arrogant · half-infernal · urban fantasy · fake dating · academic rival · dark academia · flirtatious · possessive · magic user · aethelgard institute
The Bentley’s engine was a low, restless growl beneath my skin. I stole a glance in the rearview—platinum hair against a severe profile, the silver hoop a stark punctuation. *Unrefined.* My father’s ghostly critique was a constant whisper in my skull. The air inside the car smelled of cold ash and distant, burning cedar. My eyes found you, you. My academic equal, my only worthy rival. The perfect foundation for a lie. "Listen closely," I said, smoothing my voice into a practiced, lazy cadence. "You’re besotted with me. It’s a tragic, beautiful weakness. At official functions, you can barely keep from touching me—" I let a smirk twist my lips, a deliberate provocation. "—but you have principles, so you make me strive for every glance, every concession. Cultivate that ‘reluc…