Chapter 2
ARCHIE
I pass the door to the library and feel a tug deep within me that says I need to head inside.
The feeling isn't one I've ever experienced at the demon court, but there's no ignoring it.
Intrigued about what's causing it, and thinking I have an idea, I step inside.
It's quiet, but that's to be expected considering it's the first day and we haven't even had the welcome party for new students yet.
Most people aren't worried about anything even close to studying yet.
But not her.
My gaze immediately lands on the dark-haired fairy leaning over a book and with an adorable look of concentration on her face.
Her hair falls over her face, but doesn't hide the two antennae that bob over her forehead as she breathes, and her dark brown pattered wings flutter slightly. She's enchanting.
Mate.
I swallow hard. The word springs to mind, stronger and louder than I ever expected. The force of it makes me freeze, unable to do anything other than look at her.
My older siblings have told me about the reaction I might have to a potential mate bond before, but I didn't expect it to be so immediate, especially when I don't know anything about the person I'm looking at.
But every fibre of my being makes me want to change that.
It'll be hard to hold back from acting on the voice inside me, but I have no idea if she's having the same reaction.
Some species are more likely to recognise a potential mate bond than others, but it varies by individual anyway.
I head towards her without feeling like I have any control over what I'm doing.
She looks up before I even get to her, revealing dark brown eyes that seem as if they're able to see something in me that I haven't said out loud.
"Hey," I say.
She clears her throat. "Hi." Her voice comes out a little breathily, making me hope that she's had the same reaction as I have.
"I'm Archie," I say, remembering that I need to introduce myself.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, drawing attention to the antennae there. It bobs as she moves her head. "Lottie," she responds.
I lean against the wall next to her, trying to come across as if I'm not constantly thinking the word mate over and over again. I use my tail to rearrange my jacket, which seems to draw her attention to it. Feeling like a bit of mischief, I wave at her with my tail.
She swallows hard and looks away. "Sorry."
"You don't have anything to apologise for," I say. "So, you like tails?"
"I've never really known anyone with one," she admits.
"Ah, well, you're welcome to stare at my tail, but I wouldn't advise doing it in general. Some people can be self-conscious about them."
A blush reaches her cheeks. "I should have thought about that."
I shrug. "I like my tail." I wave at her with it again.
The expression on her face is impossible to ignore, and all it does is make the echo of the word mate get louder. I'm glad she hasn't touched me, because it would be impossible to ignore the word otherwise.
"So, you're a demon," she says, looking me over.
I raise an eyebrow. "Good spot."
"One of my new flatmates is a demon."
"Ah. Well, yes. Here I am. Horns, tail, flame," I say, gesturing to my head where two small purple horns poke through my hair, and waving my tail again.
"Better than fairy wings," she responds.
"Your wings are beautiful. What type are they?"
"Emperor moth," she responds, stretching out her wings, presumably to give me a better look.
They don't look exactly like a replica of a moth's wings.
Instead of four wings, she just has two, attached to her shoulder blades, higher up than either of my wings sprout from my back when I call on them.
The top of her wings starts dark brown, and fades down until they're more of a burnt orange colour, with a series of black and brown eyes in a line down each edge of her wings.
"They're beautiful," I whisper without meaning to. I want to reach out and touch them, partly so that I can be close to her, but also because they are beautiful.
"Thanks." She snaps them shut. "So, the fire? Can you make it?"
"I can." I have no idea what she's getting at, but I'm interested to find out.
"Maybe you'll have to show me sometime. I'm sure you've heard what they say about moths being drawn to flames."
My heart constricts at her response, and the implication of what it could mean. "I guess I should do this, then." I click my fingers and summon a flickering flame.
Someone clears their throat, and I turn around to find a tall woman dressed in black and with a rather unimpressed expression on her face. "Not around the books, Your Highness," she says in a tone that makes it clear that I'm not exempt from the rules just because I'm a prince.
"Sorry." I let the flames subside.
She nods once and turns to walk away, but not without giving me the impression that she's going to be keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't do anything like it again.
I turn back to Lottie, finding her eyes wide. "You're a prince?"
"Oh, erm. Yes."
Understanding dawns on her. "You're Sophia's brother."
I chuckle. "Let's guess, your demon flatmate is my twin sister?"
She nods.
"Then you know that we're just normal people here." That's a relief, at least. It's never good to have the by the way, I'm royalty talk.
"Sure, normal."
"I'm serious. I'm just Archie," I promise.
