My Floor

Xavier’s POV

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. The nerve of that little brat.

I shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked out of orientation, still replaying everything that had happened. She had grabbed her neck, stumbled out of the room, and vanished without another word. Please. I wasn’t buying it. There wasn’t be a chance she had actually been in pain. It had to be an act. A convenient excuse to skip the rest of orientation after making a scene in front of everyone.

She wanted attention. Well, congratulations. She had certainly gotten mine. I shook my head with an irritated laugh. “Nice try, Princess.”

The moment orientation ended, I headed straight for the elevators. Students crowded the hallways, dragging suitcases behind them while introducing themselves to complete strangers. None of it mattered. I had one goal in mind. Find my room.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside with a few other students. Thankfully, nobody was stupid enough to start a conversation. The ride was blissfully quiet until the doors slid open on the fifth floor. Home. At least for the next year.

The hallway stretched before me, lined with polished hardwood floors, expensive artwork, and crystal light fixtures that probably cost more than most people made in a year. Living on the royal floor definitely had its advantages.

I stopped outside my suite and reached into my pocket for my keycard. The second it slipped through my fingers, it smacked against the floor. “Oh, for…” I bent down and snatched it up. “Seriously?”

As I straightened, Blaze suddenly went silent. A heartbeat later, he inhaled deeply. Then again. His excitement rolled through me so strongly that I frowned. Do you smell that? he asked.

I frowned. “Smell what?” I froze. “… What?”

Blaze sounded completely certain. “That girl. Our girl. She’s here.”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.“No.”

Blaze didn’t budge. “I know her scent.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have a girl. That annoying little brat will never be my girl. I date whoever I want. I don’t do relationships.”

“You did. Now you have one,” he repeated himself once again as he laid a claim on her.

I groaned. “You’ve officially lost your mind.”

Blaze ignored the insult entirely. “She’s close.”

I scanned the hallway. Every suite belonged to royal heirs or to ones with a lot of money. There wasn’t a human anywhere in sight. Then one face flashed through my mind. The annoying little brat. “No.”

Blaze practically growled. “Yes.”

“She isn’t even supposed to be on this floor,” I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t care where she’s supposed to be. I can smell her.”

I looked toward the suite across the hallway. Then I looked right next door to the room beside me. Impossible. Unless… No. Absolutely not.

Curiosity got the better of me. Before I could talk myself out of it, I crossed the hallway and knocked on the door.

Silence. That was odd. A second ago, I could have sworn I’d heard laughter coming from inside. Now… Nothing.

I knocked again, louder this time. The lock clicked. The door slowly opened. Standing in front of me was one of the smallest fae I’d ever seen. Bright blue eyes sparkled with unmistakable amusement, and the smile stretching across her face looked dangerously innocent.

I recognized her immediately. She was the girl who had run after the brat during orientation.

She tilted her head. “Can I help you, Mr. Liz…” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh! I mean, Mr. Dragon Prince.” A tiny giggle escaped before she could stop it.

From somewhere deeper inside the suite, another laugh answered hers. That laugh. I knew it. My jaw tightened. Without thinking, I pushed the door fully open and stepped inside.

The little fae stumbled backward with a surprised squeak. “Hey!”

I ignored her. My eyes immediately landed on the human standing near the kitchen. There she was. The brat herself. She stared at me with complete disbelief before folding her arms across her chest. “Oh look,” she said. “Mr. Lizard Boy found my room.”

“Lizard Boy?” I repeated.

She smiled sweetly. “Glad you remembered.”

I pointed toward the floor beneath us. “This is the royal residence.”

She looked around dramatically. “Huh.” Then she looked back at me. “Still looks like my room.”

My eye twitched. “You don’t belong here.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I walked in just fine.”

“This floor is reserved for royal bloodlines,” I screamed as the veins popped out of my neck. This tiny little shit was making me angry. Who is she to stand there and mock me. To argue with me.

“And?” She raised her brow.

“And you’re human,” I pointed my finger at her.

“So I’ve been told.”

She wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. If anything, she looked entertained.

Stephanie quietly closed the door behind me before stepping between us. “Um…” Neither of us acknowledged her. “This is actually Angela’s room too.”

I frowned. “No, it isn’t.”

“It is,” Stephanie replied with a cheerful smile.

I looked back at Angela. “You expect me to believe they assigned a human to the royal floor?” Technically it wasn’t the royal floor. But since I was here. Yeah. The royal floor.

“I didn’t exactly request the penthouse.

Stephanie raised a finger. “Technically, her assignment changed.”

My head snapped toward the fae. “Changed?”

She nodded her head. “I asked for a roommate.”

“You requested… her?” I raised my brow.

“I did,” she nodded her head once.

“Why?”

Stephanie thought about it for a second before smiling. “I like her.”

Angela let out a sigh. “I’ve known her for maybe fifteen minutes.”

Stephanie beamed. “Best fifteen minutes ever.”

I rubbed my temples. This couldn’t be happening. Inside my head, Blaze sounded entirely too pleased with himself. He reminded me that he’d told me she was our girl, and the smug satisfaction in his voice made me want to throw him off a cliff.

I mentally reminded him that I’d only come over because he’d insisted he smelled something.

Blaze’s laughter echoed through my mind. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

Angela studied my face for a long second. “You look constipated.”

I blinked my eyes rapidly. “What?”

“You’ve been making the same angry face since you walked in,” she covered her mouth and giggled.

Stephanie burst into laughter. I pointed at Angela. “You’re insufferable.”

Her smile only widened. “And yet… here you are.”

Before I could think of a comeback, Blaze inhaled sharply. The amusement vanished from his voice. “The mark…”

Every muscle in my body locked. “What mark?”

“It’s waking up.”

For the first time since walking into the suite, I stopped looking at Angela’s face. My eyes drifted toward the back of her neck. For the briefest second, a faint silver glow shimmered beneath the strands of her hair. Then it vanished so quickly I almost convinced myself I’d imagined it.