will do anything to come between Lucent and me.”
Cordea sighed. “All I can ask is that you try really hard to ignore him. I’m kind of looking forward to you being my Alpha one day. Plus I’m in here with the same goal. I want to make it out of the culling alive at the end of the term.”
We stood in the kitchen staring at each other for a little while. Cordea’s long curly chestnut hair was loose to flow over her shoulders. We’d never been close in school, which was odd since her father was one of Mom’s enforcers. Maybe I could fix that.
“Well, here, you are our fearless leader.” I smiled, letting the teasing tone roll over my words.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
Grabbing a new fork, I followed her out.
Rhys was smarter than he looked because he kept his mouth shut during dinner. When we all settled in the great room to watch a movie as our social time, Rhys sat on the other side of the room from Lucent and me. We shared the oversized armchair again. It was freezing in the house, which didn’t make me too uncomfortable, but Lucent’s lips looked like they were going to turn blue. Even with the thick throw over us.
I slipped one hand under the blanket, then under his shirt. His soft skin over his hard abs was cool to the touch. Calling my fire, I warmed my hand against him.
He let out a soft sigh. “Thanks,” he muttered against my hair.
“Be quiet and watch the movie.”
My tart comment made him chuckle just as Cordea walked by. She studied us with a raised brow, so I lifted mine back to her. She shook her head and sat, her lips lifting in at the corners.
“What was the hand holding at lunch today?”
Lucent tensed under me, but he relaxed almost as fast. “I don’t like the twins.”
I snorted, getting a shh from Cordea. Lowering my tone more, I said, “So are you staking a claim on me then?”
For a long few moments, he didn’t look at me. Dread churned at the chance he would say it was nothing more than to chase the twins away. I was starting to wonder that maybe I should have told Lucent how I felt before that moment.
“What if I want to?”
He words were so soft, I wasn’t sure I heard them right. My heart hammered and my body warmed at the idea of him claiming me. I hadn’t realized until then how much I wanted it. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his cheek and whispered, “I’ve known for a long time you’re mine.”
Fire lit up his gaze. I laughed softly as I snuggled into him and watched the movie.
I must have drifted off to sleep at some point. When I woke, Lucent was standing with me in his arms. I wiggled to be put down. Setting me on my feet, he stared at me for a long time before I took his hand and tugged him toward our rooms.
Opting for my room, I pulled him inside and closed the door before anyone saw us. That was when Lucent was on me. He cupped my head and claimed my mouth in a fiery raw kiss. Need flooded my system and I groaned.
He broke the kiss before I had a chance to take over. “We need to talk about things. But hear me out, because I will not repeat myself. I plan to rule the clan at your side. I know I’ve said it before, and you blow it off every time. But I’m serious. One way or another I’ll be at your side when you become clan leader.”
I laughed and pushed him playfully, then dropped down on my bed. “Is that so?”
“Yep.” He stretched out beside me. “What do we do about the twins?”
Frowning, I stared at the ceiling. “I’m not sure. I feel a connection but not sure if I can trust them. In PE, Zelphar implied he knew…my secret.”
I didn’t say that I’m a demi-god outloud because I didn’t want anyone in the house to overhear. Phoenixes, like all shifters, had amazing hearing.
“I noticed you had a reaction to Mr. Foster as well.”
Shame filled me. What was wrong with me? I’ve never looked at another male since realizing I wanted Lucent as my mate. Then bam! Mr. Hottie Reform School Teacher and the evil god twins show up. “I believe they were sent here for some reason. Even Foster. He might be a mage, but he’s no scholar.”
Lucent nodded. “I sensed a defender.”
“Me too.”
Mage defenders were powerful mages that defended the secrets and usage of magic. They tracked down and eliminated rogues. “What if the gods sent them here to destroy me?”
“I don’t think they did. If the gods wanted you dead because of what you are, then they would have killed you before birth. Plus Hera knows. Hell, you train with her. Something else is going on.” Lucent threaded his fingers between mine and lifted my hand to his mouth. “I’ve got your back. We’ll figure it out together”