Page 86 of Vicious Knight

She gives me a knowing laugh. “Yes, Lucian has always been my best friend. It’s always been him, Willow and me. Then Willow married Caspian.”

“And you and Lucian?” I’m stepping over a line I wouldn’t normally cross but hearing about someone else’s life is a good diversion from mine.

“At the moment we’re just Lucian and me. If it changes, I’ll let you know.” She gives me a little wink.

“Okay.”

“You do realize that we’ve spoken more about me than you, right?” She raises another hard brow.

“I know. And I am okay. I promise I’ll let you know when that changes, too.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise. Do you want to go to the pastry shop and get some donuts? I have an hour before I have to head off with the others to Amherst.”

“I will never say no to sugar.”

“Girl after my own heart.” She giggles and grabs her things. “You can tell me about the piece you were composing the other day.”

“Sure.” Finally something I can talk about.

We head to the pastry shop and stay there for the full hour. I’m surprised I’m able to talk so much when I get going.

I feel like myself and like I never had the misfortune of being railroaded by Thorne Ivanov. But then it’s time for Eilish to leave. I get to say goodbye to Isabelle, Mackenzie and Sawyer, who are also going on the trip. Then I’m alone again.

There are no classes to fill up my time because I would have been doing English literature for the rest of the day.

I head to the library, where I study for a test I won’t have until the end of the semester.

I’m seeing Thorne later and I’m really not looking forward to it. I had two nights off from him, so I haven’t seen him since our blow-up. Only God knows what awaits me, after the way we parted.

And still my mind and body are at war with each other.

Because of him.

Something has to change soon. It has to. I just don’t know what.

A pool party…

Wonderful.

Just fucking wonderful.

I arrived at Erebus House at eight p.m. to find it brimming with people inside and outside the house. Loud music filled the air and the living room looked like a replay of the sex parts of the Lords and Ladies party.

There were people having actual sex on the sofa in the living room. I didn’t know where to put my face. At the Lords and Ladies party they were behind a glass wall and it seemed more like an exhibition.

This is wayyy different, and it doesn’t have that fantasy vibe.

Thorne could have given me a heads-up, but it's just so typical of him to make me swim in the deep end to find my way to shallow waters.

I was told he was by the pool, so I make my way through the crowd to find him.

Of course, he would be the one sitting shirtless at the head of the pack with his beer in his hand along with his muscles and tattoos on full display.

I've never come across a twenty-year-old guy with a body like that. But here it’s not uncommon.

Most of the guys walking around look like him, but Thorne has an untamed beauty that's unique to him. Like an unrefined diamond that’s just been discovered.

The other girls around him see it, too. How could they not?