41 #2
I let her drag me down the corridor, secretly more than grateful for her showing up out of nowhere.
And the bond between us is glimmering with joy too.
But still, I don’t know why she’s here. What changed and suddenly made her look so much better?
Not that I’m not overjoyed, but I’m too afraid she could return to her old, pained self in the blink of an eye.
So everything I can do to prevent that from happening, I will do.
“Okay. What’s going on?” I ask Aris.
“I guess she wants to be nice,” Aris suggests.
“It’s Blair. Blair doesn’t do nice.”
“She wants to make sure you eat,” Aris counters, with a tone that suggests he shares that sentiment.
“Seriously—how did you two arrange that? It’s not like you can really talk to her.”
We enter the hall and everything stops. Cutlery clatters and everyone turns, ogling us, jaws hanging open when they see Blair and me together.
I briefly catch the eyes of my friends Shay, Ryder, and Cassius at our usual table and give them an apologetic smile before Blair pulls me on, forcing me along.
“If they don’t close their mouths, they’re going to swallow a fly,” Aris remarks as he prances through the rows of tables, head high, tail swishing.
Gazes follow us the whole way. Even the professors are staring as we make our way through the large room.
Finally, we reach the table at the very end, and Blair slumps down on a cushioned stool, making a show of clicking her long nails as she reaches for bread and an assortment of jams that appear out of nowhere.
“You know the perk when no one wants to sit at your table? You have all the food for yourself,” Blair remarks, taking a hearty bite out of the warm bread the campus just conjured.
Then she digs her nails into the whole piece of ham, cuts it in half with a snip of her fingers, and hands one half to Aris, who settles on a chair next to her.
I stare at them, not quite trusting my eyes.
“What? Do I need to feed you, too, or can you manage on your own?” Blair snaps at me.
“Since when are you two friends?”
“Since we bonded over goats. We discovered we have the same tastes,” she explains.
If she could tell an untruth, I would think she’s joking.
Aris chews on the ham in silence, all his attention taken by the piece of meat in front of him.
“Monotasker. You’re such a man,” I shoot at him, but he conveniently ignores me.
“They won’t recover from this for at least a week,” Blair says, and from the ongoing lack of chatter and clatter of cutlery, I know they’re still staring at us. “You’re going to become a legend. It’s not every day that a king shows up to train a girl.”
I watch her closely, but neither her aura nor her voice show her usual pain and envy at the mention of Caryan. Interesting.
I say carefully, “I think they’re actually staring at you, Blair, not me—for wiping the floor with Kyrith’s ass so hard it’s shining like new.”
Indeed, as I glance around, I spot students drawing a little closer, looking at her with the same rapt fascination and awe as last night. Those who hadn’t gotten a proper look at her yesterday at dinner are definitely trying to catch up now.
Finally, Blair looks up from her ham, and a shit-eating grin spreads all over her face—a sight I’ve never seen on her before. “Oh yeah, I guess I kicked it so hard he won’t be able to sit on it for at least a week. I so hope he’s too vain to see a healer.”
I can’t help but smile at the way her amber eyes glow.
“So—I heard you actually have a date with a certain healer tomorrow,” I try casually.
Blair’s eyes turn to slits as she glares at Aris, who tries hard not to look her way. “Busybody,” she hisses.
I swear his shoulders twitch up in a shrug, tiny wings ruffling, but I feel his grin warming down the bond.
She sighs and looks back at me. “And it’s not a date. I’m not dating women. I’m just going to help her replant some flowers and trees,” she says.
I swear I spot a faint warmth creeping up her cheeks. Is Blair actually blushing?
“It is a date, if you ask me,” Aris says without looking up from his ham. Gods, he’s good at this. A natural poker face.
I look back at Blair, and the blush is still there.
“She’s blushing,” I point out as I take a swig of my water glass to hide my smile.
“I know. I can hear her heartbeat,” he rumbles, the same amusement in his voice.
“I didn’t know the healer and she—”
“You two are terrible. Stop that!” Blair slices another piece of bread before stacking cheese and some kind of venison terrine on my plate. “And eat.”
“I am eating,” I argue, pointing at the fat slice of orange cake on my plate.
“More. And not just sweets but protein! You’ll need that for training, or you’re never going to build up muscles. Your magic burns a lot. You’ll need it for next time when you train with Caryan.”
Next time.
My heart jumps before I can help it. They both heard it. Yeah, hells, next time.
