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I extended one furious finger and poked it into the man’s side. “Back off. Now.”
He turned his head slightly, only enough to show his profile. Danger laced the air like piss in a bathroom. “Back away, little girl. The men are busy.”
I couldn’t help the snort. “Wow. Very scary. Why don’t you back off from the student you’re attacking, or I’ll be forced to report you.”
He faced me completely now, letting Emily scoot out from her corner. He looked down on me with his nose practically stuck up to the sky. The blue T-shirt stretched tight over his puffed chest and straight shoulders.
He was handsome, I’d give him that. A face that any sculptor would dream of carving. All strong lines and full lips and gorgeous eyes.
“Do you know who I am?” he whispered dangerously.
“A name tag might help. See?” I tapped my own.
He scanned it, noting the department with a curl of his lip. “This will be your last day working at this school, bitch. I’ll see to it.”
My brows rose. “Making threats too. Will it be kidnapping or torture? I do like to prepare.”
He gave me a sliver of shock. An opening.
With a saccharine smile, I said, “People are getting attacked and killed on this campus, which is why I was hired in the first place, fuckface. Now, on my first day, I see you attacking a student in public. Is this a habit? Off-record, of course.” The insinuation was a little heavy-handed, but again, I wasn’t a people person.
“Calling me a killer?” he asked, his height somehow getting more and more intense as he drew closer. “Accusing me of something, little girl?”
“Everyone’s little compared to you and that ugly-ass thick head you have. It’s okay, though. Not everyone wins the genetic lottery.”
He reeled back, clearly having been expecting me to cower beneath his glare. And clearly not expecting me to insult an archangel like he was beneath me.
Gray, you are seriously out of your godsdamn mind. You’re not even pretending to be careful right now.
Lower lip pushed out in a mock pout, I continued to dig my grave. “You’re cute. In a my-dad-hates-me-and-I-cope-with-violence type of way. But listen, you’re not about to destroy the career of a woman that President Castile hired following the death of his son.”
His eyes widened. Just a fraction. Just enough for everyone to notice.
I went on, “I’m here to advocate for the safety of the student body.” My job description didn’t quite say that, but hey. A girl can paraphrase. “Your actions with Ellywin are considered assault and harassment on any campus and on any street in any city. Do you like committing crimes in public spaces? If so, I can only imagine the kind of shit you do in private. Now, we’re going to leave, and I need you to not commit any felonies or misdemeanors in the future. Am I understood? Elizabeth. You’re coming with me.”
The girl looked confused and then realized I’d been talking to her. “Oh. Yeah, right away, ma’am.” She scuttled over, sending Mr. Anger Management Issues and his minions a filthy glare that promised retribution.
Fucking hell. I’m going to have to scold her too, aren’t I?
I marched her away, making sure that the boys weren’t following while a sudden surge of intuition tugged me forward.
Smacking me straight into someone. “Woah! Watch where you’re going,” I snapped, ready to breathe fire.
“You were the one not looking.”
I glared upward into another handsome face capped with golden hair. “Oh. You.”
Clave sneered down at us like we were shit stuck to his shoe. “I gave you one request, Miss Valence. One. Less than a day later, and you cannot follow simple instructions. Refrain from sullying the halls of this campus. Yet here you are, raging away inappropriately at one of our most esteemed students.”
I pointed back at the boys still clustered together like scheming henchmen. “You can’t possibly mean those.”
His haughty expression affirmed that he had.
Another surge of my magic pushed me toward the teacher, making my head spin. “So, you support three men cornering one new female student, burning her vines, and nearly burning her face. Sorry, what did you say you taught, Clave?”
“That’s Professor Clave to you. I teach light and illusion, and I saw no assault happen.”
“Ester here experienced it, and I witnessed it. Why are you defending them?”
