“Enjoy your food,” I said bitterly, my gaze set on Kyan who didn’t even look up.
I strode away, jogging upstairs into Saint’s room, feeling eyes on me, but I didn’t know whose. Certainly not Kyan’s. He didn’t spare me a glance anymore. Didn’t even sleep in his bed with me when it was our turn to share. He continued to leave me in his room and sleep on the couch. And maybe I should have been thrilled about that. I’d turned a Night Keeper off of me. Made him hate me for good this time. Enough so that he didn’t want anything to do with me even as his servant. And that was fine. Just fine. Except it made me want to scream.
I showered and found my uniform waiting for me on Saint’s perfectly made bed, dressing for the day. I was about to head downstairs when footfalls marched up the steps and I held my breath as a part of me hoped Kyan had sought me out. Stupid.I should be glad of his silent treatment.
Blake appeared, looking delicious in his forest green uniform, his blazer fitting perfectly to his sculpted shoulders. He gave me a sideways smile as he approached.
“I thought I could walk you to class today?” he offered me his arm and I frowned.
“What’s with the chivalry? The game’s over, Bowman.”
He smirked his darkest smirk and shivers crashed up and down my spine. “I know, sweetheart. But maybe I’ve taken a liking to treating you like a princess. There’s no harm in that, is there?”
“There’s harm in everything you and your friends do,” I said suspiciously, not taking his arm. “But if you want to walk in my direction at the same pace, feel free. Doesn’t mean I’m walking with you.” I headed downstairs, discovering that Kyan and Saint had left already. I moved forward to clean their plates, but Blake caught my arm, whirling me towards the door.
“Leave it,” he commanded. “That’s a Night Keeper order.”
I blew out a derisive breath. “So I can do double the washing up later on? No thanks.”
“I’ll send Rebecca a text,” he said conspiratorially and I couldn’t help but fall into the seductive playfulness about him today. I could see the old Blake shining out of his eyes. The one I’d met on my first day on campus.
“She’s Saint’s maid,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You don’t have that power.”
“Cinders, I have more power than you can ever imagine,” he said in a growl that set my pulse racing. “Me and Becky have a little agreement, see? Saint treats her like a ghost, offering her precise instructions, but what happens when there’s a mistake made? Life isn’t as hunky dory as Saint would like to believe. There are always hiccups. So when Becky runs into one, she has me to confide in. Me to seek advice from. Because Saint would blame her if things didn’t run smoothly every single day. Which is completely impossible. He fired six maids before I realised I had to step in and make one of them seem perfect.”
My brows arched. “You do that for him?”
“I do it for Becky,” he laughed. “The poor woman can’t be blamed if Saint’s whites all turns pink in the wash because of a rogue red sock.”
I laughed. “Has that happened?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled, offering me his arm again and I took it this time, letting him lead me outside and along the path. “It was the first road bump she met. I gave her my number as soon as Saint hired her with the message that if she ever had a problem, even a small one, she needed to call me. Not Saint. Never Saint.”
I smiled at that. “You really do fancy yourself as Prince Charming.”
“Nah.” He grinned darkly again and I leaned closer, addicted to this side of him. “I’m just a better problem solver than most people. So when Becky called – in a right fucking panic I tell you – about Saint’s ruined whites, I skipped class, headed to the laundromat off the back of the dining hall and took note of every single item amongst the destroyed clothes, sizes, brands, all of it. Then I had a guy send them to me express. I had them by the end of the day, folded and ready to be placed back in Saint’s closet.”
“Holy shit, that’s ridiculous,” I laughed. “I need this guy in my life.”
“I have a lot of guys to do a lot of things. So the only one you really need in your life is me.” He glanced at me with a glint of hope in his gaze and I bit my lip as a tug in my chest made me want him. Not just his body for once, I wanted him. Gah.
“So let’s say I had a problem…” I glanced away into the trees. “Do you reckon you could solve it? Even if it was a big one?”
“If your problem is belonging to us Night Keepers then no, if it’s something else, then yes.”
I gave him a grim smile. “I’ll figure that one out on my own, thanks.”
“I’m afraid there’s no solution,” he smirked and I rolled my eyes. Just watch me, Bowman. He nudged me. “So? What is it?”
I hesitated a moment longer, wondering if I should really ask his advice on this. But I really didn’t know what to do. I also probably shouldn’t have been looking to solve it at all. Then again, I could argue that it was necessary for my plans to progress. So I would just pretend that was the reason why.
“Kyan hates me,” I said heavily. “He won’t talk to me, he won’t look at me, he can hardly bear to be around me anymore.”
I expected Blake to laugh, but he didn’t.
