Page 15 of Love to Defy You (The Dark Love #2)

Willow

On Monday morning, I meet up with Josie for coffee and danishes from our favorite coffee cart on campus. We find a bench in the sun to keep us warm against the brisk air and clutch the hot coffee cups in our hands.

I lean against the back of the bench and survey the Weltner courtyard. The campus is full of life as students walk between the stately brick buildings that surround the quad. A pair of girls sits beneath a tree reading their textbooks while a few guys kick a soccer ball back and forth on the lawn.

It feels good to get some fresh air after a weekend at home with Alek. He and I haven’t spoken much since he got home on Saturday covered in fertilizer, and the tension gripping the apartment was growing unbearable.

Josie pushes her sunglasses on top of her auburn head and glances at me. “So, how are you getting on after your first week of classes?”

“Good. I think I’m going to like most of my classes, except maybe the Shakespeare one.” I take a sip of my coffee, and the hot liquid warms me on the way down.

She lets out a light laugh. “Wordy fellow, isn’t he?”

I clap a hand over my mouth. “Wait, sorry. Is it rude to insult Shakespeare in front of a Brit?”

“No, no, insult him all you want.” Josie waves me off. “Personally, I find him rather boring.”

“Oh, thank God.” When I laugh, it feels good, like I’ve opened the vent of a pressure cooker and released the steam building up inside.

My phone pings in my pocket with an incoming email. While Josie nibbles on her danish, I open my inbox, and when I see the sender, I straighten up.

Josie, who’s still chewing her food, covers her mouth to speak. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s an email from one of my favorite authors.” I open RE: Alpha Reader Opportunity and scan through the message. My heart rate picks up the farther along I read. “Oh, my God. No fucking way.”

“What did they say?” Josie leans over my shoulder to peek at my screen.

“She says she really appreciated my detailed review of her ARC I posted last week. And she wants me to be an alpha reader for her upcoming book.” I glance up at Josie. “I’ve never been an alpha reader for anyone before.”

She shrugs. “So? Didn’t you say you wanted to go into a publishing career? This is great experience for your CV.”

I look back at the screen and reread the email. “I don’t want to screw it up, though.”

“Is it paid?”

“Well, no.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Josie takes a sip of her coffee and swallows. “That’s what uni is about. Take risks. Make mistakes. Learn and take that experience out into the real world.”

I take a deep breath and stare at my phone. “It would be really cool to read her book before anyone else.”

“That’s the spirit.” Josie nudges my arm. “You know, if you’re interested in reading manuscripts, my father has a friend who owns a publishing house in London. I could inquire about a summer internship for you, if you’d like?”

I whip my head up from my phone. “Seriously? That would be incredible!”

“I mean, you’d probably be fetching coffee and combing through the slush pile. It isn’t glorious, but—“

“Are you kidding? Reading books as a job would be a dream.”

She laughs. “All right, then. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Josie.” I lean over and hug her, although I’m careful not to spill our coffees or squish our danishes.

Exhilaration sweeps through me. Opportunities are opening up for me, and it’s giving me a clearer direction to pursue. For the longest time, I was so depressed that I couldn’t envision a future for myself. It always looked like a black curtain of nothingness.

After I met Alek, things started to change.

I worked hard to get into a good school like Weltner, but now that I’ve met that goal, I’m not sure what to look forward to next.

But this internship prospect gets me excited about something.

If I alpha/beta read in the meantime, it would look good on my resume, and I could use that experience to apply for other internships if Josie’s offer doesn’t pan out.

But I really want it to pan out. I’m sure Alek wouldn’t mind going to London for the summer, and maybe he could get an internship there as well.

All I want to do is call Alek this second and propose the idea, but when I look at my phone, I hesitate.

Things are still tense with Alek, and maybe now isn’t the best time to bring it up.

I should at least wait to see if the internship is available before talking to him about it, in case it falls through.

Instead, I pull out my phone and text Prisha about the alpha reader opportunity. Maybe she’ll have some advice on how to go about it.

And then I start pulling up apartment listings in London. It probably won’t work out, but it’s fun to imagine the possibilities.

Autumn in Zurich is even better than I pictured.

The trees throughout the city have turned a vibrant shade of orange, and in the distance, the Swiss Alps rise above the lake, capped with snowy ridges.

Water pools on the asphalt streets from the drizzly weather, reflecting the gray skies until a trolley cuts through it.