"Just Archie," she repeats. "I've never spent any time with royalty before. It's going to take some getting used to."
"Don't think of me as royalty," I say quickly, pleased that she seems to have assumed we're going to spend more time with one another.
"And how is that going to work for me if I end up at the demon court?" she asks, a hint of a tease in her voice.
"Do you have any intention of going there?"
"How should I know? Maybe that's exactly where I'm going to end up." She brushes some of her hair away from her face, drawing my attention with every movement.
I swallow hard. If she can sense our potential mate bond, then her comment is somewhat indicative of her openness to it. Or she could just be flirting with me. Either of the options is good as far as I'm concerned.
The librarian comes back into view, seemingly checking that I'm behaving and not making more flames.
The woman gives me an unimpressed look, and I hold up my hands to prove that I'm not making any fire. She doesn't seem convinced, but moves on.
Lottie's whole face is alight with laughter, and it causes something within me to tighten.
"It seems as if I've gained the enmity of the librarian," I muse.
"If you're not careful, you're going to end up banned."
"It wouldn't be the first time." I grin and lean against the wall beside her.
"That you've been banned from somewhere, or specifically a library?" she asks curiously.
"Would you believe me if I said both?"
"Considering I barely know you, I don't see why I wouldn't believe you," she counters. "Maybe if I knew more..."
"That can be arranged." I reach for one of the spare chairs and pull it up to sit beside her.
"Don't you have better things to do than sit in the library and talk to me?" There's a genuine hesitance in her voice, like she doesn't believe that I want to.
"I'm enjoying your company," I promise. "And I did come into the library."
“Then threatened to burn the place down."
"I do not burn books," I say firmly. "I like books."
She raises an eyebrow.
"You don't believe me."
"I still don't know anything about you," she points out. "Do you really like to read?"
"Yes. I like books about art history," I admit.
"We have a good collection of paintings at the palace, and I was always asking my older brother about them.
At some point, he got annoyed with me and gave me a book about it.
After that, he showed me the palace library and told me to ask my questions there. "
She laughs, making her antennae bounce in a way that makes her look cuter than she already did. "That's true brother energy."
"Oh yeah. But I don't mind. I was able to find out a lot of information I wouldn't have otherwise known to look for."
"Huh, so you're good at art history?"
"I'd like to think so."
"I suck at it," she admits. "I'm taking it this term, and I'm dreading it."
"Why are you taking it if it isn't your subject?
" I lean forward, only to remind myself that I need to make sure to leave enough distance between us.
There's a part of me that wants to pull her close enough to kiss her, but I know that I can't. Or at least, that doing so will end up ruining my chances with her.
She sighs, an unhappy expression on her face. "My parents aren't happy that I've come to Rosewood. So I'm here on a scholarship."
I raise an eyebrow. "There isn't a better academy out there."
"I know that. But they didn't want me to do further education at all."
"Oh. Wow."
"So, yeah. I've got a partial scholarship, so I have to focus on my grades." She tapped the book in front of her. "And Art History is a lesser evil."
I snort. "It's not that bad."
"Easy for you to say, you like the subject."
"True." I pause for a moment. "I'm sorry that your parents aren't being supportive."
"Don't be. I'm here now, and I'm going to make the most of it. I'm taking general classes this year, but then I'll specialise."
"What in?" I ask.
"Shouldn't you be able to tell with your magic?"
I laugh. "I'm afraid not. I might learn it in Divination."
"I don't think that's what Divination is about," she counters.
"I'll tell you when I have my first class. But I can foresee something I can help you with." I need to get to know her better before the mate bond becomes too strong to ignore, and that means spending time with her. The only problem is that it already feels stronger than it was before.
"Oh?"
"Well, I know a lot about Art History. Maybe we can sit next to each other in class."
It's almost too small to see, but her wings twitch in response to my suggestion.
"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be a distraction in class, rather than a help?" The expression on her face suggests she's not against the suggestion, even if she's asking the questions.
"Demon's honour. I'll be helpful," I promise, crossing my tail over my heart. Her gaze tracks every movement. I don't know what it is about my tail that's caught her attention, but I like it.
"Is that a real thing?" she asks curiously.
"It is now. And didn't you hear? I'm demon royalty, that puts me in charge of things like this."
"A likely story."
"Ah, you see right through me," I joke.
The way she smiles at me sends my insides into a spin. There's definitely something about her, and I might have to admit that the voice whispering mate in my ear is at least a little right.