Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Elizabeth
For the first time in days, I was going to school.
Actual school.
Not ancient maps.
Not cursed temples.
Not prison realms.
Not mysterious marks burning holes into my hand.
School.
The fact that I was excited about lectures said a lot about how chaotic my life had become.
I stood in front of the mirror adjusting my sweater.
The mark on my palm remained hidden beneath a bracelet.
After what happened at the cemetery and beneath the mansion, Damon had made it very clear that I wasn’t to wander around New Orleans alone.
Naturally, he hadn’t asked.
He’d informed me.
Typical Damon.
I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs.
The mansion felt strangely quiet this morning.
Adam was somewhere in his office.
Lucien had apparently vanished before sunrise.
Tristan was helping investigate the cemetery.
Which left only one person in the kitchen.
Damon.
Of course.
He stood near the counter drinking coffee.
Black shirt.
Dark jeans.
Messy black hair.
Looking unfairly attractive for eight in the morning.
I immediately regretted noticing.
His eyes lifted.
Meeting mine.
For one second neither of us spoke.
Then—
“You’re staring.”
Heat rushed into my face.
“No, I wasn’t.”
One dark eyebrow lifted.
I hated when he did that.
Mostly because he was usually right.
“Sure.”
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
Avoiding eye contact entirely.
The kitchen suddenly felt very warm.
“Damon.”
“Hm?”
“Stop looking at me.”
A pause.
Then—
“No.”
I nearly dropped the water bottle.
The faint amusement in his voice made everything worse.
Before I could think of a response, he pushed away from the counter.
“Ready?”
I blinked.
“For school.”
“Oh.”
Smooth, Elizabeth.
Very smooth.
A corner of his mouth lifted.
I wanted the floor to open and swallow me.
Ten minutes later we were in his car.
The drive was surprisingly quiet.
Not awkward.
Just… comfortable.
New Orleans passed outside the windows.
Busy streets.
Morning traffic.
People heading to work.
Normal.
I missed normal.
A lot.
Damon tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.
Lost in thought.
Probably thinking about the prison.
Or the temple.
Or one of the fifty supernatural disasters currently threatening the city.
I looked out the window.
Trying very hard not to look at him.
Trying and failing.
Because unfortunately he looked good driving.
Which felt like a ridiculous thing to notice.
The car stopped outside campus.
Students crowded the walkways.
Talking.
Laughing.
Living completely ordinary lives.
Lucky them.
I reached for the door.
“Elizabeth.”
I paused.
“What?”
Damon’s expression had become serious.
Not scary serious.
Protective serious.
Different.
“Call if anything happens.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’m going to class.”
“That wasn’t reassurance.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
For a moment his gaze lingered on me.
Then he nodded once.
“Just call.”
Something warm settled unexpectedly inside my chest.
I quickly climbed out before my face could betray me.
The last thing I heard was his amused chuckle.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
By lunchtime I was beginning to remember why I actually liked school.
For several hours nobody mentioned ancient prisons.
Nobody mentioned supernatural prophecies.
Nobody mentioned me being the Key.
It was refreshing.
Very refreshing.
I spotted Chloe immediately outside the student center.
Mostly because she was waving both arms dramatically.
“Elizabeth!”
Several students turned.
Chloe didn’t care.
Naturally.
I laughed.
“You’re crazy.”
“I’ve been told that.”
She linked her arm through mine.
Blue eyes bright.
Energy practically radiating off her.
Beside her stood Vanessa.
Far calmer.
Far less likely to accidentally embarrass everyone within a fifty-foot radius.
“Please tell me you’ve had a boring day,” I said.
Vanessa laughed.
“Actually, yes.”
“Thank God.”
Chloe gasped dramatically.
“What happened to you?”
“What?”
“You sound happy about homework.”
“I am happy about homework.”
Vanessa snorted.
“That’s concerning.”
“It is.”
We found a table outside beneath one of the large oak trees.
For a little while everything felt normal.
Really normal.
We talked about classes.
Professors.
Assignments.
Campus gossip.
The kind of things people our age were supposed to worry about.
Not ancient entities trapped between worlds.
At one point Chloe launched into a story about accidentally walking into the wrong classroom.
Twice.
The fact that she’d managed it twice somehow made it funnier.
Even Vanessa laughed.
For a few precious moments, I forgot.
Forgot the visions.
Forgot the mark.
Forgot everything.
Then Chloe suddenly froze.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Vanessa frowned.
“What?”
Chloe stared past me.
“Oh no.”
My stomach dropped immediately.
“What?”
Chloe’s grin slowly spread.
Never a good sign.
Never.
Slowly I turned around.
And immediately wished I hadn’t.
Damon.
Standing near the entrance to campus.
Black shirt.
Dark jeans.
Hands in his pockets.
Looking like he belonged on the cover of a magazine instead of outside a university.
Several girls were openly staring.
One nearly walked into a bench.
Honestly?
Fair.
Vanessa looked amused.
Very amused.
Chloe looked delighted.
Which was worse.
Much worse.
“Oh my God,” Chloe whispered.
“Don’t.”
“The way he’s looking at you—”
“Chloe.”
“I didn’t even say anything.”
“You were going to.”
“I absolutely was.”
Vanessa covered a laugh.
Traitor.
Complete traitor.
I stood quickly.
Far too quickly.
My chair nearly tipped over.
Wonderful.
The embarrassment continued.
“I have to go.”
Chloe looked heartbroken.
“No, come back. I’m enjoying this.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Tell your boyfriend I said hi.”
I stopped walking.
Slowly turned around.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
Chloe’s smile widened.
Dangerously.
“Sure.”
I pointed at her.
“You are impossible.”
“I know.”
Vanessa was laughing now.
Actually laughing.
I abandoned both of them immediately.
There was no recovering from this.
None.
As I approached Damon, he glanced toward my friends.
Then back at me.
One look at my face was apparently enough.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“That sounds unlikely.”
“It was Chloe.”
Understanding immediately appeared in his expression.
Which somehow made everything worse.
A faint smirk tugged at his mouth.
I groaned.
“Not you too.”
The smirk grew.
Just slightly.
And suddenly I realized something.
The last few weeks had been terrifying.
Dangerous.
Complicated.
But standing here beneath the afternoon sun while Damon unsuccessfully tried not to look amused—
It felt normal.
Strangely normal.
And maybe that was what scared me most.
Because I was beginning to like it.
A lot more than I probably should.