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"I’lad I’m not you"

He blinked at Brynna’s dire tone as she opened her locker beside hiht the look on Kody’s face when she saw Caseyyou, then reversed course and headed the other way Oooo, Nick, it wasn’t pretty Kody gonna have her some deep-fried Cajun mountain oysters for dinner … probably breakfast, too"

Nick let out a tired breath as his pain returned … with friends "Nah, she won’t We broke up"

"Since when?"

"Ten asped "Say it ain’t so, Gautier You tere perfect together"

This wasn’t helping hisstart playing over the intercoh"

Brynna growled low in her throat "What did you do?"

Her question offended hiuy’s fault?"

"’Cause it usually is"

Well, that was insulting "Thanks a lot, Brynna And for the record, I’m the victirateful that she’d at least tried to sound sincere "I appreciate it"

Rubbing his arm, she offered hiet back together"

"For the record, on’t"

She shook her head sadly and closed her locker door "Well, if you need a friend, you have otten what you did for uy, Nick"

"Thanks"

"Any time" Brynna headed off to class

Nick turned away and walked toward his next period Thankfully, it ith Caleb and not Kody

Caleb picked up his pace to walk beside hi on you just now"

Yeah, right Caleb was shy a few bricks on his wall if he really believed that "No, she wasn’t She thinks of me like a brother"

"You sure?"

"Positive I tried to hold her hand once when I first started going here and she read ot the full we-are-just-friends-so-don’t-make-me-call-my-older-brother-out-on-you-to-beat-you-to-a-pulp speech frohed "And that’s why I only hook up os at all"

"Got your butt whipped once, huh?"

"No" Caleb sobered "But I knohat I’d do for my sister if some idiot broke her heart"

That news floored him Caleb never really talked about his family, and he’d never before made any kind of declaration of love toward them "You have a sister?"

"Not full-blooded But yeah, I have a number of theh I’d kill for them if they needed me to, we’re not that close" He opened the classroom door for Nick to enter first

"I’leations Gets you into too much trouble But blood is blood End of the day, if one of them needed h Caleb was a demon, Nick respected hi his better nature, but Nick had seen it up close and personal enough to know that Caleb was cold-blooded decent No matter how much the deht

Taking his seat, Nick pulled his book out and opened it to the day’s assignet Kody out of his mind Now that they were officially broken up, she would be co for him for sure The only question hen?

Belam?

Nekoda looked up at the whisper of her real name that no one in the human reale of her guide, Sraosha Only she could see hiet any better? Really? Why couldn’t Nick have set her on fire and ended her ot up and walked to Mr Raney’s desk "Mr Raney? May I please have a pass to the restroom?"

"You knoe don’t--"

She lowered her voice and chose the one topic her ue with "Sorry, but it’s that ti for the pad of passes on his desk "I don’t want to hear about anything that personal" He quickly scribbled in the for, Miss Kennedy"

"Thank you" Taking the pass, she ducked out of the room and headed for the bathroom She would vanish iht by one of the school’s hidden cah she knehere most were located, she wasn’t sure about all of them, and her powers didn’t play ith electronics

Better safe than sorry

She went into the bathroom and entered the first stall, then locked the door and flashed herself to Sraosha’s less than friendly office

Dark and dis in the least But he seemed to like it that way

Unlike his office, Sraosha was a thing of absolute beauty as he stood waiting next to the floor-to-ceiling s that looked out onto nothing Literally It was absolutely dark … like they were lost in space The only light caes of a diraceful, Sraosha was so beautiful it was hard to look straight at hi blond hair flowed around a body that was pure perfection Every feature appeared to be carved with extre And for once, he allowed her to see his eyes They were an eerie, iridescent green Dressed in ancient battle armor, he commanded attention and respect … even from her

"You summoned me?"

Sraosha blinked slowly before he answered "It is ti most Her final order "We can’t kill hi brow that questioned her sanity for daring to contradict him "What is your excuse today?"