Vala Eminence by J. F. Jenkins

had a nice bag of summoning stones to use. With his magic, each stone had a unique power inside of it for him to unlock. It was one of the few things he had in common with Jewl. She too had the ability, but couldn't tap into it nearly as strong as him. Jewl also didn't know much about her Divine magic, another thing for the two of them to bond over once he decided if he wanted to trust her with the secret or not.
    Jewl seems safe enough. I don't think she's told her boyfriend … thing… about all of our adventures. Not like they're any of his business, or even worth telling, but that should mean something to me. Jewl had a way of making things make sense. She was as close to a friend as he'd ever get. Hopefully, someday he'd feel comfortable enough to let her in on the secret as well.
    The students at Athena Hall were getting more used to seeing him around. Not that he'd never graced the dorm's presence before Cheyenne, but it hadn't been anywhere near as frequent. A few of his conquests had stayed there in the past. Every time he entered he got a solid glare from the Resident Assistant. Oddly enough, the warlock in charge of regulating the teenagers was being much nicer to Denver than he had been in the past. That might have something to do with the fact that Denver was no longer causing as many problems. The last thing he wanted to do was give Cheyenne any heartbreak. Somehow the warlock must have known that the relationship between her and Denver was uncharacteristically pure.
    Casually, Denver made his way to the girls’ side of the dorm. Cheyenne lived on the main floor. He walked to her room and gave a firm knock on the door. There was some shuffling from the other side, and then the door opened revealing Halyn, the obnoxious roommate who would never approve of him.
    â€œUgh,” she groaned. “Chey, your…”
    â€œBoyfriend,” he snapped.
    â€œBoy… friend…” She gagged on the word. “He's here.”
    Cheyenne moved next to her roommate. She was wrapped in a large fleece blanket, her skin more pale than usual. A smile was on her face, but he could tell she wasn't feeling the greatest.
    Frowning, he walked in. “You shouldn't be out of bed.”
    â€œI got bored with lying around and trying to sleep,” she said.
    â€œOnly trying to sleep? Have you gotten any rest today?” he asked, sitting on the couch.
    She sat next to him and laid her head in his lap. “I've been restless. I'm not sure what my problem is.”
    Halyn scowled and stomped to her room. “Let me know when he's gone so I can disinfect the couch again.” And then she slammed her bedroom door closed.
    He couldn't help but laugh. “Man, she hates my guts, huh? What does she think I have, anyway? Ebola?”
    â€œVampire rabies, actually,” Cheyenne murmured, her eyes fluttering closed as he ran his fingers through her hair. “She thinks the only reason I'm with you is because you've infected me with some kind of virus that makes you irresistible to me.”
    â€œShe's got an imagination. Even I'm not that cool, and if that were the case, I probably would have more than one 'girlfriend' right now.”
    â€œI don't share, Denver.”
    â€œNeither do I. Didn't we cover this earlier at lunch?”
    â€œNo, we talked about how we can't stand the thought of someone else touching something that belonged to us.” Her eyes opened again and her gaze locked on his. The depth of her blue eyes was so easy for him to get lost in; it was frightening.
    Swallowing, Denver gently pushed her eyelids down in an attempt to encourage her to go to sleep. More importantly, he didn't have to hold such an intense contact with her that it left him feeling so vulnerable. “Same difference to me. Having someone else touch something that's mine is the same as not sharing well with the other kids.”
    â€œI guess. The point is, you need to know you're only allowed to