Page 8 of House Ignis

When I dared a side-eye, everyone at our table was staring, cheeks bulging with food, grins smeared in gravy, like hyenas who'd just caught me blushing.

"I swear to the gods," I muttered, fingers twitching as heat flared inside my chest, "I'll set the lot of you on fire."

He moved on, every step measured, every line of him shouting danger and control.

It was as if the shadows themselves bent toward him, eager to be claimed.

Then Ember leaned in, a wicked grin in place. "Look at that delicious ass."

Gods. He definitely heard that.

I glared so hard she just laughed and threw up her hands in mock surrender.

I wanted to melt into the floor or have Ignis strike me down right then and save me the humiliation.

A sudden tug at my ankle made me jolt.

I glanced down and froze as a thin shadow coiled around my boot like a lover's hand.

It slithered across my leathers, slow and deliberate, caressing the material before retreating to its master. My jaw nearly hit the floor.

"I bet Jeremy can't do that," Ember murmured.

Gods, I went scarlet from head to toe.

"Someone wants to play with fire," Aether muttered through the bond.

Up on the dais, Asher reached the Orb. Headmaster Silas gave a solemn nod, and Asher lifted his hand.

His jaw was stone, his silver eyes shuttered as he pressed his palm to the glowing sphere.

The entire Orb went black. Gasps tore through the hall like cracks in ice. Shadows boiled upward, swallowing the golden light until only darkness pulsed at its heart.

My eyes widened.

He stood utterly still, jaw tight, lashes low as his power poured outward in a storm of living shadow.

The tendrils writhed around him—eager, hungry—and then, like smoke drawn into a flame, they funneled back into his body.

A hiss escaped him as the Orb burned its verdict into the back of his neck.

The black-and-violet mark of Umbra blazed against his skin. Then his eyes snapped open.

And found mine. Gods, my pulse thundered—too fast, too loud—until it felt like my heart might beat itself out of my chest.

"Calm yourself," Aether commanded.

"House Umbra welcomes you, Asher Maddox," Headmaster Silas declared.

The hall roared, but I was barely functioning.

My gaze was trapped, helpless, following every step Asher took as he descended from the dais.

As he passed our table, his mouth curved into a wicked grin and then he winked.

Gods. He actually winked.

Heat surged through me, wild and traitorous, and I nearly exploded right there.