He got up, kissed the top of my head, and walked away.
“What’s he doing?” Bryce set his fork down and looked over his shoulder.
“Most likely?” I dragged my hands down my face. “Getting cookies.”
“Why cookies?” Cassandra held her garlic bread in front of her mouth.
Dan smiled one of his amazing smiles. “They’re her kryptonite.”
“Don’t exaggerate.” Samantha laughed. “Only chocolate chip cookies have that effect on her.”
When Cody came back, Cassandra smacked Bryce’s arm. “Why don’t you ever bring me cookies?”
“Aw, Baby—” he pulled her against his side “—you never have trouble eating.”
She tried to jerk back from him, but he tugged her closer and laughed. “Ass,” she murmured.
“Oh, Cassi, you know I love you.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose before letting go of her.
Cody held the cookies out to me as he sat down. “Not fresh-baked but warm.”
“Thanks, Cody.” I broke one of the cookies in half and took a bite of it.
Cassandra watched me eat all of them. Her head was tilted slightly, and she looked like she wanted to ask something but didn’t know if she should.
I wiped my fingers and mouth on a napkin, then said, “What?”
“Well, uh—” she rubbed the back of her neck and stared down at her plate “—you’ve got all these things you can do.” Her hair fell in front of her face, and she gazed at me through it. “So, do you have a kryptonite?”
Dan smiled at her. “I asked that, too. That’s how we came up with cookies.” He held his hand up. “Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.”
“Very specific.” Bryce rubbed his hands together like a madman. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“Seriously, though.” Cassandra leaned over the table. “Is there something we should keep away from you?”
I shook my head. “Demon venom is really hard for me to recover from, and I would do just about anything to keep my friends and family safe.”
“Yeah.” Samantha huffed. “Earlier this year, she killed herself.”
Cody’s face twisted with pain, but he didn’t say anything.
“You killed yourself?” Cassandra’s eyes widened.
I shrugged like it was no big deal. “Yeah.”
“So how are you here?” Bryce held his fork in front of his mouth. Rice and meat dropped off of it onto his plate.
“Death gave me a choice.” I stared at the center of the table. I didn’t want to look into anyone’s face. “I chose to come back. Aurelia had told me the world would need me.”
Cassandra folded and unfolded her napkin. “How’d you do it?”
“I plunged a dagger into my heart.” Phantom pains shot through my chest at the remembered action. “I was dead for about two hours.”
“No more.” Cody put his hand on top of my leg. His fingers trembled.
“If there’s some everyday thing out there that would weaken me, I haven’t found it yet.” I spun my glass around again, focusing all of my attention on it. “If I use too much, too fast, I get exhausted. It happened when Cody and I were in the ca—”
“Dacia.” Cody moved his hand on top of mine. “Too many ears.”
Heat crept up my neck and onto my face. “Right. Sorry.”
Cassandra leaned her chair back on two legs. “It would be so cool to have your powers, to not have to take crap from anyone.”
My eyebrows lifted, and I said, “Really?”
“You didn’t have to take crap from me.” She waved her hand and laughed. “You could have turned me into a frog or something.”
“Hmm.” I rubbed my chin. “I haven’t tried that before. Wanna be my guinea pig?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Literally.”
“Ha-ha, funny.” She looked at me like she wasn’t quite sure if I was serious or not.
I lifted my hands, then stood up and grabbed my tray. “I never get to have any fun.”
When I walked past Diana and Olivia, they were deep in conversation with a few other students. Diana glanced up at me and started to push her chair back. “I’m just going to my room,” I said quietly enough that she would hear it but her companions wouldn’t. “I have plenty of guards.” I nodded at the five dragons trailing behind me.
She nodded and relaxed into her seat. Thanks.
We stepped outside. The heavy cloud cover kept the campus lights from dispersing. It was nearly as bright outside as in. The air was chilly, but for the first time in days, it wasn’t windy. I shoved my hands into my pockets and trudged back to the dorm.
“So, when are you all going home?” Dan asked. “My parents want me back by Wednesday night.”
Will he be okay? I sent the thought to all of the dragons.
Cody pointed at himself, then me. “We’re staying.” While Russ answered, I will go with Dan. I will not let anything happen to him.
Thank you. The relief in my thought was evident.
Samantha stopped and cocked her head. “Should we stay?”
I will keep Samantha safe. Arianna’s lyrical voice answered my next question.
I shook my head. “You’ll be safe, but I can’t take this home.” When I spun around to urge Samantha on, I saw movement in the trees. “Guys”—my voice turned into a fierce whisper—“we gotta get outta here.”
The dragons immediately surrounded us. “What is it?” Malcolm’s tone was feral.
“Bad feeling.” I started jogging, and everyone else followed suit. “Something in the trees.”
Cassandra didn’t make it very far before stopping and grabbing her side. “This—” she gasped for breath “—isn’t my thing.”
Cash picked her up in a fireman’s carry, and we kept going. As soon as we stepped through the doors, he set her on her feet. The air from the heater blasted down onto us, blowing our hair around our faces.
She ducked her red face to hide her embarrassment. “Thanks.”
“What did you see?” Malcolm stood beside me, holding my upper arm.
Val stood on my other side, leaning his head in close and sniffing me. I’d gotten so
