I’m going to fix her glasses, and I’m determined to fix themright, so they never break on her again.
After everything she’s done for me, it’s the least I can do for her.
BACK IN MY DORM ROOM after dinner, I spread my metalsmithing tools out on my desk, along with my textbook,A Comprehensive Study of Runes and Symbolic Magic, and examine Poppy’s glasses under the candlelight.The hinge snapped clean off on the left side, and the nosepiece is so loose that I understand now why her glasses are always sliding down her nose. It’s actually impressive she managed to keep wearing them for as long as she did.
Felex glances over from his bed, where he’s draped against a stack of pillows, reading an old leather-bound book of poetry. He’s probably read that thing a thousand times since I met him freshman year. “What are you doing?”
“Poppy’s glasses broke.” I pick up my smallest file, which feels like a toothpick in my big fingers. “I told her I’d fix them.”
“How romantic,” Felex says, his tone completely flat, like it usually is. “Repairing spectacles. Truly the stuff of sonnets.”
I pause, file in hand, and shoot a look his way. “Are you making fun of me?” He’s a fan of dry humor, so it can sometimes be hard to tell.
“You think I would do that?” He’s focused on his poetry book again, turning one of the pages with a whisper of parchment. “I’m simply observing that performing mundane domestic tasks for one’s paramour is a time-honored tradition.”
I arch a brow. “What’s a paramour?”
Felex turns another page, making me wonder if he actually reads the poems or just skims them. “A secret lover. Because that’s what you are, isn’t it?”
My ears heat, and my fingers tighten around the file. “We’re not—I mean, we haven’t really...”
“Defined it?” Felex supplies, finally glancing at me with his unsettling dark eyes. This is our fourth year asroommates, and every so often, he can still spook me. Vampires are like that. “How very modern of you. Though I suspect the rest of the academy has already drawn their own conclusions, given that you spent a weekend alone with her and returned lookinginsufferablypleased with yourself.”
“You’re the one who looksinsufferably pleased,” I say, mimicking his tone. “And besides, that’s none of your business.”
“No,” he agrees, returning to his poetry. “But it is amusing to watch.” He’s quiet for a moment, then adds, “Though you should probably have that conversation at some point.”
I turn back to the glasses, using the file to smooth out the broken metal.
He’s not wrong. We’ve been dancing around it for weeks now, but neither of us has actually said the words.
Maybe I should. She’s probably waiting for me to.
The thought makes me nervous and excited.
I work on the glasses for the next several hours, carefully filing down the broken metal before creating a new pin to hold it together. It’s delicate work—the frames are thin and fragile, and in orc hands, that’s a recipe for disaster—but I’m patient.
When the hinge is repaired and moving smoothly and the nosepiece has been tightened, I sit back and study my work. The fix is solid, but it’s still just a patch job. The frames are old, and they’ll probably break again eventually.
Which is where the runes come in.
I pull out a fresh piece of parchment and sketch a reinforcement rune map—something that will strengthen themetal so it lasts longer. It takes me three tries to get it right, but finally, I think have it.
I set the glasses in the center of the rune map, then channel my intention and magic into it, activating the enchantment.
The metal gleams faintly, then dims. I test the hinge again—open, close, open, close. It moves perfectly, and I can feel the magic reinforcing it, making it stronger than it was even when new.
Runes are badass, I think with a smile.
Poppy won’t have to worry about this breaking again—not for years, at least. And since I tightened up the nosepiece, she shouldn’t struggle with them slipping down anymore.
By the time I finish, it’s well past midnight. Felex has extinguished his candles and is presumably asleep, though with vampires, it’s hard to tell. My neck aches from hunching over my desk for so long. But when I hold the glasses up to the candlelight, satisfaction pulls my lips into a smile.
They’re perfect. And I can’t wait to give them back to Poppy.
Chapter 35
Aric
