Of Life and Death: [A Dark Academia Paranormal Romance]

Chapter 30

RYLAN

When the sound of crushed leaves sound, I look down from myhigh vantage point. Emmaline.

Through the darkness, I watch her advance forward. Her headsnaps around, looking for sign of me. Unnoticed, I use the time to look at her.She's dressed in all black, but had forgotten to hide the most important thing.Her blonde beacon of a hair. I stifle an eye roll. She really did choose theright colour.

When I jump down. I hear her gasp. But she turns around andreleases a loaded breath on realizing it's just me.

"You sacred me," she breathes.

"I'm sorry."

I notice there are bags under her eyes and there's an air ofsadness around her that I can't explain. "Are you okay?" I findmyself asking.

"Yes. Of course."

I shrug. Fine then.

"Come on."

We walk for what seems like an eternity. The pen is locatedat a really remote part of the school. The gatekeeper really took his privacyserious.

We walk by moss covered plants, the scent of fresh water andevergreens strong in the air. I look back. Emma trudges on listlessly. She'smore quiet today. I open my mouth, about to talk to her but I stop. I don'tneed to know how her day went. Nothing more could ever exist between us.

I don't know why the realization has an acidic feelingwafting through me.

Her eyes suddenly widen. "Oh."

I start to follow her line of vision but she's alreadyrunning forward, headed towards where our bags from yesterday are. Shesidesteps the practice dummy, scooping her bag off the floor.

She turns to face me, eyes bright for a change. "Ithought I'd lost this!" Her hand shoots into the bag, rifling through itto retrieve her phone. Her eyes widen when a small stream of water slips fromthe case. The sight is so ridiculous she throws her head back and laughs.

My lips twitch, reluctant amusement rising. I take her in.She's stood at the wooden porch, laughing eyes the shade of the bluebellssurrounding her. I look away. "Let's get started."

We go around the cottage to the large backyard. I'd madesure the shrubs were well maintained, sheared precisely to imitate the one nextto it. Emma draws level with the breakfast table. On it are a vast array ofweapons.

She turns questioning eyes to me.

"You have an entire race to off," I say. "Ithink you had made it clear just breathing wasn't going to beenough."

She smiles. For another disturbing moment, my mindscrambles. My jaw tightens and I pry my eyes from her face. "Take yourpick," I say curtly.

Her eyes asses the entire table. When a slender fingerextends to trail down a dagger, my blood heats. Her touch is slow, deliberateand damningly sensual. When her eyes snap to mine suddenly, a flush rises up myneck.

She starts to say something but stops. "Are youokay?"

My voice is plain. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Okay." She picks up the dagger. "I think Ilike this one." She proceeds to flex it, slashing the air with a lethalstrike. Dressed in all black and with a figure like that, she looks like af*cking assassin from a nerd's wet dreams.

Guess I'm no better because I feel myself harden. I scrub ahand over my mouth. "Easy," I say, voice hoarse. "I like my headwhere it is."

Caught up with fascination for the weapon in her hand, shedoesn't seem to hear me. She points the tip of the blade in my direction."En garde."

"Wrong weapon, Emma."

Falling into a laughable stance, she waves me forward."Come on, big guy. Let's see what you've got."

My mouth dries. In a wry tone, I say, "I don't thinkso."

"Come on. Scared?"

I start to laugh but she slashes the air again in athreatening way. I lurch back on instinct, a chuckle slipping through. She'scute.

Like a little kitten.

A tall, sexy kitten.

Unable to resist her good humor now, I pick up a dagger. Ispin it around my fingers and her eyes grow briefly mesmerized-- before shegives a patronizing nod. "Cool trick. Hope you have more up yoursleeves."

The corners of my lips twitch. I can't remember the lasttime I've been this... entertained.

I palm the hilt of my blade just as she surges forward.