Chapter 3
Cethin
My stomach rumbles as I follow the crowd of students down the corridors and towards the dining hall. I'm famished, and a good BLT will go a long way to changing that.
I pass through the double doors that lead into a room lined with rows of tables, many of them already filled with students. I scan the faces, looking for my friends, and almost sigh with relief when I spot them at the back. I can eat without them, but it's always better to have company.
I wind my way through the assembled students, almost tripping over someone's tail as I pass.
"Sorry," they murmur, whipping it out of the way.
"No problem," I respond. It's just one of the hazards of Rosewood, and to an extent, I'm used to it. This is just what things are like at home anyway. I'm just grateful I don't have a tail of my own that I have to mind, they seem to have a mind of their own.
I let out a loud sigh as I sit down next to Afan.
"Where've you been, Cethin?" my oldest friend asks, the deep ridges above his eyes making his frown more pronounced. Or maybe it doesn't, it's hard to tell precisely what expression he's pulling because of them.
"Professor Raiser droned on a little too long," I respond.
"Ah, you had Ancient Spellbooks?" Meic asks as he reaches over to grab a club sandwich from one of the platters piled high at the centre of the table.
"Yeah. Have you?" I ask my other friend.
He nods. "Last term. He'd almost always make me late for training too."
I grimace. "Ooof, that wouldn't have been good."
"I was worried the coach would give me extra laps," Meic moans.
"Don't you already have some to do from the beginning of term?" Afan asks.
"Yep."
I shake my head in amusement and pick up a perfect-looking BLT from one of the plates while they continue to complain about several of our professors. Though I have to agree with some of their assessments.
Meic lets out a low whistle. "Hottie alert," he says through bites of club sandwich as he stares past us to whoever has caught his attention.
"Seen any of them you fancy?" Afan asks, picking bits of cucumber out of his tuna sandwich with a vague air of distaste. I know he prefers to eat fish, but there are plenty of sandwich choices that don't have salad in them.
"Several," Meic responds. "There's a girl with snakes for hair in my Divination class, and she's smoking."
"A gorgon?" I ask, somewhat surprised. I'd never have guessed that was his type.
"Careful, or she'll make you rock hard," Afan jokes.
"That's the idea." Meic grins widely.
I roll my eyes. I've known him since long before we came to Rosewood together, and he's never going to do anything about it. "What about your mate?"
"What about my mate?" Meic responds, seeming surprisingly defensive for it being such an innocent question. "What does it hurt to look before I've met them?" There's something about the way he asks that makes me feel like I'm missing important information.
I raise an eyebrow, but don't say anything. He's been my friend long enough for me to know that he'd never do anything that would jeopardise his chances of finding his mate, and that includes messing around, even if he claims he will.
"How do you even know your mate is real?" Afan asks. "I'm not sure I buy into the whole thing."
"Really?" Meic responds. "You don't think that you'll find the person that's the perfect match for you?"
Afan shrugs. "Just seems like a lot of power to give fate. What if I don't like my mate?"
"I think the point is that you like them," I say.
"What's changed your tune? You're normally the first person to start talking about how this whole thing is probably made up to stop us sowing wild oats or some ridiculousness like that.
" The way Afan says it makes it feel as if he suspects something.
Though I'm not entirely sure what. It's not as if I've spent a huge amount of time dating, even if I've been sceptical about the mate situation in the past.
"Maybe I'm just considering my options," I respond, refocusing my attention on my lunch instead of on the conversation.
I don't want to admit that I think I'm changing my tune because of how I felt when Anja sat down beside me in Potions yesterday. He'll probably tell me that it's something to do with her magic, or it's just that she's hot.
But I know what I felt when we touched, and it's not either of those.
The air around us changes, and I freeze, sensing the proximity of the only person who has ever had this effect on me. I look up for my gaze to catch on Anja's. She sucks in a small breath, almost as if she can feel the connection between us too.
Mate.
I can feel it in every part of my body, the need to protect her, cherish her, and far more. I want to dismiss it as something I'm making up, but I can't. There is something about her that makes me certain that it's the truth.
"Hey," she says, tucking a strand of loose purple hair behind her ear. "Are these seats free?" She gestures to the bench on the opposite side of the table from us.
I nod, gaining a weird look from Afan and Meic in the process. I ignore them. No doubt I'll be laid into when we get back to our flat later, but I don't owe them an explanation, not when I barely have one myself.
Anja smiles and sits down. "So, what's good?" She looks at her empty plate and then across at the variety of sandwiches, wraps, and bagels piled high on plates across the centre of the table.
"All of it," I respond. "Though maybe avoid the fish finger sandwiches."
She wrinkles her nose. "What's wrong with them?"
"They go soggy. I don't know if it's the fish or the breadcrumbs around it, but they never manage to hit the same spot as fish finger sandwiches from when I was a kid."
She lets out a small laugh. "I don't think they were ever particularly good then either."
"Let's guess, you were a ham and cheese toastie girl?"
"Absolutely not. Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber all the way. On brown bread."
I spot a plate of those sandwiches and lean over to pick it up, holding it out to her.
Anja's face lights up and she puts a couple of them on her plate. "But you know what's even better?"
"No?"
"Crisp sandwiches. Did you ever have those? I don't know if it's the crunch of the fried potatoes or the carb loading that makes them taste so good."
"It's the carb loading. And the disapproval mums always gave when they were on the menu," I respond.
She lets out a light laugh. "I think you're right. The disapproval is definitely part of the appeal."
A girl around our age with a nest of snakes in her hair makes her way over. "Anja, there you are."
"Hey, Nati."
The gorgon stills as she spots Meic a few seats down, but she pulls her gaze away pretty quickly.
Interesting. It seems his smoking gorgon might be into him too.
"This is Nati, one of my roommates," Anja says to me. "And this is Cethin, he's my lab partner, I guess?" She looks at me as she says it.
I let out a low growl at the inaccuracy of her description, but no one seems to notice. I clear my throat. "I don't know if that's what it's called," I admit.
She shrugs. "It'll do. We sit next to each other in Potions."
Nati nods in greeting. "Can you pass the gluten-free plate, please?" she asks me.
"Yeah, sure." I lean over and grab the plate with the flag on top, handing it over to her.
She pulls several faces as she looks at the assortment. "They never do anything as good."
"What is it you want?" I ask. "I could try and do a spell on it that'll make the gluten affect you less."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I've tried spells before, they never work," she responds.
I nod and turn my attention back to Anja.
She smiles at me in a way that makes my heart constrict and the urge to get her alone all the stronger.
I may barely know her, but it's clear that she already has more of a hold on me than anyone ever has.
I just hope that's not going to be my downfall.