Page 13 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)
“Ouch,” a low voice said from behind me.
Though my instincts screamed for me not to, I turned my back on the blonde before me and found the owner of the voice.
Another man, this one slightly shorter than the Altair and sporting hair so black it was nearly blue, approached with a woman on his right that looked like she could be his twin, the only noticeable difference that her braided hair cascaded down to her hips whereas his was pulled up into a small twist on the top of his head.
He glanced briefly down at me before speeding up and somehow squeezing in between me and the now furious Altair boy.
“Is this the first time you’ve ever been shot down, Azazel? Tough luck.”
The Altair—Azazel, apparently—seemed to instantly go on edge.
His once jarringly bright irises became the color of the smoke that only came from devastating fires.
Fury pooled in those eyes, his fists clenching at his sides like a child who didn’t get their way.
Fitting for a spoiled core family member.
Not only spoiled, but he was practically the prince of the shaytan world.
And whoever was now in front of me was standing up to him. Subconsciously, my eyes darted down to the new addition’s tawny finger, seeing the classic core family black ring on his middle digit. A bear with a star just above its roaring mouth. Zade.
That meant I had five core families surrounding me.
I dared to look at Elite Bargain and immediately wished I hadn’t. She looked like she might throw up. The male guard next to her didn’t look too comfortable either. Well, shit.
“Oh, so it’s Azazel now? What’s wrong, Talon, don’t want to be friends anymore?” Azazel questioned, his cocky smirk returning as he suddenly crossed his arms and relaxed his shoulders.
So they were once friends. That would make sense.
The core families were raised together, trained together, taught together.
They married each other and befriended each other.
They even lived in their special, pure district.
But what, then, would have happened to these two?
Could this be about the stars? Were they both vying for the opportunity for the essence?
Instead of answering, who I now knew to be Talon Zade turned around, smiled down at me, and said, “This is what we call male arrogance.”
A chuckle burst free of my mouth before I could stop it, my hand flying up to cover my lips when I realized just how stupid I was. But Talon simply grinned wider. His eyes were an extraordinary shade of brown. Almost red. I noted how long his dark lashes were, how rosy his cheeks were becoming.
“I’m Talon, nice to meet you,” he practically hummed, reaching out to the limited space between us. Despite myself, I smiled softly and took his hand, shaking it.
“Nova.” Behind me, I heard the girl who had to be Talon’s sister shuffle in the snow, her voice a soft melody as she walked around us and greeted the other cores.
“Looks like curls prefers her men with dark hair and tolerable personalities. Tough luck, Az.” Beyond Talon, the curly-haired boy shoved at Azazel Altair, snickers breaking out in their group.
Altair stared at me, his eyes scrutinizing in the way I hoped they wouldn’t.
Because if he looked long enough, he’d know. They always somehow did.
Just then, another group of about fifteen started approaching from the other side of the border and the focus of the group finally left me. Well, all but two.
“Ignore him,” Talon whispered, lowering his face a bit.
“Easier said than done,” I mumbled, stepping back and taking my first deep breath. The last thing I needed were any of these lunatics taking interest in me. Negative or positive. I wasn’t there for friends or sex or anything other than shadow magic and a job. Definitely not for enemies.
“Trust me, blocking him out will become second nature. I do it all the time.” When I said nothing, not so much as making eye contact with him, Talon blew out a heavy breath. “You know, this is normally when someone says thank you.”
Still, I said nothing. This was the first time I had ever interacted with core family members.
I didn’t even attend General Altair’s speeches.
Avoiding them had become a habit of self preservation.
While I had always known I would attend Elite Academy with some of them, I hadn’t expected to even speak to them. It wasn’t necessary. Or safe.
“Not much of a talker, are you? Is it the nerves? I can tell you what I know of the ritual if none of your family ever attempted it.” His arms crossed as he spoke, his teeth worrying his lip when I still said nothing. Should I lie? Omit? What was the best course of action?
Lying would eventually lead to me being caught. There was no way around that. Every bit of my eadi-ness would shine through during this training. I wasn’t as equipped as the others would be, especially seeing as usually only the best of the best attempted the ritual.
Omitting was safer, but only marginally. I would still be seen as untrustworthy. But telling this random core boy that I was of eadi wouldn’t serve me well either.
Silence was truly the only safe bet.
“What did you say your last name was?” Talon’s voice deepened slightly, an odd downwards tilt that had me finally making eye contact with him. “It’s odd I’ve never seen you around. Dove and I spend a lot of time in the Star District, believe it or not. I feel like I would remember you.”
Nearly losing my barely there cool, I shifted my weight onto my right foot, leaning ever so slightly towards Bargin. “Actually, Elite Bargain was needing my help with something before the ritual, so I better get over there. It was nice meeting you though, Talon. Good luck today.”
I could feel the weight of Talon and Azazel’s stares on me as I walked up to Elite Bargain, attempting to casually chat with her about the made up task she had mentioned earlier.
When I dared a look over my shoulder, Talon turned away, his cheeks reddening again as he began conversation with some of the others.
Azazel didn’t so much as flinch when my gaze flicked to him though.
Instead, his sharp and calculating stare remained on me.
As if he were studying me like I had done to them.
No. The way he eyed me was more than assessing. It was accusatory. Hateful, even.
Azazel Altair knew exactly what I was.