[book one]
The game was simple: A contest comprised of three unique challenges, designed to test a human's strength physically and mentally, their personality compatibility, and their chance of survival.
The prize was excruciatingly tempting: The ch...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
SOPHIE'S EYEBROWS PUCKERED with confusion. She'd never seen a member of the Night Class, let alone three, out and about on campus during the day. The whole point of being a member of the Night Class was to take Night Classes. There was a curfew. There were strict rules about things like this.
And yet here Eli sat in the back of the classroom, flanked by a smaller group of guys whom she'd seen sitting next to him. A distinct row of empty desks separated them from the rest of the class as if the members of the Day Class were too scared to move any closer.
Tabatha shifted around on her feet. Sophie used the small distraction to tear her gaze away from the anomaly sitting in front of her. She glanced over her shoulder at the teacher, who sat at her desk, gaze focused on something in front of her.
Had she even noticed their presence? Her Art of Literature professor seemed oblivious.
Eli cleared his throat. Sophie's gaze darted back to his face, and his lips stretched into a smile. He leaned forward and patted one of the empty desks beside him. "Come sit, Sophie."
She scowled. Sophie shot another glance around the classroom, assessing the other students. Most had already filled the classroom --word about Eli being in one of the Day Classes seemed to have spread faster than the news of Sophie's new status. A group of girls crowded around the doorway, watching intently. Sophie steeled herself when she realized that the only open desks in the classroom were the ones in the measly row that separated Eli from the rest of the Day Class and the ones that were next to him and his friends.
She didn't want to sit near any of them, but she wasn't sure she had much of a choice.
Tabatha waited silently beside her, her gaze glued to Sophie's expression. Sophie glanced back at Eli, who beamed at her like her clothes had been replaced with a thin layer of chocolate. Her gaze narrowed.
"That's alright," she said finally, and dumped her backpack into the seat that Eli had motioned for her to sit in. She couldn't allow him to gain any more control and completely ruin her life. It was bad enough she had to participate in the stupid games and deal with his little harem. "I think I'll just sit over here."
She moved to the next row and sat beside one of his friends. Eli's eyebrows shot up through the roof, and one of the Night Class members snickered. A few of the other girls in the class gasped softly, and the glares that turned toward Sophie made her slide down a bit in her seat. She'd hoped that snubbing him would get them to leave her alone, to help them understand that she wasn't interested. It didn't seem to have worked.
Tabatha was frozen for a few moments, still standing near the front of the classroom where Sophie had left her. Sophie eyed her warily and arched an eyebrow. Tabatha seemed to shake out of her daze and followed Sophie, claiming the seat in front of her.
Eli pouted and settled back in his seat.
"Poor Eli," one of his friends teased lightly. It was the one who sat next to Sophie. His amber colored gaze had been fixated on Eli when he'd spoken, but Sophie noticed him glance at her from the corners of his eyes when she looked over.
