as he looked down at me. I turned my head.
Despite the fact that he was a demon executioner, he’d saved my life. He’d also been fun to talk to yesterday (albeit, we’d both been pretending to be people we weren’t). And, there was no denying, especially not now, when what we were doing was so dangerously close to embracing, that I found him physically attractive. Unfortunately, inordinately so.
I didn’t want to lie to him. In fact, I would rather have told him the truth. Ari was the first person I’d ever met who made me want to share my secret.
But I couldn’t. It would jeopardize the plan Peter and I had come up with. And even though I’d only known him for a day or two, I didn’t want to see the look on his face when I finally admitted what he already knew. That I was far from being a harmless human Hyrke. That I was further still from having the fruitful, abundant, overflowing waxing magic of one of his preferred Mederies.
I tried to shake him off.
“What are you doing here, Noon?”
I sputtered for a moment, incredulous. First, what right did he have to barge into my room and ask intrusive questions? Second, wasn’t it obvious?
“I’m a student here, just like you.”
Ari shook his head. “Not here at St. Luck’s, here at Megiddo. Why aren’t you over at Infernus with the rest of us?”
“The rest of… ? Ari, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But instead of sounding angry, I sounded scared.
I sounded like a liar.
“Tell the truth, Noon,” he said. His voice had a strange intensity to it. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face. He looked… angry? Anxious? I tried to pull away, but his grip was tight. He wasn’t hurting me, but he wasn’t letting go either. I remembered how strong he’d been when he was pulling me into the ferry after my disastrous jump. I knew ifhe didn’t want to let go, he wouldn’t. I stopped struggling. I didn’t want to fight.
“Ari, please go,” I said, but he only shifted his position. Taking both of my hands in his, he pulled me close.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Nouiomo Onyx.”
I was trapped, in more ways than one. What did he want from me? Why did he care what I did? Ari stared at the spot just above my left breast, right above my heart where my demon mark was. He hesitated, as if weighing a decision to a question only he knew, and then slowly he placed his palm over my mark. Even through my sweater I felt the effect of his touch there. It felt like a brand. I cried out. Ari’s eyes widened in disbelief. He took one look at my face. (I have no idea what he saw. Fear? Anger? Uncertainty?) His jaw hardened with resolve. He lowered his face to mine.
What was he doing? He couldn’t possibly be thinking of kissing me. And kissing him was the last thing I should be doing.
My demon mark burned beneath his hand and my magic flared, rushing over me as a searing wave and then crashing against the confines of Peter’s spell. The jilted force of it would have knocked me flat if Ari hadn’t been holding me. He pulled back and grunted, tightening his grip. This time it did hurt.
“Let go,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You need to declare,” he said roughly, releasing me with a shove. “Soon, it’s going to be too late.”
“I’m leaving,” I said suddenly and recklessly. I’d never wanted to come here. St. Lucifer’s was just a place to hide while Peter continued to search for the Reversal Spell. But if I left, I wasn’t sure where I’d go next. With waning magic, any work at a restaurant, hospital, or farm was out. Maybe I could become a dockworker or a cabdriver.
“Leaving won’t solve the problem!”
“But it isn’t
your
problem so you don’t need to worry about it,” I said, rubbing my shoulders and turning toward the door.
He snorted. “You’ve been my problem since yesterday. You think I couldn’t sense your magic on the boat?”
So why hadn’t he said anything then? Why was he
Despite the fact that he was a demon executioner, he’d saved my life. He’d also been fun to talk to yesterday (albeit, we’d both been pretending to be people we weren’t). And, there was no denying, especially not now, when what we were doing was so dangerously close to embracing, that I found him physically attractive. Unfortunately, inordinately so.
I didn’t want to lie to him. In fact, I would rather have told him the truth. Ari was the first person I’d ever met who made me want to share my secret.
But I couldn’t. It would jeopardize the plan Peter and I had come up with. And even though I’d only known him for a day or two, I didn’t want to see the look on his face when I finally admitted what he already knew. That I was far from being a harmless human Hyrke. That I was further still from having the fruitful, abundant, overflowing waxing magic of one of his preferred Mederies.
I tried to shake him off.
“What are you doing here, Noon?”
I sputtered for a moment, incredulous. First, what right did he have to barge into my room and ask intrusive questions? Second, wasn’t it obvious?
“I’m a student here, just like you.”
Ari shook his head. “Not here at St. Luck’s, here at Megiddo. Why aren’t you over at Infernus with the rest of us?”
“The rest of… ? Ari, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But instead of sounding angry, I sounded scared.
I sounded like a liar.
“Tell the truth, Noon,” he said. His voice had a strange intensity to it. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face. He looked… angry? Anxious? I tried to pull away, but his grip was tight. He wasn’t hurting me, but he wasn’t letting go either. I remembered how strong he’d been when he was pulling me into the ferry after my disastrous jump. I knew ifhe didn’t want to let go, he wouldn’t. I stopped struggling. I didn’t want to fight.
“Ari, please go,” I said, but he only shifted his position. Taking both of my hands in his, he pulled me close.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Nouiomo Onyx.”
I was trapped, in more ways than one. What did he want from me? Why did he care what I did? Ari stared at the spot just above my left breast, right above my heart where my demon mark was. He hesitated, as if weighing a decision to a question only he knew, and then slowly he placed his palm over my mark. Even through my sweater I felt the effect of his touch there. It felt like a brand. I cried out. Ari’s eyes widened in disbelief. He took one look at my face. (I have no idea what he saw. Fear? Anger? Uncertainty?) His jaw hardened with resolve. He lowered his face to mine.
What was he doing? He couldn’t possibly be thinking of kissing me. And kissing him was the last thing I should be doing.
My demon mark burned beneath his hand and my magic flared, rushing over me as a searing wave and then crashing against the confines of Peter’s spell. The jilted force of it would have knocked me flat if Ari hadn’t been holding me. He pulled back and grunted, tightening his grip. This time it did hurt.
“Let go,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You need to declare,” he said roughly, releasing me with a shove. “Soon, it’s going to be too late.”
“I’m leaving,” I said suddenly and recklessly. I’d never wanted to come here. St. Lucifer’s was just a place to hide while Peter continued to search for the Reversal Spell. But if I left, I wasn’t sure where I’d go next. With waning magic, any work at a restaurant, hospital, or farm was out. Maybe I could become a dockworker or a cabdriver.
“Leaving won’t solve the problem!”
“But it isn’t
your
problem so you don’t need to worry about it,” I said, rubbing my shoulders and turning toward the door.
He snorted. “You’ve been my problem since yesterday. You think I couldn’t sense your magic on the boat?”
So why hadn’t he said anything then? Why was he
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