46. Zair
Zair
Thea’s Glowing, Benson’s Drooling, and I’m Just Here for the Chaos
Four days. Four days of hearing nothing but Benson and Thea.
I know it’s a lie. I know she doesn’t want this, but I can’t understand why they can’t let it go.
It was funny, she stopped an all-out riot in the dining hall with a single joke.
But that’s all it was. A joke. Yet the whispers, the rumors, won’t die.
They crawl beneath my skin, scratching, gnawing, and making it harder to breathe.
She doesn’t want me. She has someone else. And yet she’s okay with the entire school thinking she’s sleeping with Benson? Every time someone makes the same stupid joke about goblin sex, the pressure in my chest rises. It’s like a damn ticking time bomb, and I’m just waiting for it to explode.
Benson offered to clear it up, to tell them the truth, to set the record straight.
But would it even make a difference? He’s my best friend; he knows how much this is eating at me.
Hell, Benson knows what Thea means to me even if I don’t have the words for it yet.
But every time I get close to saying something, I see Anita watching us. Watching for cracks in Thea’s armor.
She’s trying to pretend like she isn’t cursed.
She’d had another ‘episode’ right after class ended yesterday and is now, for lack of a better term, on a witch hunt.
It’s clear she’s losing control. She thinks everything’s real.
She thinks she’s losing something she never had. It’s driving her crazy.
Ever since Benson suggested that they starved her, it has become more and more obvious that they did. I thought she just had spent so long watching her weight that when she stopped she was just enjoying her life.
But even if that’s the case, it was never on her terms. I can see it in the way Anita looks at Thea like she’s about to do something desperate, something reckless.
Whatever happened between them, it’s bad.
There’s something about her that digs deep into Thea’s skin, something no one else seems to be able to do.
If I had to guess, Anita’s the one behind whatever is broken inside her.
Thea was called into the dean’s office about the curse.
But apparently, there’s some obscure bylaw that says sibling pranks are exempt from the rule against cursing other students.
Only Thea would know that — and only she’d have the nerve to use it.
She then used the opportunity to argue that the library books needed to be updated and that she’d file a discrimination complaint with the Ringed Hand. They let her go with a warning.
We spend most of Friday tucked into the nook.
She’s buried in a massive tome on death magic, and honestly, I’m a little terrified about what she’s working on.
A fresh notebook sits open next to her, well, fresh from today.
It’s probably already half-full. At this point, I’m convinced her dorm room is just walls of scribbled notebooks.
She hasn’t said a word in over an hour, and when I realize I’m only pretending to work anymore, I start packing up. I debate insisting she come eat with me, but I already know how that’ll go. So instead, I run downstairs to the café, grab her a sandwich, and leave it beside her without a word.
I head to lunch with the guys, falling into a seat next to Dylan.
“Where’s Benson?” I ask, glancing around.
“Isn’t he supposedly keeping that Thea chick company?” Jack jokes. “And half the female population.”
“Maybe he’s avoiding you guys,” Marco booms, laughing loud enough for the whole dining hall to hear. “I wouldn’t blame him.”
“Honestly,” Jack agrees. “Bet it’s been hard to get some with you two as best friends, I’m sure he loves having his pick of hot girls.”
“Pick of girls? Has anyone else noticed how hot Thea’s been looking lately?” Marco says. “If she’s into goblins, I bet she’d go for a big bad wolf. I’ve never had a witch before. She’s so little and weak I bet she wouldn’t even be able to stop me.”
My blood runs cold. Dylan stiffens beside me, but he keeps his easygoing mask in place.
“Did you not hear her call out pickle dick?” Dylan says lightly, trying to steer it back to safe ground. “I don’t think you want to be on her bad side.”
Marco leans forward, smirking. “Then I’ll just have to keep her mouth full of something else.”
I don’t even realize I’m standing. My hands are gripping the table, nails digging into the wood.
“Shut your mouth, Marco,” I snap. “Or you’ll be the one who can’t talk.”
Marco just laughs. But there’s a flicker of something mean under it, like he’s not used to being challenged.
“Jeez, Zair. Calm down. Just kidding.”
“Why you care so much about Benson’s girl?” Jack needles as Dylan tugs me back into my seat.
“Thea’s our friend first,” Dylan says. “What she and Benson do alone is between them.”
