He switched to Russian. "It is safe to talk around her?"
"Mostly," I replied in the same language.
"That is so cool," Victoria exclaimed, cradling her coffee.
I leaned away. It wasn't a latte, but even the smell of coffee was turning my stomach. It was possible it was time to break the caffeine habit.
Nikolai noticed, but I shook my head when he gave me another questioning look.
"So, why live here, not at the cabin?" Nikolai studied me while I sipped my tea.
"Um, well, it's kind of complicated, but long answer short, my parents probably wouldn't be comfortable with that, I haven't known Ed, Allan, or Doc long enough to invade their space that completely, and it's easier to get to morning classes when I'm down here."
"I see." His tone conveyed confusion though, and I guessed he didn't really understand.
I picked at my food, knowing I would be hungry later, and was staring remorsefully at my plate when Victoria gasped.
We all looked in the direction she was.
"I wonder what he's doing here," I exclaimed, surprised to see a familiar looking Viking with husky blue eyes wandering toward us with a tray of food and an angry scowl on his face.
Ed watched him warily, but didn't seem as concerned as I thought he should have been at seeing the Andersons' pet demon walking toward us.
Ash clearly wasn't happy about being here. He hooked the chair with his foot and pulled it out, before nearly dropping his tray on the table and sitting next to Nikolai.
Victoria was shooting wide-eyed glances between us, so I put my hand on her arm and squeezed reassuringly before nodding toward Nikolai. If nothing else, I was certain he could protect us.
The Russian had noticed our reactions and studied Ash closely, his hands on the table, and I got the impression he was ready to defend us if necessary. We had mentioned Ash to him the previous day.
Ed went back to eating, though he had his attention on the demon.
"Hi, Ash." I could at least try to be polite. He wasn't exactly an enemy, according to Doc. A smile tugged at my lips when I pictured the grumpy demon kissing Doc. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I certainly wasn't going to argue with someone who could probably incinerate me. At least not while he was under someone else's control.
He grunted irritably.
"You're back in classes?" We needed some information from him.
"I have been instructed," he growled out, "to find out more about this new friend of yours." He turned his glare on Nikolai. "The school was informed I was sick. My absence was excused. It's all very tidy." He shoved some eggs in his mouth and chewed angrily.
"No more hunting us down?" I wondered if they had changed his orders.
"Not right now." His voice lightened a bit.
"Is he not the enemy?" Nikolai asked me in Russian.
Ash looked like he was in pain for a minute before he grunted again. "I was not instructed to hide from you my knowledge of many languages."
Nikolai raised his eyebrows and smiled. "You know," he continued in Russian. "I think we might get along just fine."
The demon's glare faded slightly, and he sighed, but didn't reply.
Victoria stared at me.
"It's…" I hesitated. "A long story. You know most of it. Ash isn't the enemy."
"You cannot trust me," he grumbled, staring at the table.
"No. Of course not," I answered softly.
My roommate shook her head and went back to her coffee.
I tried to focus on the bergamot aroma of my tea and ignore the rich coffee scent that made me want to hurl.
∞ ∞ ∞
"Ed acted anxious to get rid of me," Nikolai stated once we were headed for Doc's history class. Ed had left the Russian with me and went off to his own class. Victoria headed toward hers, and Ash trailed along behind us, scowling.
I wasn't terribly comfortable talking about anything with Ash around, so I shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted you with me."
"Why?"
"Protection?" I whispered as quietly as I could and hoped the demon couldn't hear me.
"Perhaps."
A thought occurred to me. If Ash was back in classes, what about Alex?
"Hey, Ash?" I spoke a little louder, but he didn't reply. Maybe he hadn't heard?
"Ash?" I turned to face him.
He glared at me but took a few steps closer.
"Is Alex back at school, too?"
His expression turned murderous, and I forced down the urge to hide behind Nikolai while we walked.
"Yes."
"Great," I grumbled sarcastically.
The demon nodded. He moved next to me, and Nikolai dropped behind as we went inside the history building and climbed the stairs to the classroom.
Ever since I had drunk a fair bit of Doc's blood laced with Ash's demon magic, the altitude didn't bother me at all. When I had first arrived from Nebraska, a set of stairs had winded me, but now I could probably run up them with no issue. Hopefully, that was the only side effect I would experience. So far, it was the only thing I had noticed. I think it had more to do with the healing aspects of vampire blood than anything else, but I wasn't sure.
Nikolai was breathing a little heavily when we reached the top, and I hoped the guys had thought to warn him about the altitude.
We walked in, and Doc just about dropped the notebook he was holding, his eyes widening with alarm at the sight of Ash. The handful of other students already in the room turned to look at us, but other than Nikolai's presence, they couldn't tell there was anything unusual with Ash's return. The class size wasn't large, so they would have noticed Ash missing from class.
I shook my head, and Doc cleared his throat. "Welcome back to class, Ash. I trust you're feeling better?"
I happened to glance at Ash when Doc addressed him, and the unmasked desire on his face surprised me.
"Yes," was all the demon said.
I looked back at Doc to find a distressed look on his face, like he might be trying
