The Protection of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle Read Free Book Online Page B

bring?”
    The establishment of a firm, friends-only relationship when we'd first started working together had been beyond the right move, and such a relationship made it very easy to get along with Constantine. He was not, and would never be, a nice boy, but he was darkly entertaining and brilliant, and a great business partner.
    I tried to peek into his bag. He was tall enough that I had the perfect view. When he didn't object, I stuck a finger under the flap, lifted it, and peered inside.
    “Something obviously brilliant,” he said, posture slouched and casual, expression lazily expectant as I searched. “A present to equal yours necessitated a challenge.” Our birthdays were six days apart, with his occurring while we'd still been on campus. The gift I had given him had greatly amused him.
    He wasn't avoiding my poking. Which meant that anything good was well hidden. I paused for a moment, examining the interior details. There were a dozen interesting pockets lining the sides and an expensive-looking thin sweater puddled in the middle—possibly hiding a dozen more objects beneath.
    I focused my gaze on the exterior hardware of the bag and ran my fingers along the large metal button that secured the front. Magic sparked inside of me, battering against my cuff and seeking an outlet it wasn't able to find.
    Constantine twisted the bag away. Bingo! “Patience, Crown.”
    “Coming from the master of patience himself,” I retorted, trying to get a better visual on the button.
    “You acknowledge my supremacy. Finally.”
    “Ha. As if you—”
    “We should get moving, Ren,” Olivia said tightly. She was standing to the side, observing us with the unreadable expression she undertook right before she ripped into the prosecution's argument at school.
    Constantine didn't look away from me. “What's the matter, Price? You think you'll find yourself under attack?” His voice was honey smooth.
    Unease enveloped the atmosphere around us again.
    “Idiocy and reckless disregard aren't traits I desire to possess.” She started walking again, obviously expecting me to follow—which I did. “Your little toys won't work here, Leandred, if we are tagged.”
    “How could you know what I have up my sleeves, Price?” Constantine sauntered alongside me until we individually squeezed through a turnstile and into the industrial lot, a shortcut that would take us to the club. He cocked a brow in my direction. “I don't remember sleeping with her. Did I, Crown? I must have been drunk.”
    Without thinking, I put my hand on his arm and started to send a zap of magic as punishment. Olivia turned immediately and her hand clamped on my wrist, startling me enough that I stopped channeling the energy.
    The three of us stood half-interlocked and unmoving in the empty, concrete space. Laughter from the club's entrance around the corner rang out over our silence.
    The reverberation of the magic I had to force back down echoed through my arm. I looked at my new control cuff, which had just tightened even more unpleasantly around my wrist.
    Constantine brimmed with intensity and anticipation. His expression was definitely one of encouragement. He wanted me to try and zap him.
    Olivia's lips pursed. “Ren…” The single word was a warning. “Magic use in the First Layer is continually monitored and since you don't have a container, you would both fail and be fined.”
    But Olivia wasn't positive I would fail or she wouldn't be holding on to my arm so tightly.
    “Unless you have a device to hinder such things,” Constantine said lazily, though his gaze was the furthest thing from idle. “Or are a mage who can tap into the magic of the Layer system. A very rare type of mage. There was strange talk concerning something that happened specifically during the attack on the Library of Alexandria today.”
    My heartbeat spiked.
    Olivia kept her gaze focused on me as we maintained our motionless, broken triangle. “Such a mage would not want to