4. Quill
Quill
“Have you seen that dragon guy around campus?” Greg asked me as we ran the course. He was hardly winded after mile two while I was fighting for my fucking life. “Everyone’s talking about him.”
I let out a long sigh. Or as close to a long one as I could manage while also trying to breathe. “Yeah, I have a class with him.”
“What?!” Greg glanced my way. “That’s awesome! What’s he like?”
“He’s a dick.”
Greg’s jaw fell open. “You… You can’t say that, Quill! His grandfather is leading the Elder Council!”
“I can and I will,” I huffed, shooting him a sideways glance. “The guy’s full of himself. He expects everyone to bend over backwards for him just because of who he is.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“But nothing,” I said, pushing harder as we rounded a bend in the trail. The pine trees blurred past us, their needles soft beneath my feet. “Just because his grandfather is important doesn’t mean he gets to be an asshole to everyone he meets.”
“What did he do?” Greg asked, and I could hear the genuine curiosity in his voice.
“He literally ran into me after Magical Theory and didn’t even apologize. Just smiled at me like it was funny that my books went flying everywhere.”
“Maybe he didn’t realize—”
“He knew,” I said flatly. “He looked right at me and called me some stupid nickname, then he gave me this patronizing pat on the shoulder like I was some sort of idiot.”
Greg was quiet for a moment, his breathing steady and even while mine was still ragged. “I mean... maybe he was just trying to be friendly?”
“Friendly would be saying ‘sorry’ or ‘excuse me,’” I said. “Friendly would be helping me pick up my books instead of just walking away with some stupid grin.”
We hit mile three, and I felt that familiar burn start to creep back into my legs. Usually by this point I could push through it, but today the frustration from this conversation was making it harder. Everyone on campus was talking about this dragon and I just didn’t want to hear about it anymore.
“Did you tell him off?” Greg asked.
“No. I had better things to do.” I shouldn’t have let him get the last word like that.
I should have said something sharp, something that would’ve wiped that smug expression off his scaled face.
But instead I’d just stood there like an idiot while he strutted away like he owned the entire campus. I wouldn’t let that happen again.
We rounded the final stretch of the course, and I could see the stone marker coming into view. My legs were screaming now, but I pushed anyway, channeling all my irritation into raw speed. Greg kept pace with me effortlessly. Fucking Greg.
“So… are you going to the big start of the year party this weekend?” he asked, blissfully changing the subject.
“Probably not,” I grumbled, stopping as we passed the finish line and turning my head toward the sky. I took a few deep breaths. “I don’t have time for that stuff.”
“You can’t be swamped with homework after the first week,” he retorted. “Come on. The whole team is gonna be there. You never come out to this kind of stuff with us! What’s the point of being in college if you’re not going to have fun?”
“I’m here to learn,” I sighed. “Why does everyone think that’s such a weird thing to do?”
Greg laughed, but there was an edge to it. “Fun and learning aren’t mutually exclusive, you know. Most people manage to do both.”
“Most people don’t have a business to take over the moment they graduate.
They’re just skating by until that trust fund kicks in,” I shot back, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
“Look, I appreciate the invite, but I’ve got enough going on right now. Between classes and running and—”
“And brooding about some dragon who probably doesn’t even know your name?”
I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it again. Greg had a point, even if I didn’t want to admit it. The truth was, I was letting this whole thing get under my skin way more than it deserved to. One asshole in my class wasn’t worth this much mental energy.
“I’m not brooding,” I said finally, starting to walk back toward the athletic center. “I’m just focused.”
“You’re always focused,” Greg said, falling into step beside me. “That’s kind of your whole thing. But focus doesn’t mean you can’t have fun sometimes, you know?”
I didn’t respond. What was I supposed to say?
That I was still living on edge all the time?
That between everything that had happened with the Purity Front and the constant reminders that danger was real and close, the idea of just...
relaxing at a party felt impossible? That every time I tried to have fun, I kept thinking about Xavier and his parents and whether there were people I trusted who were secretly harboring hate?
“Just think about it,” Greg said as we approached the locker room doors. “The party’s Saturday night. No pressure. But it would be cool to have you there.”
“I’ll consider it,” I lied, already knowing I wouldn’t go.
I peeled off from Greg and headed into the locker room, grateful for the excuse to end the conversation.
My muscles ached in that good, post-run way, but my mind was still spinning.
I grabbed my towel from my locker and headed for the showers, hoping the hot water would wash away not just the sweat and dirt, but also this irritating preoccupation with that stupid dragon that I’d have to see three times a week for the rest of the semester.
And probably other places around campus too, given that he seemed determined to make an appearance everywhere and make sure everyone knew he was here.
I stood under the spray, letting it beat down on my shoulders, and tried to focus on something more productive.
Advanced Potion Making was going extremely well.
Professor Borago had actually complimented my work on the first day of class.
That was a good sign too because my family’s entire business hinged on potion mixing.
And I was hoping, with enough study, that I could slowly bring that business into the twenty-first century once I took over.
By the time I finished showering and got back to my dorm, I was feeling slightly more centered.
I had homework to do. I had reading to complete.
I had a full life that didn’t involve thinking about Aeron Pyre and his stupid, scaled face and the way he’d smiled like he’d found something amusing in my anger.
