Chapter 7
Anja
"Where are we?" I ask as Cethin pulls me through a door with a small window.
"One of the cookery classrooms," he responds.
"Are we allowed to be here?" I pull his jacket closer around me, enjoying the way it brings his scent closer. I've never considered that to be something that was important to me, but right now, it feels it.
"I'm going to go with no."
"We could get into so much trouble," I murmur. Not that I have a choice about that, considering I sleepwalked my way down here without even realising it. "Can we lock the door?" I wouldn't suggest it to anyone else, but there's something about Cethin that makes me feel safe even if I shouldn't.
Cethin lifts a hand, and his eyes glow purple as he sends a bolt of magic towards the door.
"Will that work?" I ask.
"Should do. Unless someone has an unlocking spell strong enough to break through it." He heads over to a water heater and switches it on at the plug in the wall. It starts to whirr, presumably as it starts heating the water inside.
"Who would have one strong enough?"
"Presumably any of the professors," he responds.
"Reassuring," I mutter.
"We'll probably have enough warning that you can hide and I can take the punishment." He searches one of the shelves and pulls out two mugs. "You drink tea, right?"
"Yes. But I'm not about to let you take a punishment because you found me sleepwalking."
"I was out of bounds already," he reminds me. "I just happened to come across you."
"Let's just hope we don't get caught at all," I say.
There's a hissing noise as he fills the mugs and brings them over to me. "Here you go."
I take it from him, my fingers brushing against his as I take it and instantly feeling the desire to touch him more. "Thanks."
"It's peppermint. It should help with any lingering effects of your dream." He shuffles uncomfortably, as if worried that he's been caught caring for me. "Anyway, we should sit." He gestures to a small table.
"How did you even know this was here?" I ask as I take a seat.
"One of my friends takes a cooking course here," he responds.
"Oh, I didn't know." I wrap my hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth of the tea within.
"I thought you said you wanted to be a food scientist," he says.
I frown. "Did I tell you that?"
"You've muttered about it a few times when making potions," he responds. "I'd have thought you'd have been all over this class."
"I wanted to take it, but Mum and Dad encouraged me to take others instead."
He raises an eyebrow and takes a sip of his tea before answering. "Don't they want you to follow your dreams?"
"I think they're more interested in me discovering what I am."
Surprise flits over his face.
"I guess I haven't been muttering about that in Potions." I blow across the top of my tea and take a sip. Even before it hits my stomach, I know he's right about the soothingness of it.
"No, you haven't. You don't know what you are?" he asks curiously.
"Nope. Not a clue. Actually, I guess that's not true. I'm here at Rosewood, so I'm guessing I'm not human." I hold out my hand and look at the way the light illuminates my pale white skin. "I guess that was kind of obvious anyway."
"What are your parents?" he asks.
"Witches."
"Shouldn't you also be a witch?"
"I'm adopted."
Surprise, then horror flits over his face. "I'm..."
"Don't say sorry," I cut him off. "I've heard it my entire life. What's there to be sorry for? It's a reasonable question. My parents are witches, and I'm not one. Or if I am, I'm a really late bloomer."
"Could you be a necromancer?" he asks.
"Unlikely. I tried to reanimate a hamster once to try it out."
"What happened?"
"It got up and ran away." I take a sip of my tea.
"That sounds like successful necromancy to me."
"Yeah, but that's because the hamster wasn't dead yet. I just thought it was. I still don't know why. I just woke up one day and thought my pet was dead. That's when I decided to try necromancy, but it turned out that it was just sleeping."
"How disappointing."
"It died three days later."
"It did?" He gives me a curious look.
I nod. "I tried the necromancy again, but it didn't work. Presumably, because I'm not a necromancer. I did worry for a bit that I'd caused the hamster to die because I tried necromancy on it."
He chuckles. "I don't think that's how it works."
"I know that now, but it was a real worry at the time." I take another sip of tea, marvelling at how easy it is to talk to him. Maybe I shouldn't be telling him these things, but then again, there's no reason not to if I want to.
"Have you ever sensed anyone else's death?" he asks.
I frown. "I don't think so, but I've never thought about it very much. Why?"
