His fangs were more developed than Yasuo’s, but I guessed my friend’s teeth couldn’t have been far behind. He snapped them playfully. “The better to nip you with. ”
I swatted him a little harder than necessary as I stormed out the door.
He caught up to me, rubbing his arm where I’d hit him. “Crikey, Drew. They said you were strong, and they weren’t lying. ”
His unexpected comment made me self-conscious. “They who? Who says I’m strong?”
He shrugged, refusing to buy into the drama. “Some of the other Acari. It’s cool, though. You are strong, right?”
“I guess so. ” I’d never given it much thought. But he was changing the subject—I didn’t want to talk about me; I wanted to talk vampire teeth. “I thought you arrived when Yasuo did. ”
He nodded.
“So, why do you have fangs and he doesn’t?”
He grew wary but kept talking. “Some of the changes happen fast. Yas will get his soon, I imagine. ”
What the hell other changes happened? I shuddered to think.
I decided I’d gotten enough information out of Josh, and this time I was the one who changed the subject. And anyway, I wanted to get this business German nonsense over with as quickly as possible.
As we headed across the quad, he actually did have some stuff to teach me.
Some stuff.
We arrived at the dining hall, and the specter of those heavy oak doors had my chest clenching tight. “Look. Maybe this was a bad idea. ”
“The indomitable champion, Acari Drew, nervous?”
I looked up to glare at him. Stupid boy was unexpectedly tall.
He gave a little tug on the strap of my bag. “Come on, it’s early yet. ” He glanced at his watch, a larger version of the girls’ standard LED digital. When he spoke again, his voice was kind. “Really, Drew. It’s just eleven forty-five. We’ll be in and out before the Initiates even get there. I promise. ”
“Okay. ” I let him drag me in.
The sight that met me didn’t strike fear in my belly, but it sure did make my heart sink. Ronan was there. And his wet suit was slung over the chair beside him.
I guess I knew what I was doing after lunch.
CHAPTER TEN
As I headed to the table, I caught Amanda and Ronan sharing a secret glance, their eyes glinting with some private joke. I tamped down a spurt of jealousy.
So there was something going on between them—it made perfect sense. Because…what? I’d thought he’d been hanging around at mealtimes because of me?
I slung my bag down where they sat with Emma and a few girls from our floor. It was common for Acari to sit with their dorm Proctors—in our case, Amanda—and now it was obvious why Ronan came with the territory.
“We good?” Josh gave me a nudge, pulling me from my thoughts. He glanced at a table of Trainees, and I could tell he wanted to go sit with them.
I nodded. “You’re released. ”
“Wait. I’ve got something for you. ” He pulled a book from his bag.
“Something for me?” I read the title: Etikette und Protokoll für Machengeschäft in Deutschland. “Gee, thanks. And to think some girls like flowers. ”
“Business etiquette and protocol. Riveting stuff for a little ripper like you. ” He gave a gentle punch on my arm. “We’ll meet next week, then?”
“Yeah. ” I shrugged. “Why not. ”