Chapter 4
LOTTIE
The corridor is full of students as Sophia and I make our way from our classroom to the dining hall for lunch. It's noisy enough to drown out the rumbling of my stomach. It's definitely time to eat.
"I'm ready for lessons to start properly," Sophia murmurs as we turn the corner.
"I'd have thought you'd be more excited about the party on Friday night," I say.
She laughs. "Do you know where it is yet?"
I nod. "It's in the secret room behind the statue of the weasel and the owl who are either fighting, or doing something a bit more fun."
She snorts in a very un-princesslike way. But having spent more time with her over the past couple of days, I'm starting to realise that she's not as prim and proper as I'd expect from a princess. Maybe it's the demon in her.
"I know exactly the statue you mean," she responds. "I had no idea there was a secret room behind it."
"They're everywhere, I think."
"Do you think your friend knows all of them?" she asks.
"Hardly. I'm sure Rosewood has many more secrets than the ones he knows. I don't even know how he knows about this one."
"Well, I hope we get a chance to discover more of them. Maybe I should ask my siblings about them too." A thoughtful expression crosses her face.
Even though I know she's not talking about Archie, my mind drifts to him, and I find myself hoping that he's at the party.
The thought is interrupted by a frustrated sigh from Sophia as she spots one of her demon followers heading towards us. "Let's hurry up and get inside," she mutters.
We enter the dining room, and the scent of mass-cooked food fills the air, along with the sounds of hundreds of students chattering away to their friends. Despite there being more people in the room, the sound is dispersed differently and it makes it a lot easier to actually hear myself think.
Sophia waves in someone's direction, and I know who I'm going to find before I turn around. My heart races as I take in her brother. He sees me looking and adds a wave that I know is for me.
"I see you're getting on well," Sophia says with a curious expression.
"He said he'd help me in Art History," I respond.
"Ah, yes. That's his favourite subject," she says. "Maybe we should head over."
"Erm..." I can't come up with a reason not to before she starts heading over there. Mostly because I don't want to have a reason not to go over there.
Sophia pulls out a chair and takes a seat, wrapping her tail around her waist so it's out of the way and isn't at risk of getting stood on by someone passing through. I might have only been at Rosewood for a few days, but I've already seen it happen a couple of times.
I take a seat next to her, lifting my wings so I can drape them over the back of the chair. I could lean on them, it wouldn't damage them, but it would make them stiff when I got up again.
"Oh, it's sandwich day," Sophia says as she looks at the food spread over the table in front of us.
"There are hot dogs," Archie says.
Her face lights up as she spots the platter of them and puts one on her plate.
I wrinkle my nose.
"Not a fan?" Archie asks.
"They're not for me," I respond as I pick up what looks like some kind of chicken salad wrap instead.
"Me neither, but Sophia loves them. Don't tell our parents."
I snort. "You think I'm talking to a demon King and Queen about what their daughter eats?"
He shrugs. "Maybe you've been sent to spy on us." He reaches out with his tail and snags a sandwich of some kind from a plate near the middle of the table.
"I'm not here to spy on you."
"I'm glad to hear it." He grins. "This is Philippe, by the way. I don't know if you've met." He gestures to the minotaur on his right.
I tear my gaze away from the prince in front of me, remembering that I'm supposed to be having a conversation with more than just him. "Hi."
Philippe nods in acknowledgement. "Hi." He goes back to eating his food, and I turn my attention to my own, sneaking a couple of glances at Archie as I do.
"So, any plans for the weekend?" Archie asks.
"I think that'll depend on how I'm feeling after the party on Friday," Sophia says. "You're going, right?" she asks her brother.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss the first party of the year." He looks at me, his gaze lingering a little longer than necessary. "What about you?"
I almost choke on my wrap, not having expected to be pulled into this part of the conversation.
"I hope so, she's how I got the invite," Sophia says before I can answer.
"I'm sure you'd have gotten one without me," I murmur.
She shrugs and goes back to her food, not seeming particularly bothered by whether that's true or not.
"So, the weekend?" Archie asks, looking right at me and ignoring the others at the table.
"I was just going to do some studying," I admit. "I want to make sure I know the basics before classes start."
"Maybe I can join you," Archie says.
Sophia gives me a curious look, but she doesn't say anything. Maybe she didn't expect him to actually keep his word, but I don't think that makes sense.
"Sure, sounds good." I smile at him. "I can meet you in the library at the same spot?" I suggest.
He nods.
"You're not getting my friend into trouble, are you, Archie?" Sophia asks.
"Even if he does, I'm good at not getting caught," I quip.
Archie laughs good-naturedly. "That's my trick too."
"He's not lying," Sophia stage whispers to me. "The list of things he's gotten away with by distracting Mum and Dad has to be a mile long at least."
"Pfft, because you weren't involved in any of them," he throws back at her, reminding me that they're twins in a way that even their physical similarities don't.
"I never said I wasn't," Sophia counters.
My gaze slips back to Archie, and I'm unable to stop thinking about the feeling deep inside that he's more than just a friend or a study partner. But I need to move slowly and make sure I don't get caught up in some magical bond that isn't something I want to control me.
Equally, I don't want to let something that could be good slip through my fingers, which means that I can't avoid him. I just have to try to be careful with my heart.