Page 57 of A Bond So Deadly

Kenzie sighs heavily. “All right, but if I die tonight, you’d better find my damn lost soul and bring me back somehow.”

“Deal.”

Satine is still standing in the doorway, and she bites out impatiently, “Look if you don’t want me here, I have better places to be.”

I open my mouth to speak, but Blake beats me to it. “No, you don’t,” she says simply.

“Excuse me?” Satine splutters defensively.

Blake stares her down. “You’ve got three of the strongest females on academy grounds willing to share the night with you. And I know you. You’re a survivor, aren’t you? Let me guess, you’ve always thought one of the best ways to survive is by getting close to the biggest baddies around you? Well, here we are.” She opens her hands wide, and the tiniest bit of embarrassment goes through me. The three strongest? I don’t know what Blake has been smoking. Kenzie blushes and ducks her head, and I wonder if my roommate is thinking the same thing that I am.

To both our surprise, Satine doesn’t question Blake’s statement. Her gaze roves over the three of us before she sniffs and meets Blake’s stare.

Blake gestures toward the empty section of floor beside her, and Satine stays silent as she drags her mattress in and drops down onto it.

“Oh,” Blake adds, “and it goes without saying that if you hurt my girl, Shade, you won’t survive what happens next. The same goes for her friend, Kenzie.” The demon queen says it so plainly like she’s simply discussing the rules of the sleepover.

I’m suddenly glad that I haven’t told Blake about how Satine tried to kill me. Yeah, that would have been a disaster. Thankfully, all I’ve said is that Satine used to give me a hard time.

“Have I mentioned that I like this friend of yours?” Kenzie whispers to me, and I smile because Blake is pretty great.

“Yes, you should keep that one around,” Elgen croaks.

A single nod is the only acknowledgment Satine gives Blake, and I’m glad Satine was smart enough to agree. Kenzie relaxes, and I wonder whether she really had been worried that Satine would stab us in our sleep.

In any case, things calm down after that. We gorge ourselves on snacks (much to the delight of Elgen and Tarlaz), braid each other’s hair, drink wine like consumption is a competition, and laugh about the guys.

Kenzie rests her wine glass on her knees. “I hate to say it, but the academy will be quieter when the demons are gone.”

“When all the demons are gone, or are you just talking about a particular demon named Vethrak?” I tease.

Kenzie glares at me. “I mean all of them. It was annoying having them here at first, but I don’t know, somehow I feel safer with them here now.”

Blake smirks. “You only think that because they’ve been on their best behavior.” The demon queen releases the knife in her hand, sending it flying into the centre of the bullseye on the back of my dorm door. It lands right between the eyes of a Xalgrith she pinned up there.

I make a face. “You’d better not be leaving that up there tonight. Having that thing staring at me is creepy as hell.”

Blake laughs.

Satine leans back, resting her head on her hands. “It will be quieter without the demons,” she says softly.

My lips quirk up. “Well, we knew you’d say that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Satine replies.

“Girl, please.” I snort. “You and Sebastian?”

She gives me a clueless expression, and I facepalm.

“Back me up here, won’t you?” I say, nudging Blake.

The demon queen grins conspiratorially. “Demons are more in tune to sensing sexual energy,” she states simply. “You can hide it from yourself but…”

The color drains from Satine’s face, and the rest of us burst out laughing, clutching our stomachs as we wheeze.

“He’s an asshole!” Satine snaps.

“So it’s a great match then,” I blurt, before realizing I’d said that part out loud.