I exchange looks with Maeve and Lyra, then increase my pace, dragging them both along.
I’m determined to make today a good day, even if worries about Aric are still simmering underneath.
Chapter 44
Aric
I YAWN AS I CLIMB the stairs to the astronomy tower—which I’ll admit has gotten easier over these weeks that I’ve been meeting up with Raelan and Alina for dance practice. My body feels like pudding, both from the grueling hours of runeball practice and the late-night study sessions I’ve been pulling. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through one of Raelan’s waltzes tonight, but I’m determined to at least try.
When I get to the astronomy dome at the top of the tower, I pause to catch my breath. I might not collapse midway up the stairs anymore, but that climb still makes my knees weak and my chest tight.
Inside the tower, I find Alina and Raelan already dancing, and I pause in the doorway to watch them. Raelan is wearing a smile that looks private, only for Alina’s eyes, and he makes her laugh as he dips her and kisses her on the side of the neck, where I now see Alina has a scar.
A claiming mark?
I don’t know much about them, except when a shifter claims their mate, they do so with a bite.
Raelan pulls her to her feet and twirls her, making her calf-length blue skirt flutter around her legs. Mid-twist, Alina looks over and catches sight of me, and the smile she gives me is quick and easy.
“Aric,” she says, somewhat breathless from her dance. “You’re here. But you’re also late.”
My eyes dart to the grandfather clock standing near a cluster of couches against the far wall, and I wince when I see she’s right. I was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. But this is just how my life has been going lately. It feels like everything is moving at a speed I can’t keep up with, no matter how fast I sprint or how hard I push myself.
“Sorry,” I say as I step fully into the room. That smile Raelan was wearing is gone now, replaced with his cool, smooth look of indifference. I wonder if they teach that look when you go through knight training. Maybe. “I was studying and lost track of time.”
Alina’s gaze softens. “It’s all right. Poppy mentioned you’ve been studying a lot lately. How’s it coming along?”
I cross the dome, which is banded with silver moonlight, and pause next to Alina, burying my hands in my pockets. “Wish I could say.” My laugh sounds tired when it slips out. “But I have no idea. Guess my finals will answer that question.”
Alina tips her head, blue eyes catching the moonlight momentarily before it’s stolen away by a cloud. “I think you’re going to do great. And then you’ll get to celebrate at the ball with Poppy.”
Poppy.
I haven’t meant to, but I feel like I’ve been neglecting her lately. After Faunwood and then our trip to Wysteria to meet her mom and Pepper, my life has narrowed down into two points of focus: runeball and finals prep. I’m giving runeball my all, knowing that if I don’t pass my classes, these could be the last few games I get to play in. And when I’m not on the runeball field, I’ve got my head shoved so deep into my textbooks that I’ve probably got ink on my face right now.
“Thanks,” I say to Alina, and though I try to smile at her, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t reach my eyes, because she tips her head and frowns at me.
“You ready to get started?” Raelan asks.
I nod once and take a breath to steady myself. “Yeah. Let’s dance.”
“SHIT, ALINA, I’M SO SORRY.”
I just stepped on her—again—and she’s hopping on one foot, holding the other one with a hand. Raelan rushes over to steady her.
“Do you think it’s broken?” he asks, but she quickly shakes her head.
“No. Just squished. Ouch!”
“Sorry.” Raelan pulls his hand away from her foot, but he keeps an arm looped around her waist, steadying her. Then his sharp dark eyes find me.
And I’m suddenly very glad that Headmistress Moonhart doesn’t let him carry a sword.
“That’s the third time,” Raelan says. “Where’s your head right now? You’re not paying attention to what you’re doing.”
My head is anywhere but here. It’s on the field, running drills. It’s in my history textbook, trying to recall dates and battles and each of their outcomes. It’s with Poppy, wondering what she’s doing, wondering if she’s okay.
But it’s not here. Which means I probably shouldn’t be here either. The last thing I need to do is break our princess’s foot. I don’t think the king would throw me into the dungeon for that, but with how everything else is going, I feel like that’d be just my luck. Hopefully he’d give me a candle and my textbooks, at the very least. That way I could keep studying for finals.
