Queen of the Underworld | Book 3

• one •

I looked at the screen in front of me, horrified. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"What?" The girl in front of me asked. "What did I do?"

I put my face in my hands in complete stunned silence.

"Emmy," Steph pleaded. "What happened?"

I looked at my computer screen again. I looked at the drop command on the screen. There, in black and white was what she had done. There was no way to go back to how it was before. The entire afternoon spent in the coffee shop patio had been for nothing.

I sighed. "We have to start again, Steph."

She looked at me perplexed. "I don't understand."

No. Of course she didn't. She wouldn't understand why I wanted to reach across the table and strangle her. She had only set back our database group project days.

And it was due tomorrow.

She didn't understand I would essentially have to start the project from scratch.

I'd have to pull an all nighter.

I turned the laptop towards her. "Your SQL command just dropped the main table we needed not the extra one we didn't."

She visibly paled. "Oh, my God."

I shook my head and started shutting it down. "It's fine, all right. I'll look at it later. I have to get going."

My phone buzzed on the table and when I looked at the screen I saw a text message from a familiar name.

Don't forget our meeting in an hour.

I rolled my eyes. Even when I wasn't in the Underworld he was a pain in the ass. "Gods, Asmo, you're such a nag."

"I'll look at it, too!"

My eyes widened. "No. No, that's okay. I'll send you an email after I finish it." I could feel her aura seep through. She was uneasy. She hadn't ruined the project on purpose, it was an accident.

But I still hated group projects.

I tried to smile to make her feel better but couldn't.

It surprised me how even on the last semester of college some students were still clueless.

Mehnit meowed as I stood and began to put my laptop away in its bag. She jumped up on the empty chair at table where we sat and pushed her nose against Steph's hand.

At least Mehnit knew that I was trying to make her feel at ease.

The red head smiled. "You're getting the reputation at school for being the crazy cat lady. It follows you wherever you go."

I stifled a laugh. "I've been called worse. I'll take crazy cat lady."

"Why doesn't she stay home?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I tried. She doesn't want to."

It was a lie. It was a condition that both Damien and Oren wouldn't budge on.

Condition number one of living on my own in the human world: Mehnit would stay at my side at all times. No exceptions.

I didn't argue. Especially since I didn't want a flank of guards on me at all times. Though I would occasionally see guards in human clothes mysteriously show up every once in a while.

My phone buzzed again. Why have you been so hard to find these days? Where are you?

Condition two: Only Damien, Oren and a handful of trusted guards knew I was living in the human world. No one else. No exceptions.