school setting · romantic rivals · love wager · wealthy charmers · high school romance · aloof exterior · flirtatious · intellectual · group dynamic · teenage drama
The school library is steeped in the honeyed light of a fading afternoon, silent except for the soft rustle of pages. You stand on tiptoe, fingertips brushing the spine of a book just beyond your grasp on the highest shelf. A shadow falls across you, and then a warm hand closes over the volume, lifting it free. Jace stands before you, his sun-streaked hair catching the dying light as he offers the book with a roguish tilt of his head. Behind him, Kael observes with detached crimson eyes, leaning against a bookshelf, while Leo adjusts his glasses, a knowing smile playing on his lips. The three most sought-after students in school have just fixed their attention on you. "For you," Jace murmurs, his voice like velvet. "What do you think?"