Page 20 of Darkness Defined

Finally, we were getting somewhere. “You’re Matt, right?” His guard immediately went back up. At this rate, I would never make any headway.

“Yeah.”

I walked closer, gliding around the couch. This whole interaction was reminding me of the time I’d tried to encourage the neighborhood stray cat to follow me home. “How long have you known about the school?” I prodded.

“Two weeks,” he replied while he looked around the space.

Only a couple weeks? No wonder he’d been penciled onto the roster. If that was the case, it begged another question. Which could either go really well or really poorly. “Um… how long have you known you’re a demon?”

“Two weeks,” he responded in the same flat tone.

Ho-ly. Shit.

“Well, that explains a lot.” The words were out of my mouth before I could rethink them.

Matt’s eyes narrowed, cutting the ice blue down to shards of glass. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” I smiled to help play it off. However, the response only seemed to unnerve him further. “Demons tend to be more aggressive when they don’t regularly use their powers. Like they’re pent up… or something…”

“Are you saying I’m aggressive?”

Yes. A thousand times yes, you gorgeous, angry angel of a man.

“No. I’m saying you should lighten up, not take everything so seriously. I mean, look at this place. Aren’t you even the littlest bit excited?” I chanced another smile, but it didn’t seem to help.

He blinked and looked around again. It was almost as if he was taking inventory, either that, or looking for another exit.

“Oh, your stuff is in that room.” I gestured to his right, my left, then switched directions. “Mine is over there. It was already set up when I got here, but the rooms are identical, so I don’t think it really matters. Unless you’re into Feng Shui or something, in which case, I don’t mind switching.”

Stop. Talking. You’re rambling like some kind of tongue-tied preteen.

Matt eyed me, then walked over to his room. He hesitated before opening the door, as if he didn’t trust what might be on the other side, then walked in. After another minute of silence, the door closed, and that was that, leaving me right where I’d started: alone in the living room with my foot in my mouth.

Chapter 7

Charybdis’s Inferno

M

Ifloppedontothebed. It wasn’t as nice as the one from the hotel, but it was still better than nothing. My roommate seemed nice enough, if a little too friendly. He clearly wasn’t from the states. His cool, olive complexion and black hair reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, not to mention his accent. British maybe? But that didn’t really fit his looks.

At least he wasn’t some bug-eyed creep or covered in thorns. I gave an involuntary shiver. This whole place was crawling with creatures right out of a storybook. It just wasn’t possible. Yet here I was, lying on a free bed with my own bathroom at a university full of make-believe. All because apparently, I was a freak, too. No. Not a freak. A Shadow Demon. Whatever the hell that was.

I suspected that my roommate probably knew a lot about Shadow Demons, but over my dead body was I going to ask. I still wasn’t sure why I’d told him the truth about how long I’d known. That was a rookie mistake. I knew better. Even thinking back on it, I was sure if he asked again, I’d reply with the same level of honesty. It didn’t make any sense, except that he didn’t strike me as dangerous—at least not in the way I was used to—not in the way the jerk at orientation was.

Recalling how easily that guy had pushed me around prompted me to get up. Now that I wasn’t running from authorities, back-alley creeps, or trying to stay out of the next “well-meaning” home, I could finally start working out again.

The door didn’t even creak when I opened it. This place might look ancient from the outside, but the inside was practically brand new. I wasn’t even surprised to find Alex still nosing about in the kitchen, clearly at home in this world. It seemed cruelly unfair since I wasn’t at home in any.

“I don’t suppose there’s food in that fridge.”

Alex straightened up to his rather impressive height and glanced around in confusion until he spied me lurking by my door. “In the what?” He glanced at the refrigerator. “Oh, the icebox. No, but I found these.” He held up two cards. “I think they’re for the dining hall.”

I frowned. “What’s the point of a fridge if we have to eat in a cafeteria?” It would have been nice to make my own food for a change.

He cocked his head to the side, making him resemble like a bird. “There’s a grocery there, too.”

I rolled my eyes, and he went back to his perusal of the kitchen. From what I could tell, the place appeared fully stocked. I caught glimpses of plates and glassware as Alex continued to open and close various cabinets. The sound of the wooden doors shutting filled the roomy space until I couldn’t take it anymore.