I stare down at my plate.
“Did Caryan say when he’s going to show up again?” Blair asks between mouthfuls of food.
“He didn’t,” I say dryly, shoving another bite of rich orange cake into my mouth. I might be terrified, but since I spent my magic, I’m also ravenous.
“But there will be a next time?” Blair pushes.
“He just said there would, but he didn’t specify when,” I say slowly.
“Huh, that’s so typical for him.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, running her tongue over her silver teeth.
Aris has devoured the ham and sits straight now, looking right at me. “You still haven’t told me anything,” he rumbles accusatorily.
“It really wasn’t all that interesting,” I lie.
“Don’t lie to me, Melody!”
I ignore him and get up. “I need more coffee. And then I need to go to the library. And you need to choose the right outfit for your—”
Blair cuts me off, holding up a claw. “Don’t you dare say it, or you can eat dinner alone tonight.”
I bite back a grin at her mentioning that she’ll come with me to dinner again.
Then I remember something. “Hey, I could use some help with basic Wolf’s Howling for my assignment,” I whisper to make sure Professor Evanalora can’t hear with her acute fae hearing.
I spotted her sitting at the end of the room with a few other professors.
None of the high lords are around though, which makes me feel a tiny bit better.
Blair arches a brow. “What do you need help with? It’s easy. The name already says it: baaassiiiiic .”
“Well, it’s not easy. The contents of my cauldron kind of exploded,” I deadpan.
She frowns when I pull out the scroll I brought with me.
She glances at it. “What did you do wrong? It’s all clearly written here.”
“I don’t know. I did everything as the scroll said. But I need to actually hand this in at the end of the semester, and I’m not sure what happens if I don’t manage to do it right.”
“Fine. I’m gonna help you. Now off with you, or you’re gonna be late.”
“Thanks!” I say, relieved. “I have to run some errands and then I’ll go to the library. Have fun.” I look down at her as Aris jumps gracefully from his chair, sidling up next to me, and we walk out of the hall.
“Wait. What errands?” she calls, confused.
“The campus needs me to buy it some stuff in town,” I explain over my shoulder.
“Wait, I thought you said you won’t be going out today,” she frowns.
Damn. I flash her an innocent grin. “Well, maybe I was a little bit wrong.”
“You lied.”
“I forgot!”
“Liar,” she snarls but gets up from her chair “But if you’re going, I’ll come with you. I might get a new outfit anyway. Or a few. Whatever.”
Aris sighs like a creature who has decided that dealing with two women is simply too much.
***
Avandal as a city is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before—and honestly, nothing I could ever have dreamed up.
We walk down the winding, well-trodden path that leads from the university, through berry orchards and vineyards, until we reach an enormous bridge of white stone, arching over a glittering river.
Horse carriages line up, some laden with fabrics, others with kegs of ale and spices on one side, no doubt waiting for some sort of permit to be issued by the guards clad in gold and red armor.
The impossible gates before them glint as brightly as the soldiers’ breastplates in the mild morning sun.
Pedestrians are allowed to roam freely, and I join the flow of people heading toward the smaller gates left and right of the one for carriages.
They’re all clad in loose, colorful, silken fabrics and sandals, baskets and linen bags slung around their arms. I’m careful to keep my hair over my round ears, but I still expect to stand out in my black tank top, black leggings, and ankle boots—yet no one looks at me twice.
If they do, they wear mild, warm smiles on their beautiful faces.
They’re clearly more interested in Aris.
I press my hand against his hot skin as he trudges next to me in the form of a glorious azure-skinned horse, his fur dappled with golden sprinkles, twin to his mane and tail. Everywhere we go, people stop, gazes lifting in open awe.
Blair has pulled up a glamour so no one pays her much attention save for the occasional lingering gazes of soldiers and men that clearly has something to do with her outstanding beauty and lush curves.
“The people here are definitely different from those in Niavara,” I mumble, surprised, my hand never leaving Aris’s flank as nervousness swamps me from being among so many people. I let his heat and calm seep into me through my palm.
A little girl holding her mother’s hand squeaks excitedly and then waves at me when she notices Aris.
I stifle a laugh at her joy. They’re nothing like the wild creatures, with their unabashed staring, that I encountered in Niavara.
My fists unclench a little as Aris and I trot on through wide, elegant streets.
When I glance at Blair, she has a smile on her face too.