Page 26 of Satanic Shadow

Dane stares at me for a long second. “Who?”

“You have no chance in my world.”

He mutters something under his breath before the room starts to rearrange, all my things repairing and settling back into their rightful places. My duvet flattens on my mattress, and my candles, windows, and books repair themselves.

“Valin is not good. He’s a power hungry monster and shouldn’t be trusted,” Dane says, not once looking at me. Probably because I can’t seem to move and I’m standing in just my bra and a short, pleated skirt.

I watch as he studies my room, grimacing at my shirt on the floor.

“He said he was in his thirties,” I reply, his presence cracking the energy in the room, in my core.

“He lied. He wants you.” Dane rubs his large hand down his face, looking exhausted. His shirt is a mess with soot, and his hair looks like he’s been running his fingers through it for days. “I hit him,” he explains. “He demanded I leave…” He pauses. “Leave the island. But I said no obviously.”

“Why does he want you to leave the island?”

Dane’s jaw tenses. “We’re from the same realm.”

I raise a brow, waiting for him to elaborate.

“I’m the heir to the Shadow Realm, and he doesn’t like that. Never has.”

I whistle. “Wow. You’re an heir, yet you’re here, acting like some bratty teenager and fighting with your professor.”

“Shut up. As I said, he wants you.”

I fight a laugh. “And that’s an issue because…?”

His now silver eyes snap up to my face. “Did you not just hear me? He’s a monster.”

“So are you, and so’s basically everyone else here.”

His gaze falls from mine, stopping at my exposed collarbone. “Put your shirt back on. I don’t want to have nightmares from seeing you like this.”

I scoff. “And that’s why you just exploded into my room.”

“You are my partner in this school. If you fail, I fail. That means if either of us dies or becomes bewitched, we’re stuck here for even longer. I don’t need you drooling over the professor while we’re both trying to pass each class.”

“Fine.”

He snarls, trying not to glance below my throat or at the fluttering pulse on my neck. “Fine. You’ll keep your distance from him. And you’ll train with me from now on.”

“If I’m training with anyone else, it’s definitely not with you. And remember the security measures too.”

We stare each other down until he groans, bends at the knee to gather my shirt in his fist, and throws it at my face.

“Dress, mortal.”

Once I’m covered, I imagine myself slapping him. Hard. So hard that his face bleeds.

With a grimace, Dane runs his thumb across his lip. “You’ll only hurt yourself if you do that. But, please, do try.”

“We have to do task two.” I change the subject because, for some reason, I’m feeling less annoyed with him and more… needy. Like I don’t want him to leave. “Have you read it yet?”

“I’ve been in the dungeons for days. What do you think?”

I roll my eyes.

“Stop rolling your fucking eyes at me.”