I lift my hand, wanting to reach out to touch him, but stop myself before I can.
He sees what I'm doing, and his tail sneaks between us, brushing against my hand. I suck in a deep breath, unable to put words to how intimate the gesture feels. I've seen him use his tail as if it's an extra hand several times, and I think that makes it clear that this isn't some accidental touch.
"Ah, there you are," Philippe's voice cuts through the moment, interrupting us before we can do anything close to talking about the touch.
Annoyance flits through Archie's eyes, but he covers it quickly. "What's up?" he asks his friend.
"We're about to start a game, and we need a fourth player."
Archie looks at me, but I can tell that he doesn't know what to say.
"I should go find Sophia anyway," I say. "I promised her I would after I got a drink."
He nods. "She's probably made ten more friends."
"She does seem to have that ability." I smile as I think about the princess who is my friend. We both get to our feet, neither of us actually moving away from one another, even if Philippe is standing just a few feet away.
"Are you still planning on going to the library tomorrow?" he asks, leaning in a little closer than he has to. While his tail isn't touching me, it's arched around, creating a little bubble where no one else is.
"After lunch?" I check.
"Or we can meet in the dining hall," he suggests. "Eat, then study."
"All right, I'll see you then."
His smile makes me want to ask him to stay, but Philippe is getting a little impatient. It's probably a good thing for him to go. Considering how things are already going, I might be tempted to ignore the reasons for me not to act on the mate situation once I've had a bit more wine.
"Your timing sucks," Archie tells his friend, only just loud enough to hear.
"What timing?" Philippe asks, gesturing for Archie to follow him over to wherever they're playing a game.
Archie pauses and turns, waving at me with his hand and his tail at the same time.
I smile and return the wave, realising as I do that I'm looking forward to studying tomorrow more than I expect.
Chapter 6
ARCHIE
I've never looked forward to studying as much as I am today, though that might be because most of the studying I've done is under the intense watch of my tutors. Lottie is different though, and not just because of the way my mind seems to whisper mate around her. If anything, that's making the situation more complicated, not less.
I head into the dining hall, easily spotting Lottie's stunning brown wings. I've not spent enough time around fairies to know if all of them have wings like hers, but they are spectacular. I make my way over, making sure not to trip over the scaly tail that's lying across the floor. It makes me glad that my tail is of the dexterous type. Not only is it useful when it comes to being able to hold more things at once, but it doesn't get in the way nearly so much.
I clear my throat as I approach Lottie, not wanting to spook her.
She turns around, pushing her dark hair behind her ear as she looks at me. The smile she gives me makes my heart constrict.
"Anything good for lunch?" I ask.
"That depends on how you feel about salad."
"I feel like it could be used as a torture device," I respond.
She laughs. "Then no."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll just load it up with croutons and dressing, that will have to do."
"There's some fried chicken too. And bread."