"I didn't know if that was a clue to what you were." He drains his tea.
"It's okay that I don't know," I assure him. "I'll figure it out eventually. And if I don't, then it's not like I haven't already survived twenty-one years of not knowing. What's twenty-one more?"
"That's an interesting way of looking at it. I don't think I'd be able to go so long without knowing."
"Probably because you're aware of what you are," I point out.
The warmth from the tea spreads through me, and I find myself relaxing despite the dream.
This is certainly a better way to shake the effects than splashing cold water on my face in a communal bathroom.
Maybe I should see if I'm allowed to have a portable kettle in the room.
Though it's probably against the rules, now I think about it.
"Yeah, true." He sighs and leans back in his chair. "I like the hair, by the way."
I frown and reach up to touch it. "Weird time to tell me, but thanks."
"Why is it weird? I've never seen it that colour before."
I open my mouth to tell him that it's been purple the entire time we've known each other but I think better of it and grab a few strands of hair so I can see them.
I let out a small groan. "Not again." The silver-white strands catch the moonlight drifting in through the window.
Definitely not the purple I thought it was.
He raises an eyebrow. "Is it not purposeful?"
"It's my natural colour," I admit.
"It's nice, I like it."
Warmth fills me that has nothing to do with the tea and everything to do with the compliment. "Thanks."
"So should it still be purple?"
I nod. "I took the potion that dyes it yesterday.
" And that was earlier than I was supposed to because I felt like my hair was already being washed out.
I don't understand why it's wearing off so quickly compared to normal.
And I'm fresh out of potion until Mum sends me more, and I doubt she's going to be happy with me going through them at the rate I am.
"Do you particularly like having purple hair?" he asks.
"I prefer it to this." I sigh, letting my hair drop out of my hand.
"I know it's probably nothing compared to what other people went through, but kids used to be cruel about it, asking me if I was a crone in disguise, or why I'd gotten so old.
It made me hate my hair. Now I'm saying it out loud, it sounds ridiculous. "
"It sounds normal," he assures me. "I used to feel the same about my ears."
"I like your ears," I blurt out, meaning the words. "They're cute."
He lets out a small laugh. "I can safely say I've never heard that one before."
"Well, they are." I look down, trying to hide the blush rising on my cheeks. Thankfully, the dim light of the room should be helping with that, at least a small amount.
"I can wiggle them," he says.
"What?" I look up.
He meets my gaze and wiggles his ears back and forth.
A laugh escapes me. "Now they're extra cute."
"Then I'll make sure to wiggle them more often for you," he responds. "I like seeing you smile."
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling warm and fuzzy and all kinds of other things that I can't name.
"And your hair is really beautiful like this."
"Thank you." My response comes out quieter than I mean it to be.
A sound outside the classroom makes both of us jump.
"I think it might be time to get back to our flats." He gets to his feet and grabs the mugs, making his way over to the sink.
I nod. "Probably." As much as I'm enjoying myself, I know I need to sleep. And preferably not get into too much for being in this part of the academy so late. At least that will only happen if we get caught. Though there's still time for that.
I get up and smooth my shirt down, suddenly feeling a little exposed that it's all I've been wearing since he found me in the courtyard. I must have looked like some kind of ghost coming towards him. At least he doesn't seem upset about it.
I make my way over to where he's standing, only for Cethin to turn around at the same time, bringing us surprisingly close together.
Neither of us moves. My gaze meets his, and there's something entrancing about the way he's looking at me, as if we're caught in a moment that neither of us wants to end.
He clears his throat and pulls away. "We should get going."
"Your jacket..."
"Give it back to me tomorrow," he responds as he grabs his bag and heads to the door of the classroom. "It's cold, and it's still a while until you're back in your flat."
I nod.
"Do you know the way back?" he asks.
I laugh. "I do know my way around the academy."
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow." He disappears before I can say anything else.
I stand in the middle of the classroom, somewhat confused by what just happened. We were having a good conversation, and it was even bordering on flirty, but then he just shut it down and ran away when we got close together.
I let out a sigh. I guess I'll probably find out what that's about at some point. I just hope it's not going to make things weird between us in class.