This guy’s tougher than I realized . ..
I’m suddenly thinking he mightactuallyset me aflame for what I’m about to ask, but he might be my only shot at this. And Poppy issoworth it.
I take a step down the spiraling staircase, then gesture for Raelan to follow. At first, he hesitates, dark eyes narrowing. But when I gesture with more oomph, he finally relents, his boots near silent on the stone steps as he follows me down to a narrow landing beneath a stained glass window.
“What is it?” he asks, voice clipped, like he doesn’t have an ounce of trust in me.
“Do knights go to... balls?” I finally ask.
Raelan’s eyes remain narrowed. “What?”
“Balls. You know, dancing?”
He blinks. “Are you asking if I know how to dance?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess I am.” I laugh despite the absurdity of the situation. Raelan doesn’t.
“Yes. I know how to dance.” He shifts his weight and crosses his arms. “Why?”
A door opens somewhere up the stairwell from us, and I wait until the student passes us by, making sure it’s not Poppy or one of her roommates.
Raelan stares at me the whole time. I feel like he’s being weirdly intense, but from what Maeve has told me, I think this is normal for him.
Before I can explain, Raelan tips his head and says, “Wait. Is this about Poppy?”
Unlike the feeling that came over me when Leo talked about Poppy, I’m comforted knowing Raelan is around and can look after her if she needs anything. I may not know himwell—or at all—but I get the feeling he wouldn’t letanyonehurt the witches in room NT33.
Not that I have a right to be comforted by that, I remind myself.I’m not her boyfriend or something.
My stomach squeezes at the thought, and I refocus on the conversation. With the stairwell now quiet, I nod. “Yeah. I was kind of hoping to dance with her, but...” I reach up to scratch the back of my neck. “I’ve never been to a ball before. And I’m okay with embarrassingmyself, but the last thing I want is to embarrass her. Especially on a night she’s working so hard to make perfect.”
A long moment passes. Raelan keeps staring at me. Finally, he softens a bit, like he’s letting down his guard. “And you want me to teach you.”
I nod and give him a smile. “Exactly.”
He draws in a breath, then lets it out in a long sigh. “All right.”
I blink. It feels like this was way too easy. I expected to have to do at least a little bit of convincing. “Really? You don’t... want something in return?”
Raelan regards me for a long moment, then shakes his head. The light coming through the stained glass window catches his skin, and I notice what look to be scars around his throat. “No. Just... be good to her. She deserves that.” This time, he’s the one to hold out his hand, and I take it without hesitation.
“I will,” I say. And I mean it.
“Good. Meet me on Sunday evening, about eight.” He turns and starts back up the stairs.
I call out to his back, “Meet you where?”
“The astronomy tower.”
My stomach sinks, but then Raelan is gone, disappearing up the spiraling staircase back to his post outside NT33. I consider chasing after him to ask if we can meet somewhere else, but he’s already going out of his way to help me, a total stranger. And I don’t want to risk him changing his mind.
So I grip the strap of my bookbag, clench my teeth, and continue descending the stairs.
And I just hope I can actually make it to the tower this time.
Chapter 18
Poppy
