He bumps his shoulder against mine. “Very funny. But I was thinking about what you said. About your dream and being brave.”
My smile fades a little. I’ve been thinking about that too. “What about it?”
“Just that... you are, you know. Brave.” He glances down at me. “I know you don’t always feel like it, but you are. You went on that trip to Faunwood even though you were nervous. You trusted me with...” He trails off, his green-tinted cheeks darkening slightly. “With a lot. And it took courage.” We reach the bottom of the stairwell to the north tower, and he stops, turning to face me. “I just wanted you to know that.”
My throat feels tight. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead, gentle and lingering. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” I agree.
I watch him walk away, his bookbag thumping against his thigh as he goes, and Aurora’s words from Faunwood echo in my mind:The people we’re meant for are rarely the easiest ones to love, but they’re the ones who make us braver.
Maybe she was right. Because standing here, watching Aric disappear around a corner into another hallway, I do feel braver.
Still scared, yes. But at least brave enough to try.
Chapter 34
Aric
THE ENTIRE CLASSROOM SMELLS LIKE pumpkin, and before it becomes something delicious—like pie or soup or bread—pumpkin smells kind of gross. I’m working on dicing our pumpkin into cubes while Poppy reads her notes on the kitchen spellwork we’re supposed to use today. She reaches up to adjust her glasses, a habit I’ve noticed she does when she’s concentrating, and—
Crack.
One of the hinges clinks to the tile floor beside my boot, and suddenly, the left side of her glasses is hanging at an odd angle, drooping off her face like someone stumbling out of a tavern after having too much pumpkin ale.
“Oh no,” she says, her voice small and wobbly. She carefully takes her glasses off, holding them like they might shatter completely if she’s not gentle enough. A tiny sigh slips out of her. “Not again.”
“Again?” I put my chopping knife down and wipe my hands on a towel. “This has happened before?”
“They broke last year too,” she admits, squinting at me without her glasses. Her lavender eyes look bigger somehow, more vulnerable. “I kept meaning to get them fixed properly, but I just...” She trails off and shakes her head. “Mama and I can’t afford new ones right now, and the repair shop in Wysteria charges so much just for a simple hinge.”
Something in my chest tightens at the resignation in her voice, and before I can consider my words, I say, “Let me fix them.”
She blinks at me—well, in my general direction, since I’m pretty sure she can’t see my face clearly. “What?”
“Let me fix them. I can do basic metalwork—I took an elective on it last year. And hinges are easy.” I hold out my hand. “I’ll have them back to you by tomorrow. Do you have a backup pair you can wear until then?”
“Well, yes, but you don’t have to—”
“I want to.” I wiggle my fingers. “Come on, Brains. Trust me.”
She hesitates, then carefully places the broken glasses in my palm. Without them, she looks so different—like she did that morning when I woke beside her in bed in the inn. Goddess, she was gorgeous, with her hair all a mess and her mouth slightly open. Thinking about it gives me the sudden urge to kiss her, but I have a feeling Professor Sage wouldn’t like that much. Besides, Icancontrol myself, even if Poppy makes it difficult at times. Well, all the time.
“I can barely see without those,” Poppysays, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “Everything’s just blurry shapes.”
“How blurry?” I wave my hand in front of her face.
She swats vaguely in my direction, missing by several inches. “Very blurry. You’re just a big green blob right now.”
I laugh, and she scowls, which only makes me laugh harder. The students at the cooking station next to ours glance over, but Poppy doesn’t realize it.
“Stop laughing at me,” she says, but she’s smiling despite herself.
“Sorry. You’re just cute.” I carefully tuck her glasses into my shirt pocket. “Come on, I’ll tell Professor Sage what happened and then walk you back to your dorm so you don’t run into any walls.”
“I’m notthatblind,” she protests, but she takes my offered arm anyway.
