my thumb and forefinger, emotionally exhausted. These reapers were going to kill me. Again.
Later I entered the kitchen to find Kate and Marcus laughing and joking. Marcus had on a genuine smile, rich and gracious. It was strange to see him act so normal, like he was just another guy at a party talking to a pretty girl and not an immortal Hellspawn fighter. The other vir I’d known acted aloof, like they thought they were better than humans. Or they were like Will, who felt he just didn’t belong around humans. Even Nathaniel didn’t attempt to make friends with humans other than Lauren, and in that case they’d met under special circumstances.
“So really,” Kate said, touching his shoulder. “Where did you get the scar?”
His grin was playful, but I could tell he was dead serious. “I told you. It’s from a fight. The guy had a knife that was practically a sword.”
There was puzzled look on her face behind her smile. “But it looks like burn scars, a very clean line of burn scars.”
“I’m not lying.”
I crossed my arms over my chest when they noticed me. “Well, aren’t you two just hitting it off?”
Kate kissed me on the cheek and petted my hair when she saw my frown. “Marcus was just telling me stories of back home in Spain. We should go backpacking through Europe this summer after we graduate. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
It would, but only if I survived to see my diploma. “Definitely, as long as we avoid any hostels. I saw those movies.”
Marcus laughed. “That was fiction, Ellie. The hostels are a great place to stay, and you meet incredible people from all over the world.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I said sarcastically. “I’m sure.”
I sensed a body behind me and knew instantly it was Will. I turned to see him.
“So are you and Marcus finally getting along?” he asked.
“She threatened to castrate me,” Marcus said.
I nodded. “Sure did.”
Will blinked and stiffened uncomfortably. “Oh.”
“That’s not nice, Ell,” Kate scolded. “Boys need those.” She turned to Marcus and looped her arm through his. “Let’s go enjoy the rest of the party, shall we?”
As they left the kitchen, Kate flashed me a gentle smile, but it didn’t make me relax. I just had a bad feeling about the whole thing.
“Hey,” Will said. He gave me a reassuring smile and rubbed my shoulders with his hands. “Everything will be fine. Marcus isn’t going to hurt anyone, least of all Kate.”
I frowned. “What does he want with her?”
“Well, he’s just looking for some fun.”
“And by fun you don’t mean playing pool with the guys, do you?”
He averted his gaze and stared without focus into the crowd. “Marcus likes girls a lot, especially human girls. That’s not unusual among our kind. Human girls are different from vir girls.”
“He needs to find some different girls to like,” I said with a huff. “At the very least not my best friend.” I weighed Will’s words for a second and hoped he hadn’t included himself in that observation about reapers and human girls.
Will’s gaze returned to mine. “Ellie, don’t worry,” he said. “He treats them well, and he doesn’t stick around long.”
“So he can use them up and break their hearts?”
“No, he knows the kind of girls he’s after, the ones who are looking for a little fun too. Kate’s a smart girl. She knows how to stay out of trouble.”
“Yeah, but Trouble’s got his eye on her.”
He cupped my chin and lifted my face. “You have to let her make her own decisions, and Marcus too. He can be a little wild, but that’s just his nature. He’s never had to grow up and face consequences the way a human does. Everything’s a game to him. He lives for challenge.”
“But you aren’t like that,” I said. “Are you?”
“Marcus doesn’t have the responsibilities that I have. If he had someone like you, then he might become a very different person.”
I gave him a suspicious look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His returning smile was warm and beautiful. “You know what I mean.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, letting his lips linger for an extra heartbeat, but it was long enough to send my pulse racing. He was going to drive me insane.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand. “Let’s go make you smile some more. You’ll see that Marcus isn’t going to hurt Kate, and you can trust him. You should be spending time with your friends.”
“Okay.” I followed him out of the kitchen and