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“I hope you’re good with the bottom bunk,” the grumbling voice whispered in my ear. “I like the top.”

I spun around to find the fallen angel from Midgrave looming over me, staring down into my face.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed.

“I’m here to get into The Golden City, same as you, I presume. Surprised to see me?” He smirked.

This was not happening.

“Yes! Are you following me?”

He cocked his head to the side. “What makes you think that?”

“The fact that you were in Midgrave and now you’re here, trying to enter my bedroom!”

“Of course I’m here. We’re roommates.” He pointed to our names on the door, as if the fact were obvious. “And it’sourbedroom.”

“No, we aren’t,” I argued.

He continued reaching forward, his chest almost brushing against me as he twisted the knob and pushed it open, all while maintaining an infuriating level of eye contact.

“The names on this door tell me otherwise,” he replied. “Now,”—he waved his hand toward the room—“after you, roomie.”

This could not possibly get any worse.

The weight of the dagger strapped tightly on my thigh was only reassuring until I remembered Wolf was an angel, and I knew nothing of killing his kind. A fact he’d so respectfully reminded me of himself.

I backed into the room, squinting my eyes at Wolf—who was absolutelynotmy roommate—before turning around.

The room was bare, as I expected. Two beds—not bunks, thank the goddess—flanked each side. A small window with black bars let in a few rays of the setting sun. The rest of the room was depressingly bare.

Even my dirt pile of a bedroom back home had more personality than this.

“Cozy,” Wolf murmured from behind me before brushing past and throwing his bag onto the left bed. “I guess there’s no need for pleasantries when half of us will be dead at the end of this anyway.”

I tossed my bag onto the other bed. “That’s morbid.”

“And if what I saw in Midgrave taught me anything, you’ll be one of them.”

We stared at each other for a minute, neither one backing down. Wolf’s expanded angel wings took up nearly the entire room. His arms fell lazily by his sides, and he looked at me as if he were utterly familiar with my every move.

I glared back, arms crossed over my chest. “Get out.”

He smiled. “Don’t be rude.”

“Trust me,angel, when you see me being rude, you’ll know.”

He sauntered forward, closing the small amount of space that existed between us. “I think I saw plenty of it last night while you were impaling vampyres in the chest.”

My blood froze. “How long were you watching me?” I gaped.

He shrugged casually. “You intrigued me. And I was bored.”

I swallowed and slowly reached for my dagger, finding comfort in the warm, rough handle that fit perfectly in my palm. “I’ll tell you one last time before I lose my damn patience. This is my room, and you’re not staying here. Get. Out.”

My heart pounded in anticipation, waiting for his response. He somehow irritated and terrified me all at once, causing my body to react in ways I had never felt before.

Wolf ignored me, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just so you know, I prefer to sleep naked.”