“I don’t need you pretending to stick up for me,” she says.
It’s like a thread snaps. “And I don’t need you making me feel bad for being who I am.”Where did that come from?But the words are out, bursting free like a thought I never dared speak out loud. “You’re not worth my time.”
Instead of regret, a reassuring glow warms my heart.
Reid whistles. “Damn, Ellie.”
Sophie’s nostrils flare, her grip on her bag tightening.
My paper erupts in flames.
I throw myself back as Reid yells a curse. In an instant, water floods the table as we both use the same incantation to extinguish the blaze. Smoke singes my nostrils, the tabletop marred black beneath the soggy remains of our work.
Arandur’s knickers.My eyes verge on popping out of my skull as I turn to Sophie. “Since when can you incant without speaking?”
She lifts her chin, straightening up. “Looks like you’re not so special after all.” With a sharp turn, she struts to her room, the door slamming behind her.
Not worth my time.My breathing settles, and we spend the next few minutes grumbling through some evaporation incantations until everything’s dry. Despite that, I’m feeling taller than ever. I may have made our relationship worse, but I stood up to her. And Reid seemed impressed.
He sits back down, pulling out a new page. I have no desire to start my wind incanting assignment for the third time in less than half a bell, so I switch to writing a paper for my tactics class:The Dangers of Fae Interrogation.
It’s a subject similar to curses in that it’s not something we’re ever likely to encounter, unless they invade again and we start taking prisoners. Even then, it’s a job for specialists. The most important points are how incredibly alluring fae are, which can lead to lapses in judgment from their interrogators, and that fae can’t lie, but excel at twisting the truth.
A bell later, Reid and I are stretching our fingers when Alexis arrives, giving us an excuse to take a break. I wouldn’t consider us particularly good friends yet, with her mostly focusing on Reid when we’re together, but her easygoing nature sometimes makes it feel like we are. I shift my position on the floor as she lounges on the settee, gesturing animatedly while chatting about her day.
“And did you hear they found some fae sneaking around the border?” She sits up, her elbow digging into the armrest. “Everyone’s talking about it.”
My stomach tightens. “What? Were they attacking? Is the Order—”
“Relax, hun,” Alexis says, glancing briefly at me as she waves her hand. “The rumors are all over the place. No one agrees on if they were coming or going, if they escaped, were killed, or taken prisoner.”
“But… it could mean war’s coming.”
While many of our fellows, Alexis and Sophie included, have dreamed of vengeance for family members killed or disabled in battle, none of us truly understand living under the shadow of never-ending bloodshed. The fae may never stop being the enemy, but I’d rather they stay on their side of the border, never to be seen again.
“No one ever expected this peace to last,” Alexis says, relaxing into the settee’s cushions. “And it’d be a letdown to have spent all this time studying incanting and never actually fight.”
Reid scratches at the embroidery on his armrest. “I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have to. I just liked the challenge of it—being able to do something no one else could.”
“Well that’s silly. You may be advanced now, but by the time we’re in the Order, the rest of us will have caught up.”
Unlikely. If that were true, my father wouldn’t have had reason to make me practice so hard.
Reid presses his lips together, focusing on a thread he pulled loose. I’d never have guessed he didn’t actually want to fight, that I wasn’t the only one with doubts. If only there was something I could say to let him know he’s not alone. Something not too sentimental, something—
“Oh!” Alexis exclaims, jolting me out of my thoughts. “You’ll never guess what! Oliver, the one with the dimples I was telling you about, he pulled me aside after class and asked if I’d go to the ball with him!” She squeals excitedly.
My brows knit together. “What ball?” Something tells me I should know what this is, but I don’t.
“Oh, honey, you need to spend less time studying. The Equinox Ball, of course!”
I glance at Reid.
“They do it every year. It’s a big celebration.” He twirls his finger in a lazy gesture. “The third years have a competition to decorate the grounds—everyone in Haven comes to see it. But only Academy students and their guests get to attend the ball.”
Alexis leans closer, nudging my shoulder. “You should see if Caeo will take you.”
“Hmm?” I didn’t catch what she said.