“You sure that’s all it is, Zair?” Marco taunts, leaning in.
“Thea doesn’t need me to defend her,” I say, leaning forward with a sharp smile. “She’s perfectly capable of putting you in your place on her own.”
The table bursts into laughter like I just told a joke.
Across the table, I catch Bernard’s eye.
He doesn’t laugh.
Instead, he gives a small, knowing nod, subtle enough that no one else notices.
He gets it.
He knows, as well as I do, that Thea could wipe the floor with them. The only question is if she’ll do it with her words, her magic or something these idiots wouldn’t even see coming.
The conversation shifts, loud, forced but the tension clings to the edges.
I leave a little earlier than I normally would.
Dylan reminds me I promised Thea and I’d be at his party tonight, which sparks another round of jokes.
I ignore them and head out. Before class, I swing by the nook to check on Thea.
I want to make sure she’s eaten and not going to forget her afternoon lectures.
She’s packing up when I walk in, books scattered across the table as she tries to organize them.
“I didn’t even notice when you left,” she says with a teasing grin.
“You were pretty into that book on death magic,” I say, leaning against the wall. “Did you eat the sandwich?”
“Yes.” She grabs her bag and moves past me. As she does, she presses a kiss to my cheek quick, casual. It hits me like a lightning bolt. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
Before I can say anything, she’s already out the door. I snap out of it and follow her.
My final class of the day is crafting with Benson. He strolls in right before the bell, as always. But today, something’s off. He slides into the seat next to me, tension in his shoulders, and a strange hollowness in his eyes.
“You okay, dude?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual.
“Yeah, great.” He seems… off.
“Where were you at lunch?”
“Oh, I had lunch with Anita today,” he says it like it’s no big deal. His words are slurred, like he’s been drinking. I swallow hard. What the hell did she do to him?
“Why?”
“She’s so nice,” he says again, looking almost dazed. “Told me how Thea and I are such a cute couple. We are, aren’t we?”
“Fuck.” I grab my phone and text Thea, my fingers moving quick.
I think Anita did something to Benson.
He said he had lunch with her and now is acting weird.
I hold my breath as I wait for her reply.
Explain.
Said she’s nice.
Fuck, that’s bad.
I let out a small chuckle despite the situation, the absurdity of it getting to me.
Is he wearing new jewelry?
“Benson,” I ask, as I watch him stare off into space. He loves crafting, never zones out in class, especially not when the forges are burning hot all around us.
“Yes?” he asks, his voice dreamy and detached. I glance at Benson, trying to figure out what she’s talking about, but I don’t see anything unusual. Then it peeks out of his collar. Not goblin made.
Bingo.
I type as quickly as I can.
Necklace.
Bring him to greenhouse three after class.
Bring a goblin blade if you can.
I spend the rest of class babysitting Benson, keeping him from burning himself or doing anything stupid. I explain to the teacher that I think he got cursed, and when he sees Benson’s state, he lets us out early, and I practically have to drag the love-drunk Benson to the greenhouse.
When I step inside, I see Thea wreaking havoc in what can only be described as a full-on water balloon fight, minus the balloons.
She’s going head-to-head with another witch — Lira, I think.
She’s pulling water from the nearby pond like it’s second nature.
But Thea is conjuring perfect spheres from thin air and launching them with deadly aim, her laughter echoing through the field every time one hits its mark.
Whatever the original assignment was, it’s definitely not this.
Thea spins and hurls a massive sphere of water at what looks like empty air. A second later, Mavrik materializes soaked and sputtering. His shadowy form no match for the blast. Her laughter rings out again, bright and wild.
She’s shining. Not in the usual, radiant kind of way, but with something deeper. Power hums beneath her skin, pulsing like a storm waiting to break.
And god, the sight of her: flushed, laughing, magic clinging to her like starlight. It hits me like a punch to the gut. It’s not just beauty. It’s something unworldly.
“She’s beautiful,” Benson says, almost reverently. “She’s glowing.”
“Yeah. I know.”
The words catch in my throat. I glance at him and the look on his face, the wonder in it. He sees it too and starts moving towards her.
Shit.
Thea turns toward us, laughter still on her lips as she calls the wind to dry herself off, then Mavrik, like an afterthought. Benson lunges to tackle her with a kiss. She turns quickly and heads toward Professor Tennant. Benson trails behind her.