10. The Moon
Chapter 10
The Moon
S he wasn’t mine. I knew it was impossible, that she couldn’t be, but goddess help me if she didn’t look like she was.
When she strode across the quad this afternoon and I glimpsed those lilac eyes, I was transported back to days of dancing in the woods with flower crowns I hadn’t wanted to wear atop my head. I’d let her put them there for a chance to see her smile. That smile was worth any amount of teasing the other children had thrown at me.
Those eyes spoke of nights spent sneaking away from my parents and watching the stars across the sky with a small, soft hand encased in mine—of shared secrets and whispered promises from another life. But this wasn’t the past.
I was no longer a child, and if I was sure of nothing else, I was sure that Briar Lennox was not destined to take the place beside mine.
Yet there I was, hiding behind a tree, hoping she wouldn’t see me watching her from the shadows like some kind of trained guard hound.
I hadn’t planned to see her tonight, but sleep eluded me no matter how long I’d searched for it. I was heading to the training room to burn off some energy when a flash of wine-colored hair crossing the front courtyard caught my eye through the window. I felt her pull like a moth drawn to a flame. I had no other choice; I followed her.
The Academy grounds were safer than the lands surrounding it, but something in me rebelled at the thought of her trekking through the darkness alone. I’d been surprised when she’d headed to the entry road instead of the forest to the south, and even more so when she’d joined Kenna of all people in the trees.
The woman challenging her for her place in the pack was the last person I thought she would befriend. I expected bitterness, anger—goddess knew Briar had plenty of both earlier in the day–but instead, I saw smiles, contentment. The two of them had lay there dangling from the branches like long-forgotten friends who were grateful to be reunited.
I should’ve left them there; there was little danger traveling in pairs, but I lingered. I was transfixed by the soft smile that stretched across Briar’s lips when she looked at the stars—captivated by the ring of her laugh in the otherwise silent trees. Yet my chest ached at the beautiful sound. Her perfection changed nothing.
I stepped out from behind the tree I’d used to conceal my presence a few minutes after she’d re-entered the main building. The risk of her seeing me then was next to nonexistent. I moved toward the stone building then stilled, listening more closely.
Murmurs echoed from within the wood.
It could be nothing—a couple sneaking away to be alone, a professor collecting samples for their next class—or it could be a threat, and Kenna would be facing it alone. I turned and silently crept back through the trees. I’d confirm she was fine and then leave. If the sounds were nothing she wouldn’t even need to know I’d been there.
The murmurs were a whisper on the wind but grew the slightest bit louder with each step I took. Two voices, male, from what I could make of them. I slowly drew my blade from its sheath and then?—
“It’s not nice to linger in the dark,” a cheery voice chimed behind me, “You could at least say hello to a girl before you follow her around. Didn’t anyone teach you common courtesy growing up? It’s like you were raised by wolves or something.”
I put a finger to her lips and shushed her, listening for the voices I’d been tracking, but only silence remained. I dropped my sword.
“I thought I heard voices,” I said. “Was someone out here with you? Did you notice anyone?”
Kenna rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into the pockets of her brown linen pants. “The only someone who was out here with me is the someone you were following. What? Were you worried the new girl would meet an unfortunate end before the Pack Rite could even begin?”
“Can’t be too careful at this school. People have a penchant for getting what they want by whatever means necessary. I can’t say I’d be shocked if I woke up to learn she had a tragic accident in the night.”
“I need neither trickery nor subterfuge to claim what’s mine. Besides, I like her.” She smiled wide like a feral cat, which, I suppose, is more or less what she was. “It seems like someone else does too, which surprises me, and I’m rarely surprised. Are you planning to actually talk to her or just stare at her from afar, silently pining away?”
I shook my head and looked back into the trees. “Are you sure you didn’t see anyone?”
“Only you.” She linked her arm with mine and pouted when I pulled away. “Be a gentleman and walk me back to my room, would you? I hear there are suspicious noises about, and I’d hate to meet my own untimely demise.” I glared at her but her smile only grew. She turned back toward the campus, nearly skipping.
“Come on stalker in the night,” she called over the shoulder, “If we’re being honest, you and I both know I’m the most dangerous thing in these woods. We have plenty of real threats, let’s not waste time focusing on the ones that don’t exist.”