Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“You done?” Aric asks. His smile is slow and deliberate. “Don’t misunderstand, I was just measuring how much rope I’d need later. I like to be prepared.”
He’s in my head. My visions.
Now that’s a complication I wasn’t prepared for.
The classroom hums with noise—backpacks unzipping, laptops clicking open, whispered gossip carrying over the scrape of chair legs. The air smells faintly of coffee and old books as I lean forward on my desk, tilting my head toward Aric. “Wow, and you already know my number one fantasy about being tied up. You really are a good partner.”
I can do this. Charm him.
I lick my lips, let my gaze linger too long, and pull—just a little. The Aethercall slides from me, warm and soft, wrapping through the air like the faintest brush of a hand. Not much, just enough to test him. To see if he responds.
He’s gripping his pen so tightly I think it might snap, but slowly—painfully—his fingers unclench. His jaw eases. His shoulders drop. It’s like I just cut invisible strings that had been choking him.
He lets out a low groan, barely audible over the noise, but Reeve hears it. A sneaker jabs the back of Aric’s chair. “You good?”
“Fine.” Aric’s voice is iron through clenched teeth. His gaze cuts to mine, sharp enough to pin me to my seat. “Stop it.”
I widen my eyes, feigning innocence. “Stop what? I’m not even talking to you.”
The thing about the Aethercall is that it’s tricky—it can feel like a hug, like warmth spreading across your chest, like someone smoothing your hair and telling you everything’s going to be okay.
But I’m not touching him. Not even close. He feels it. He’s aware of it. But it’s not compelling him. He’s just…calm. And it takes him a second to realize that.
The irony stings: I can make other people feel safe, calm, wanted—but I’ve never had a clue what that would feel like for myself.
“All right.” Dr. Tyrson’s voice cuts through the classroom hum. “Open your syllabus. I know, I know—now the real work begins. If you haven’t already figured it out, you’re in Advanced Ancient History.”
Zane—of course it’s Zane—lets out a cheer. Reeve immediately starts kicking the back of my seat like an overgrown toddler. I’m surrounded by children.
“You and your partner will have several group projects throughout the semester. And to kick things off—”
Oh no. Bad news incoming. I can sense it.
“—you’ll each be assigned a local landmark to visit. I expect your paper by the end of the week, just in time for all of you to turn it in before I lose half of you to parties and the chaos of rush.”
The room erupts with groans, scattered cheers. I glance down at the syllabus, my stomach sinking. Our names are right there, paired together, next to our assigned site: the Ice Caves.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Not only are we not given much time, but the thought of being trapped in a car with Aric Erikson is its own kind of torture. And I know why this pairing happened—why my father engineered it. He doesn’t just want a paper turned in. He wants me close to Aric.
Forced proximity. Forced awakening.
He knows I can handle myself. But does he have any idea what being near Aric does to me? Not just emotionally after his rejection years ago but to my Aethercall, my control, my sanity? Does he know how dangerous this is?
He doesn’t care. Throwing me to the wolves is exactly the point.
Ice Caves. Where Frost Giants are strongest.
What could possibly go wrong?
“Great.” Aric drops his phone onto the desk with a thud and raises his hand like he’s already done with this circus. Dr. Tyrson doesn’t even look in his direction. Aric lets it fall, then slowly cranes his neck toward me.
“I actually want to make it through senior year,” he mutters, “so if you could just nod your head, not cause trouble, and at least contribute, that’d be great.”
His hand grazes mine. It’s an accident, but it doesn’t feel like one. It feels like a spark detonating under my skin. He flinches back. I ball my hand into a fist, trying not to show the fear—or the thrill—curling in my gut.
“When do you want to get this done?” I ask flatly, flipping open my planner like none of this is fazing me. “I’ve got Intro to Business Tuesdays and Thursdays, bio lab after that.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. He grabs my phone and flips it in his hand to face me, and it unlocks. His thumbs fly across the screen, and then he slides it back to me with his number saved.
“Normally people have to work a lot harder for that.”
I look down at the screen and type in his name. Giant Asshole.
“You’ll never see me beg, Erikson.”
He wraps the leg of my chair with his foot and drags me close. “Too bad, since being on your knees seems where you’re most comfortable…after what I walked in on today.”