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“Wellhello, darling,” I said casting a glance over my shoulder at him.“You’re a bit late to the party but better late than never.Juan here was just admiring the Mark you put on me last night.”

Saint ignored me—he was too busy glaring at Juan, who was glaring right back.

“You’rewearinghisMark too!”he snarled, staring at Saint’s forehead and making a disgusted face.“You let thatmariposaMark you?What the hell is wrong with you, Santiago?You under a spell or something?”

“The only thing wrong with me is the fact that you’re threatening what’s mine,” Saint growled.“I think I showed you the other day in the gymnasium what will happen if you touch Avery.You know what my Drake is capable of.”

As he spoke, he let just a bit of his Drake’s menace leak into his voice and I bet myself that if I looked at him again, his eyes would have turned from obsidian black to open flames.

Juan took a step back but kept glaring at Saint.

“Yeah, but I heard if you let your Drake out again you’re permanently expelled.”

Saint’s voice went soft and dangerous.

“If I let my Drake out, it will be to kill you and anyone else who dares to touch Avery,” he told Juan.“He isMINE.”

The last word was spoken fully in his Drake’s voice.It sent a shiver down my spine and it seemed to shake Juan too.As angry as he was with me, he had to know there was nothing he could do about it.I was under the protection of a cursed Blood Drake who was completely obsessed with me—I might as well have a loaded gun pointed at his face.Not that I would do that, but you get the picture.

“Fine, I won’t touch the littlemariposabut this isn’t over.”Juan stabbed a stubby finger the size of a sausage at me.“Someday, some way I’m gonna get you, Connor.And when I do, you’re gonna be sorry your little faggoty ass was ever born!”

“You can try,” I said coolly.“But I’ll be ready for you, Gonzales.Just because I don’t have a Drake inside me, doesn’t mean I’m helpless, you know.”I cocked my head to one side as though considering my options.“How would you like it if my magic needle sewed your tiny dick to your stomach one night?Might make taking a morning piss a bit more interesting, don’t you think?Hmm?”

There were other spells I could work, of course, but they would take time and effort and the right materials.I was a pretty powerful witch in my own right—something people seemed to forget, probably because Saint’s cursed Blood Drake was so much more impressive than my magic needle.

Juan Gonzales didn’t say anything to that.He just gave me one last hard stare before turning on his heel and storming off, the tense set of his broad shoulders letting me know that he was angrier than ever.

“I fear we haven’t heard the last of him,” Saint murmured, watching him go.“And the rest of the Drakes need to learn their lesson as well.It’s a good thing I’ll be coming with you to all your classes today.”

“What?”I exclaimed, frowning up at him.“We didn’t discuss that!What aboutyourclasses?”

He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under his school blazer.

“I’ll make up the work later.Today,youare my priority.”

“Okay, well then maybe you could come and, I don’t know,sitwith me?”I asked, as I carried my cooling breakfast and coffee back towards our table.

Saint gave me an unreadable look.

“I won’t force you to endure that.But I will go to all your classes with you until all the other Drakes get the message that you are off limits.”

“What do you mean bythat?”I demanded, but he only shook his head.

“Enjoy your breakfast,mi Corazon,and then we’ll go.”He turned to face me and cupped my cheek in his hand briefly.He stared into my eyes and growled, “I protect what’smine.”

Then he glided away to who-knows-where while I went back to sit at our table where—I couldn’t help noticing—everyone was watching me, though they were trying to pretend they weren’t.

I sat down across from Megan and Griffin, and beside Kaitlyn and Ari.Emma and Bran and Lachlan were beside them.All of them had obviously been whispering about me and Saint because they went absolutely silent the moment I plunked my tray down.Only Jalli, who was busy feeding her chimelings tiny bits of scrambled egg, didn’t seem hyper-focused on me.

“Well, don’t all stop talking just for me,” I said, frowning around the table.“And you might as well get a good look at this…” I pointed at my forehead.“Andthis.”I pointed to the left side of my neck.“Did everybody see?Good.Now we can eat breakfast.”

I sat down and began savagely buttering a piece of toast, not making eye contact with anyone.

“Er, Avery?Are you okay?”Emma asked softly.

“Just fine, Emmers.Never better,” I said briskly.I raised an eyebrow at her.“And yourself?”

Emma didn’t seem to know what to say to that.She and Bran and Lachlan gave each other a look and then she shoveled in a mouthful of eggs and started to chew.