I pushed open my dorm room door and immediately regretted it.
Lysander was sprawled across his bed with not one, but two other people.
A shirtless werewolf with dark skin and tattoos covered most of his muscular chest, and a lithe human man with blonde hair who was laughing at something Lysander had just said, his hand down the front of Lysander’s pants.
They all looked up when I entered, and Lysander’s face broke into a grin.
“Oh perfect! Quill! Come join us!”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” I said flatly, heading straight for my desk. “I have homework.”
“It’s Friday!” the werewolf protested, sitting up slightly. He had a deep voice that rumbled like distant thunder. “Nobody assigns homework for the first weekend!”
“Yes they do,” I said, pulling out my textbooks and deliberately turning my back to them. “And you three should probably go find somewhere else to do… whatever this is.”
“Come on, man,” the blonde guy said, his tone playful. “You’re gonna spend your whole first weekend locked in your room? That’s depressing.”
“I’m not locked in my room,” I said, opening my Potion Making textbook with perhaps more force than necessary. “I’m being productive.”
“Productivity is so boring,” Lysander sang, and I could hear the smile in his voice without even looking at him. “Besides, we’re just hanging out. Very innocent. Very platonic.”
“That guy literally has his hand on your dick,” I said flatly, still not turning around.
There was a pause, then the werewolf let out a low laugh. “Hey! I wanted to play with it first!”
“Fine, we’ll go,” Lysander said, and I heard rustling sounds as they started gathering themselves. “But Quill, you’re missing out on the best part of college.”
“The best part is getting my degree,” I muttered, pretending to read the same paragraph for the third time. “And I plan to make sure I get it.”
“C’s get degrees, my friend,” Lysander said. I could hear the grin in his voice. “Besides, I doubt you’re gonna learn anything here that’s useful out in the real world.”
“We’ll never know if I don’t study,” I shot back. “Now please, leave me alone.”
The door closed behind them with a soft click, and I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.
I turned back to my textbook, but my concentration was shot.
All I could think about was the fact that my roommate was apparently the type of person who could just...
existed in a state of constant sexual availability, while I was over here trying to figure out the molecular structure of powdered moonstone.
I didn’t want to admit that a part of me was jealous.
My sexual exploits in college were limited to just one mistake I made back in freshman year.
I gave a senior I’d been seeing for nearly a week a blowjob and the next day he pretended not to know who I was.
Either he was using me or I was really just that truly bad at blowjobs.
I hoped it wasn’t the latter. But it left a bad taste in my mouth nonetheless, so I hadn’t bothered to get involved with anyone since.
I read the same paragraph four times before giving up.
Instead, I pulled out my notebook and started working through the practice problems Professor Borago had assigned.
At least with potion theory, there were right answers.
Clear, definitive, measurable results. Not like people, who were messy and unpredictable and full of surprises you didn’t want.
Like dragons who thought they could just run you over and not even apologize for it.
I found myself clenching my jaw again and forced myself to relax.
This was stupid. I was letting this stupid guy get to me, just like Greg had said.
But Aeron Pyre didn’t matter. He was just some dragon who’d probably never had to work for anything in his life.
He’d coast through this semester on his family name and his lineage, and then go back to whatever privileged existence he came from.
Meanwhile, I’d be here actually trying to build something.
By the time midnight rolled around, I’d finished most of my weekend homework and was feeling reasonably accomplished.
My shoulders were sore from the run, my eyes were tired from reading, and I was ready to crash.
I changed into pajamas and collapsed onto my bed, grateful for the quiet that Lysander’s absence had provided.
But there in the dark, my mind started to wander once more.
I thought about Greg and Lysander and those two guys in his bed.
Clearly all of them were having a much better time than I was here at Widdershins.
A small voice in my head, the one that had been silenced until now, tried to reason with me.
My homework for next week was done, I had everything in order, and I’d even have all of Saturday and Sunday during the day to put extra work in if I wanted.
So… maybe going to that party wasn’t such a bad idea?
No. I was not going to that party. That was the kind of thinking that got people into trouble, and the world was already in enough trouble without adding more to the pot.
Besides, what would I even do there? Stand around nursing a drink while everyone else paired off and got lost in each other?
Watch Lysander work the room like he owned it while I stood in the corner like some kind of social pariah?
I rolled over in bed, punching my pillow into a more comfortable shape.
The problem with my brain was that it never knew when to shut up.
Even when I’d made a decision, it kept circling back, kept offering up alternatives, kept suggesting that maybe I was being too rigid, too controlled, too much of a stick in the mud.
That was probably true, if I was being honest with myself. But honest or not, I wasn’t changing my mind about the party. I couldn’t. Besides, Aeron Pyre would probably be there.
The voice offered another though. What if he was? It might be a good place to publicly humiliate him.
I felt my lips pull into a soft smile. That would be delicious, making that dragon squirm in front of everyone.
Show them that the Elder Council leader’s grandson was nothing more than an over-inflated asshole.
Then maybe he’d stop being such an insufferable dick.
At the very least, it would make me feel better, and I could stop thinking about him calling me ‘Red’ over and over again.
I snuggled into my pillow, the smile still on my face.
Tomorrow I was going to a party.