November brings a crisp chill over the city, and the wet leaves flatten beneath my boots as I walk along the sidewalk.

After adjusting my book bag on my shoulder, I tighten my scarf around my neck.

When I enter the coffee shop next door to the apartment, the scent of roasted coffee beans gives the café an inviting aroma.

Alek is already sitting at a table by the window, which overlooks the tree-lined street outside.

He rests his fists under his chin as he stares outside with a distant expression, his shoulders hunched.

When I slip into the chair across from him, he startles and goes rigid.

“Hey, it’s just me.” I keep my voice gentle as I pull off my leather gloves and set them on the table.

He nods and resumes staring out the window. The dark circles under his eyes are prominent, as is the crease that seems to have found a permanent home between his eyebrows.

Something happened at the Trial of Mortality, and he’s been distracted and withdrawn ever since. He insists he’s fine, but he hasn’t been himself since he came home that night, and it’s bleeding into our relationship.

“Are you finished with classes for the day?” I ask. “You had economics this morning, right?”

He shrugs. “I didn’t go.”

Wood creaks as I sit back in my chair. “You skipped class? How come?”

Alek closes his eyes and rubs his temples. “I had a migraine.”

A server comes over to take our lunch order, and when she walks away, I reach across the table for Alek’s hand.

He gives me a thin smile.

“We need to talk.” I squeeze his hand.

He frowns. “Are you going to lecture me about skipping class? It’s introductory economics, not rocket science.”

“No, that’s not it,” I say delicately. “We need to talk about this fraternity you’re in—“

“Shh.” Alek’s eyes narrow as he glances around the café. “Not here.”

“Then where?” I ask. “When?”

“Drop it.” His biting tone leaves no room for argument, but I press on anyway.

“I’m worried about you.” I lean across the table and lower my voice. “You don’t look well.”

“I assure you, my stamina is fine.” His lips curl into a smirk. “Or have you already forgotten how I railed you last night while you screamed my name?”

Okay, not all the aspects of our relationship are strained.

My cheeks burn hot. “Don’t change the subject.”

He leans back in his chair and pulls from my grasp. His chest rises and falls with a heavy sigh. “Look, I’m fine. Let’s just enjoy our meal and talk of other things. How’s your Shakespeare class?”

I bite the inside of my cheek and debate whether or not to let this go, but it’s clear he’s not going to open up. “It’s hard,” I admit. “I should have waited to take it until next year. I feel like I’m so far behind everyone else.”

He shrugs. “I can help you study. Which play are you working on now?”

“ Richard II .“ I place my elbows on the table and rest my chin on my hands. “It’s so boring, though. I’d much rather read Romeo and Juliet .”

A dark expression crosses Alek’s face, and he turns away to stare out the window once again. “Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.

And just like that, he withdraws into himself yet again.

When our lunch arrives, we don’t speak during the meal, so we finish our food quickly and pay our bill. We head upstairs to our apartment, but when he opens the door, he freezes on the threshold. It’s so abrupt that I bump into him.

“What is it?” I stand on my tiptoes and peer over his shoulder.

On the rug in the foyer is a black envelope with gold calligraphy, similar to the one he received the first day of classes.

I step around him and pick it up off the floor. “It’s addressed to both of us.”

“What?” His sharp voice cuts through the silent apartment, and he snatches the envelope out of my hand. “No. Goddammit, no!” He turns around and slams the door shut, then checks the lock.

“What is it?” I ask. “What’s wrong?”

He marches into the kitchen, and I follow closely behind. Alek grabs a knife from the cutting block and slides it under the flap of the envelope to break the seal to rip the invitation out. The envelope falls on the floor.

I pick it up and examine the golden wax seal. It’s imprinted with that same symbol on Mikhail’s forearm—the lyre in a circle with an arrow piercing it.

Alek scans the invitation, his eyes darting back and forth across the page. “Dammit!” His face twists with fury, and he slams the invitation facedown on the counter.

Since the invitation is also addressed to me, I don’t hesitate to pick it up and read it. “The Feast of Apollo?”

“It feels like a trap.” Alek begins to pace the kitchen.

“It says it’s a formal dinner.” I turn the invitation over and check the back for more details, but it’s blank. It gives an off-campus address, so I do a quick map search on my phone. “Looks like it’s at a private mansion outside Zurich.”