So she sidetracked him.
“You aren’t going to get up and make yourself coffee?” She braced her spatula hand on her hip like a disgruntled housewife talking to a lazy child.
“Please don’t badger me right now. I’m not up for it.”
Charity rolled her eyes, turned a burner to low, and headed to the coffee pot. If he didn’t have his coffee he’d be ten times grumpier, and given how grumpy he was on a good day, the difference could be dramatic.
“I don’t think you should go tonight,” he said, his head still on his arms.
“I have to. I have a test that counts for a third of my grade.”
“Get him to give it to you in his office.”
“It’s too late for that. He has strict rules about test taking. The only way he’d let me out of it is if I were unconscious in the hospital.”
“No problem. As soon as I get some food, I’ll knock you out. We’re all set.”
She huffed out a laugh and grabbed two plates from the cupboard. He must be feeling really sore and tired to be so nonchalant about the situation.
“But seriously,” he said, his head back on his arms. “We can figure out a way around it. I’m sure Roger would intervene.”
“Roger is very important to your world.” Charity dished up two plates. “He doesn’t have any clout with the school. He doesn’t even have a real job, as far as the normal world is concerned.”
“Right, yeah,” he said, pushing back against the chair. He winced and scratched a puckered wound on his ribs.
“Do shifters scar?” She set his plate in front of him.
“Charity, this looks delicious.” She handed him some flatware. “Not unless the wound is really bad, no. After we get the summons, that is. Any scars we get before that are for life.”
“Were your wounds bad enough?”
He cut through an egg, paused as the yolk crawled into the potatoes, and looked down at his chest. A small smile graced his lips. “Do you like your men with scars? Or do you prefer them without?”
Her face flamed, and she turned to get them some napkins. “That’s not why I asked.”
Silence filled the kitchen, and she finally chanced a look at him as she sat down. His smile had enlarged, but that wasn’t what captured her attention. He was staring at her in that way of his, analyzing her. Trying to suss her out as if she were a riddle.
“Seriously, staring is rude. How many times do I need to tell you?” she muttered, bending to her meal.
“No, Chastity, they won’t scar.” Heat filled his voice and her body, and she wondered if he was remembering her stroking his bare chest. She certainly was. She couldn’t stop. It was starting to be distracting.
“Oh good, with the nicknames again.” She stabbed a potato. His low, dark laugh didn’t help her mood.
He sobered quickly, and she wondered if he’d ever had a carefree moment in his life. She wondered if he ever would.
“Joking aside, you can’t go tonight. It’s too dangerous.”
“Look, Devon, I respect your opinion, I really do. And were it any other situation, I’d completely agree with you. But I have to go to this class tonight. I have to.”
“We need to get you to the Realm, Charity,” he said.
“Vamps are magic. They can get into the Realm, too. They could just as easily snatch me there.”
He shook his head, mouth full. After he swallowed, he said, “They wouldn’t dare openly flout the laws of the Realm. The elves would go crazy. The last thing any race wants is to put the elves on a war path to genocide. I’ve heard stories. They aren’t pretty.”
“Okay, well…” Charity finished off her eggs. “A vampire isn’t going to kidnap or kill me in front of a whole school. They try to stick to the shadows, right? They need to keep their real identities hidden, like you do.”
“Usually they stick to the shadows, but Vlad came for you in the open last night. Barely after sundown. Elders create the rules as they go, doing whatever suits them best.”
“But that parking lot was empty. I didn’t see a single person the whole time we were dealing with them. Which seems strange, now that I think about it…”
A line formed between Devon’s brows. Clearly her BFF—Vlad—had cleared the area somehow.
“Maybe he had a mage working for him,” Devon mumbled, back to his breakfast.
“Great. So if the classroom empties out, I’ll leave.” Charity shrugged, hating that she had to fight Devon to put herself in danger. If it weren’t for that damn test—
Devon issued a hard sigh. “We’ll table this for now. I’ll ask Roger and see what he says. But don’t worry about that scholarship. Roger knows the situation. He won’t jeopardize your future. The important thing is making sure you have a future.” He held her stare for a long time, worry creating small lines around his beautiful eyes. Finally, he lowered his gaze to his plate. “I hope you made a bunch of food. I’m famished.”