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Relief rushes through me. I duck my head and brush by Bellamy, hiding my reaction as I enter the facilities building. The vampire trails after me. For some reason, I thought whatever Rowan did to heal me hurt him. I’m not worried . . . more concerned for my own safety if he ended up dying and Drake found out I was to blame.

“Morning.” Oliver eyes us. He’s less suspicious of the vampire now, but still openly curious as to why a Foundation is helping me. He hasn’t given me shit for having company while I work. Oliver doesn’t seem to care much about anything, as long as I get the job done.

“Morning, Oli. Was that a pretty vampire I saw you with the other night outside the cafetorium?” I swear Oli blushes. “She was cute.”

“Mind your business, mage.”

“Why, when yours is so much more interesting? Are you dating?”

He crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Are you and this one?” He tips his head at Bellamy.

Fire spreads across my face. “Absolutely not,” I say at the same time Bellamy slings his arm over my shoulder and says, “Sure are.”

I glare at him. “We’re not.”

Bellamy holds my stare. “Oh, but we are. Remember?” His eyebrow lifts, the infuriating thing.

The invisible band around my forearm warms. Right. The stupid blood bargain. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, I mean, we are dating,” I tell Oliver.

The shifter squints at me, then the vampire. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not,” Bellamy admits. “Just know I’m taking care of her.”

Oliver harrumphs. “Well, you’ll be hearing from me if you don’t.”

“I can take care of myself,” I mutter. Even still, I’m overwhelmed by the very fact that Oliver would even care if Bellamy didn’t. We joke around every morning, and I’ve been a good employee, but we’re not exactly close.

Oliver shakes his head and glances at the clock. “You’re going to be late starting work.”

“You’re the one who wanted to talk,” I fire back, rolling my eyes, thankful to be back to the teasing and joking and far away from whatever it is Bellamy and I really are. Frenemies?

He shrugs. “I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want.”

I toss on my smock and smooth it. “Then you can give me a raise?”

He scoffs. “As soon as I get one, you’ll get one.”

Bellamy is strangely quiet through this; normally, he’s always cracking jokes. He follows me out of the building with his hands stuck in his pockets, gaze contemplative.

“Okay. What’s wrong with you?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re being weird.” I pause. “Weirder than normal, I mean.”

He grins. “Worried about me?”

I sigh. There goes his delusions again. “Do you ever get tired of being cocky?”

“Not really.” His words are so matter of fact, I can’t help but chuckle. He smiles and nudges me, which I respond to with a little shove, relieved that this, at the very least, is somewhat normal. The vampire makes quips, I fire back. I can handle funny Bellamy, but I’m not sure how to deal with serious Bellamy.

“Right, where were we? How often does the ruling council meet?” I ask, making it clear that he’s here for one reason, and one reason only. He has an obligation to fulfill. We might be magically bound to this little arrangement, but the last thing I want is for him to get protective or curious.

This arrangement is temporary, fake, and I can’t wait for it to be done.

Every morning I head to start work, one of my friends escorts me until we reach Bellamy, and every time I finish up, they’re waiting for me. This morning, Ever is particularly cheery as we make our way to the cafetorium. So much so that I swear she has a little bounce in her step.

“Okay, spill. What’s up?”