could at least apologize to her.” Grey’s annoyance turned into a full-fledged glare. Then, Matt dug his hole even deeper. “If you’re an example of agility here, I think I’m going to enjoy this practice.”
“You’re the new recruit?” Grey said.
Matt raised a brow in a perfect arch. “Figured that out all by yourself?”
Grey’s expression bordered on livid. He took a step toward Matt, pulling his fist back in a swing. Matt didn’t move or blink.
“Grey Ragnar!” Alexa hissed. “Do you want to get suspended again?”
Grey got expelled last year for fighting. His mother was not happy about it, and it landed Grey in a pricey anger management therapy program. I think the torture of having to attend it was doing more for him than the actual program. Grey controlled himself. “You have a lot of words, Emrys. Let’s see how good you are on the field.”
Grey turned on his heel as he stormed out. The other football guys shrugged at each other before following him.
Joey looked at Alexa, mumbling, “Sorry,” as he hurried to join them.
Matt stared after the group with a strangely speculative expression. He turned back to me, and his eyes cleared. “So that is Grey Ragnar. Rather volatile, isn’t he? I hope you don’t have to bother with him again.”
I suppressed a smile at the new guy. “Grey’s my brother.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose. “I suppose it’s going to be complicated, then.”
“Complicated?”
Sensuous lips curved up into a half-smile. All-knowing eyes met and held mine. “To know you.”
My lips curved up in response.
A shadow crossed over the cafeteria.
Matt’s smile froze in place. The whole cafeteria, and everyone in it, froze in place.
Sound stopped, as if someone had muted the scene with a TV remote.
Fluorescent lights darkened.
A loud clapping echoed across the eerily quiet room. I straightened up and pulled away from a frozen Matt. Across the cafeteria a figure stood near the doors. My heart skipped a beat. He watched me with cold amusement. His well-muscled form, clad in a dressy ensemble of form-fitting red shirt and black trousers, leaned back against the wall in a rebel-without-a-cause pose. But this was no rebel. He would never settle for anything less than being emperor.
Vibrant green eyes blazed. God-like green. Vane.
I blinked at the sudden appearance of my ex-boyfriend. I never had much luck with boyfriends.
“How adorable,” he drawled. “Is this how he became your hero? You have low standards, DuLac.”
What is happening? I reached out to touch Matt. My hand went straight through his shoulder. I turned to look at Alexa. Her face paused in the middle of a scowl. Beside her, the other girls of the lacrosse team also sat completely still. I walked toward her, stepping right through the middle of the solid wood lunch table.
Either I was a ghost or it was.
“Yes, DuLac, work it out,” said Vane. “We are in your mind. This is a manifestation we’re seeing through the Dragon’s Eye. You are on the rooftop in India.”
He snapped his fingers. Everyone in the cafeteria disappeared. The tables were empty, and the chairs were tucked neatly back into place. Lights across the wide room dimmed until Vane stood under the lone spotlight, beneath a high window. Outside, the sun faded. The last remnants of light revealed the slanted lines of Vane’s harsh cheekbones and kept the shadowy mantle that hovered behind him at bay… for a few more fleeting moments.
I took me a second to recenter. To remember I was no longer that girl in the cafeteria, the one who knew nothing about wizards and swords. The one who didn’t ache for the twisted being that stood in front of me.
While I stayed a safe distance away from him, my heart jangled nervously in my chest. My muscles itched with the impulse to leap into his arms. The ice encasing those mermaid-green eyes stopped me. The Vane I knew burned hot. These eyes could have frozen an erupting volcano. My stomach clenched, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I had truly lost him. I dismissed the thought. I refused to believe it. But I also didn’t try to move any closer to him.
I demanded, “Why are you here?”
Vane raised a brow. “You haven’t found Merlin yet. You only found a memory.”
“What have you done with him?”
“You’re not going to find him in nostalgic trips to the past. Merlin is not here. Only I am, and you should be glad.” Vane straightened away from the wall, but didn’t move any further. “Because I am here