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“Just offering.”
Closing the door behind us, I follow Jace towards Rico’s bedroom while I shove aside all my thoughts of Alina for now, so that I can focus on helping Rico instead.
I don’t understand the point of all the emotions that people always wear on their faces like colorful banners, broadcasting their mood. And I barely have any emotions myself. But I do know one thing.
I don’t like seeing my brothers hurt.
5
ALINA
My cousins told me to wait for their sections to finish as well so that we could head to lunch together, but just standing out in the open like this feels like a really bad idea.
Just like most days, our massive class of first-years was split into smaller groups today so that we could fit into the various training areas. Mine ended up finishing twenty minutes early because one of my classmates accidentally shot another student in the leg. Though given the looks they’ve been giving each other all week, I’m not sure how accidental it really was.
Warm winds blow across the parking lot, wrapping around my body like silk. I take a deep breath. Because of the forest close to our secluded campus, the air smells of stone and pine trees out here. It should be a calming scent. However, I feel anything but calm as I stand there outside, waiting for my cousins.
The massive buildings that make up Blackwater University loom around me. Sunlight glints in the windows. Worry prickles my skin. I cast a few quick glances up at the windows, because I can’t help but feel as if a certain knife-wielding psycho is up there, watching me.
Standing out here alone like this? I might as well be inviting him to come and torment me.
I snap my gaze back down to the doors and shake my head as I make a decision. Better to wait inside the cafeteria than to stay out here like a damn sitting duck.
Pulling open the heavy doors, I leave the sunlit parking lot behind and walk into the gray concrete halls of Blackwater University. Thankfully, they’re completely empty since all other classes still have another fifteen minutes to go. But I make my way to the canteen quickly, just in case.
When I reach it, I find only the other people from my group inside. They’re spread out across several tables, some eating together while others appear to be waiting for their friends from the other sections.
I head over to the counter and grab a tray. They’re serving cod and potatoes today, which isn’t exactly my favorite. But regardless of what’s on the menu, the meals are somehow always perfectly cooked and seasoned. For a university for hitmen, I have to admit that they do serve surprisingly good food.
With my tray of steaming food in hand, I head over to a table to wait for my cousins and brothers. The other people scattered across the vast cafeteria talk quietly, their murmuring and the hum of the air conditioner the only sounds that break the stillness.
I’ve only just picked up my utensils when I can feel the change in the air.
Closing my eyes briefly, I pray that I’m wrong.
But it makes no difference, because when I open my eyes, I still find my own personal tormentor walking across the room. He must have seen me from the windows when I was standing outside, and decided to leave class early. I knew that standing out in the open like that was a dumb fucking move.
Some of the other students pause their conversations to watch when they realize that Kaden is heading straight for me. I glance at them. They look more eager for a show than inclined to help. Guess I’m on my own. Again.
As usual, Kaden is nonchalantly twirling a knife in his hand as he saunters towards me. There’s a faint smirk lurking on his lips and a glint in his dark eyes, which is something that I’ve started to see more often these past couple of days. The sight of it sends a ripple through me, and I suddenly think that I might actually have preferred it when his eyes were completely emotionless instead of full of wicked anticipation like this.
Setting down my utensils, I consider whether to stay or just cut and run. But given the difference in height and physique, I don’t think I’d even make it halfway to the door. So in the end, I just sit there, watching as Kaden closes the final distance.
He stops on the other side of the table.
For a while, nothing happens. We just hold each other’s gaze in silence while the rest of the cafeteria watches us with bated breath.
A faint smile briefly blows across Kaden’s features, as if he finds our little staring contest amusing. I might not be able to run or fight him, but I sure as hell won’t be the one speaking first. He came to me, so if he wants something, he’s going to have to spell it out.
“Bring me my lunch,” he orders, and the absolute command in his voice cuts through the air like a blade.
It makes my heart lurch and my thighs clench, but all I do is to raise my eyebrows and reply, “Excuse me?”
He stops twirling his knife. My pulse flutters, and I can almost feel the sudden tension in the air crackling like lightning bolts. But I keep my chin up and just stare back at him expectantly. All around us, the room is deadly silent.
Kaden narrows his eyes, and threats bleed into his voice as he says, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Or what?” I retort before I can stop myself.
