Poppy laughs, then covers her mouth with a hand like she didn’t mean to.
Everything this witch does makes me want her more. Her smiles, her blushing cheeks, the way she glances away from me nervously when we’re talking about anything that’snotclasswork related. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t cast any love charms on me—she doesn’t seem the type—yet I’m falling under her spell anyway.
“Okay, Brains. I’ll see you at the game. I’ll be the one on the field.”
She lifts a hand to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose and says, “Okay. I’ll see you there.”
Now I’ve really got to crush Morgan’s team. There’s no way I want Poppy to see me lose.
Chapter 14
Poppy
ALINA, MAEVE, AND LYRA LOVE attending weekend runeball games. I went to one with them when we were first-years, but it was loud and disorienting and just a bit... much. So I usually stay at the dorm when they go, reading or studying, or sometimes I’ll visit the Whim, since it’s typically empty during the game and I can wander freely without bumping into anyone. But today’s different. And when I stand from the couch, already bundled in my cloak and scarf to keep the chill at bay, my roommates all look at me like I just grew a second head.
“Are you coming with us?” Alina asks, a hint of a smile already tugging on her lips as she slips her cloak over her shoulders and brushes her long blue hair out of the way.
“Yeah,” I say. “Aric invited me, so I figured I’d...” I trail off when all three of them widen their eyes like I just started speaking to them in Latin. They’ve been looking at me like that a lot lately. “What?”
“I’ve been nagging you to come with us fortwo years, Pops, and now a hunky orc invites you, and you decide to go?” Lyra pouts at me. “I think my feelings are hurt.”
Behind her, Maeve pretends to gag. “Please don’t call my stepbrotherhunky. It’s gross.”
“Oh, come on.” Lyra spins to face her. “Don’t act like you didn’t at least have a little crush on him at some point. How could you not?”
Maeve draws herself up and crosses her arms. Her eyes look like storm clouds getting ready to dump rain and hail. “There’s something very wrong with you. Does Cairn know you’re like this?”
Lyra smiles and shrugs. “Yup. And he still loves me.” A squeaking sounds from Lyra’s pocket. Then she adds, “And Juniper says she does too.”
Maeve shakes her head, and Isis, her snake spirit companion, hisses softly from where she’s currently twined around Maeve’s neck. “I may never understand you.”
“Enough, you two.” Alina waves them off and gives me another smile. “I’m so happy you’re coming. It’ll be fun. And I promise we won’t make you sit next to Lyra.”
“Hey!” Lyra snaps. “Pops, you’ll sit by me, won’t you?”
Last time I sat by Lyra, she cheered and screamed so loudly that everyone stared at us, and it made me want to melt into a puddle just to escape their eyes.
I open my mouth to reply, but a loud knock on the door interrupts, and then Raelan pokes his head through. “You ladies ready or what?”
Lyra pops a hip at him. “Well, look who’s a runeball fan now.”
Raelan smirks at her. “The Sigil Strikers are vicious. They put on a good show. And I refuse to be late. So hurry up. Let’s go.” He pushes the door open wide, holding it so the other three can step into the stairwell. When I follow them out, he tips his head and says, “You’re joining us today?”
“Yeah. Aric invited me, so...” I reach up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I thought it’d be nice to go.”
Raelan closes the door behind me and is quiet for a moment as the other three start down the stairs. Then he smiles, his dark eyes catching the golden light streaming through the stained glass window. “He’ll be happy to see you there.” Then his smile turns playful. “But I’ll be cheering for his opponents, so if you don’t want him to see you with me, I’d understand.”
That draws a laugh out of me, and we start descending the spiral staircase together. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. He won’t even notice I’m there.”
Raelan glances down at me and tips his head, his gaze going thoughtful. Then he says quietly, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
THE STANDS ARE PACKED. FROM what Lyra told me, the Sigil Strikers and Hexrush are the two most popular teams on campus, and it feels like the entire student body—and faculty—are here today to watch the teams play.
I spot Headmistress Moonhart in the stands, sitting close to one of the herbology professors, Professor Fleur. Then a flash of silver draws my eye to Professor Silvermoon. Her husband sits on one side of her, his golden hair catching thelight, and her son, who I believe she said is named Fletcher, sits on her opposite side, munching on a bag of roasted cinnamon pecans.
Professor Silvermoon looks up and meets my eyes despite all the people crammed into the stands around us, and she waves. I wave back just as Lyra says, “Here they come!”
My gaze shifts to the team now taking the field, led by a student I assume is their captain. She has red hair, like Lyra, and a big smile, which she flashes at the crowd as her team lines up behind her on the field.
