Page 30 of Reckless Witch

His mouth falls open. “What the fuck—”

The fireball explodes like a smoke bomb.

Not very elegant, I know, but sometimes, there’s just no time for frills. I drop to a squat, hook my right foot around his ankle, and yank with all my might. A satisfied whoof sounds, but I don’t wait to see the fruits of my labor. I roll away and leap to my feet only to feel another slap, this one to my ass.

I whirl to face him. “What the hell kind of lesson is this?” I demand.

“The kind that teaches you how to survive.”

“You want me to survive? Then have the dragon remove his muzzle.” I thrust my hand forward to show the damn sigil and reddened flesh. I ignore the sigil’s growing heat.

“You’ll hurt yourself,” the vampire replies coldly.

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck himself, but he leaps upward. I jump into the air to meet his assault, left leg drawn up beneath me, right leg shooting out for a vicious kick.

My foot makes contact with something hard—which could be any part of his body, including his very thick skull. Arms of steel band around me and we hit the ground with a thud, me on top.

I drag in a harsh breath and yank my arm up, intent upon ramming my elbow into his ribs, but he rolls on top of me. My breath catches when our eyes meet. The man is so damn beautiful it’s almost a crime. I could fall into those dark eyes and never return. I squirm beneath him and, to my shame, the hard planes of his body pressed against mine send an unexpected wave of desire through me.

What the hell?

“No using your damn vampire charms on me,” I snap.

I center my thoughts in my core and send my power up through my chest to shove him off me. The sigil burns my hand. I push through the pain and force my energy.

“Off, mother fucker,” I wheeze.

His crushing weight eases, and evil glee bubbles up with the thought of how I’ll kick his ass, even if the damn sigil burns a hole through my hand. His weight abruptly crushes me, again. Cries go up from other students and my mind registers the high-pitched battle cry of a…pig.

Stony’s squeal causes the vampire to look up. His brows plunge in confusion as she barrels over him and they topple to the ground in a flaying mix of legs and hooves. Stony lands on top of him and bites his arm. He growls and seizes her head.

“No!” I shout, and shove to my feet.

Stony shifts and rises to full height. In her natural form, she resembles something like a Wookie, only with claws and teeth that would make a saber-toothed tiger jealous.

The vampire leaps to his feet and demands, “Whose familiar is this?”

I step between them and whisper, “Down, girl.”

To my relief, Stony shifts back into her pig form but leans against my legs.

The vampire pins me with his dark glare. “Yours, I see, Ms. Crowe. No familiars are allowed at Illumina Academy.”

“Fine,” I snap. “Stony and I will leave.” I start to turn.

The vampire lifts a staying hand. “You stay.”

I snort. “I don’t take well to commands.”

Behind me, someone sucks in a shocked breath and I realize a deadly silence has fallen. So. People don’t talk to Mr. Obnoxious this way?

His eyes glitter. He’s angry. Really angry. He’s coiled tight, muscles bulging beneath that damn tight shirt, and suddenly, all I can think about is just how gorgeous he is, even furious. No, because he is furious. There’s fire running through him that’s contagious, a force I want to unleash, touch, and experience.

He jerks his head, the motion causing a strand of dark hair to fall over his forehead. He’s beyond sexy. “Back in line,” he commands.

His obnoxiousness shatters whatever spell I’m under. “I’m out of here.” I get three steps and he’s in front of me, blocking my retreat. I narrow my eyes. “So, Illumina Academy keeps prisoners?”

“When they don’t have the sense to know when to stay,” he replies. I start to tell him to go to hell and he says, “It’s this, or we strip you of your magic.”