Chapter 5
LOTTIE
I smooth down the fabric of my dress as the two of us head down the corridor towards the statue of the weasel and the owl, with our other two flatmates following behind us.
I haven't spent as much time with Anja and Nati as I have with the demon princess, but they seem nice, and I'm sure that will change over the next year.
We're going to be spending a lot of time together.
Sophia frowns as the statue comes into view. "I really can't tell what they're supposed to be doing."
"Me neither," I respond. "And I don't know enough about the anatomy of either animal to even be able to guess."
She snorts. "Fair enough. How do we get inside?"
I take a deep breath and step towards the wall, searching for the small symbol Drake told me was here.
This would be a lot simpler if we weren't using a secret room in the academy to party in, but I imagine that this is the best way to stay out of the eager eyes of the professors at Rosewood.
Despite the fact that we're all adults, the rules are strict.
I trace my fingers over the symbol, worrying that it won't work, especially when it's so simple compared to all the ways I could imagine opening a secret passageway. Maybe it'll be different if I get to visit another one.
The stone grates as it slides back and reveals nothing but darkness. As my senses adjust, the light and noise of the party seeps out of the passageway, confirming that we're in the right place.
I'm a little nervous as I step through the entrance, following the sound until I reach a surprisingly large room.
There's a table with cups and drinks set up in the corner, in a very Drake-like way.
His family have always been well-off, and he's the generous type.
Music comes through some kind of sound system, and there are already people dancing.
"I love this song!" Sophia says happily.
"It's a good one," I agree.
"Oh, and I see Cyra, I'm going to go say hi and see if she wants to dance," Sophia says.
I search in the direction she's talking about, but I can't see the hellhound she's talking about. But there is a demon I don't recognise who she seems to be sneaking looks at.
"I thought I'd get a drink first," I say, assuming that she's checking because she wants to talk to the demon on her own.
"I'll come find you in a bit." She heads over to the dance floor, already swaying back and forth in time with the music. She's nothing like I'd expect from a princess, but she's a breath of fresh air.
The demon I noticed heads towards her, suggesting that I guessed the situation right. She hasn't said anything about him, but I'm sure she will at some point.
I head over to the drinks table, not entirely surprised to find Drake there.
"Hey, Lottie," he says brightly as I get to the table.
"Hi. I'm impressed by your party-throwing skills. We've not even been at the academy for a week."
He laughs. "I can't claim all the credit, it's a joint effort with my flatmates. And my cousin came here and gave me all of his secrets."
"That seems like it's an advantage."
"True. Want some sparkling wine?" he asks. "It's the good stuff."
"At a student party?"
"I get it at wholesale," he responds. "Might as well drink the good stuff."
"Sure."
He grabs a paper cup and pops the cork off a bottle of sparkling wine, filling it up. "My dad would be horrified to learn I'm serving it like this," he says as he hands me the cup.
I laugh. "Better a paper cup than glass on the dance floor."
"Exactly. You get me, Lottie." He smiles. "Enjoy the party, and let me know if you need anything."
I take his dismissal as what it is and start to make my way around the room, searching for Sophia amongst the guests.
Except that she's not the first demon I see. Archie is leaning against a wall, his gaze seeming to be fixed on me while his tail flicks. It's hard to figure out exactly what that means, but my feet take me over to him, so I'm about to find out.
"Hey," he says.
"Hi," I respond.
"So, you know the host?" There's a curious note in his voice that it takes a moment for me to process.
"Jealous?" The word slips out without me meaning it to, but his reaction tells me everything. I'm not going to ask about it, but I suspect that I'm not the only one feeling the word mate when we were in the same vicinity.
"I don't think I should answer that." The look he gives me leaves no doubt of what he's thinking.
"I used to work at Drake's family's restaurant," I explain. "We're just friends."
"Ah."
"There's never been anything between us," I say quickly.
"I didn't think otherwise." He flashes me a smile.
I raise an eyebrow.
"Okay, I had a brief moment of wondering whether you might be dating."
"Definitely not," I respond, meeting his gaze. There's something captivating about his eyes and the way they see me. It's part of what keeps pulling me towards him. I break the connection and take a sip of my wine, enjoying the taste and the bubbles. "I could drink too much of this."
He laughs. "It's a party, isn't that the point?"
"Maybe, but I should still be sensible." It wouldn't be the best idea to let the alcohol go to my head. I'm not a huge drinker, only really doing it in social situations.
"I guess that depends on whether you need to get up for anything in the morning," Archie says with a cheeky grin.
"I don't. But that doesn't mean I want a bad hangover."
"Hmm. That might be unavoidable," he jokes, taking a sip of his own drink.
"Maybe. But I'm enjoying the company without needing to drink much." I gesture to the sofa a couple of feet away. I'm not sure what students decked out the room like this, or what it was that made them do it, but I'm grateful for them.
"Same." He takes a seat.
I sit beside him, a little closer than I need to. Then again, there's a lot of noise around us, and I want to actually be able to hear him.
"How's your first week been?" he asks. "Everything you want it to be?"
"I think so," I respond. "It's hard to say when all of the lectures have been some kind of variation of here's what we're going to teach you."
He laughs. "It'll get better," he promises.
"I assume so. How about you?" I move closer so that I can hear him better.
"I feel normal."
"Is that good?"
He lets out a sigh. "It's better than good," he responds. "The demon court is a little chaotic, but everyone there knows I'm a prince."
"Everyone here knows that too," I point out.
"It's different," he says. "It feels like people actually want to get to know me, rather than friending up to a prince."
"I hope you know I'm not even thinking like that."
He meets my gaze, and I see something surprisingly earnest in his eyes. "I know, Lottie."
I lift my hand, wanting to reach out to touch him, but stop myself before I can.
He sees what I'm doing, and his tail sneaks between us, brushing against my hand. I suck in a deep breath, unable to put words to how intimate the gesture feels. I've seen him use his tail as if it's an extra hand several times, and I think that makes it clear that this isn't some accidental touch.
"Ah, there you are," Philippe's voice cuts through the moment, interrupting us before we can do anything close to talking about the touch.
Annoyance flits through Archie's eyes, but he covers it quickly. "What's up?" he asks his friend.
"We're about to start a game, and we need a fourth player."
Archie looks at me, but I can tell that he doesn't know what to say.
"I should go find Sophia anyway," I say. "I promised her I would after I got a drink."
He nods. "She's probably made ten more friends."
"She does seem to have that ability." I smile as I think about the princess who is my friend. We both get to our feet, neither of us actually moving away from one another, even if Philippe is standing just a few feet away.
"Are you still planning on going to the library tomorrow?" he asks, leaning in a little closer than he has to. While his tail isn't touching me, it's arched around, creating a little bubble where no one else is.
"After lunch?" I check.
"Or we can meet in the dining hall," he suggests. "Eat, then study."
"All right, I'll see you then."
His smile makes me want to ask him to stay, but Philippe is getting a little impatient. It's probably a good thing for him to go. Considering how things are already going, I might be tempted to ignore the reasons for me not to act on the mate situation once I've had a bit more wine.
"Your timing sucks," Archie tells his friend, only just loud enough to hear.
"What timing?" Philippe asks, gesturing for Archie to follow him over to wherever they're playing a game.
Archie pauses and turns, waving at me with his hand and his tail at the same time.
I smile and return the wave, realising as I do that I'm looking forward to studying tomorrow more than I expect.