Chapter Twenty
So, it turned out attending classes was way more entertaining when you’ve got the school’s golden boy as your partner. Once you get over all the confused looks people give you and the way more people suddenly talk to you because you’re sitting beside someone popular.
Aside from studying together, our lunch break and in the corridors, potions class was our other place to talk. Or in our case, play very intense games of noughts and crosses while our professor explained things on the board.
‘I’m going to win,’ the werewolf murmured under his breath, his pencil tapping against the countertop. He was resting his cheek against a closed fist, and his smile reached his eyes. ‘And then you owe me a favour.’
I scoffed and looked down at the game we had going again. I was going to win, I knew it, but Silas couldn’t see it. I didn’t think he would be a sore loser, but he was the kind of guy who really loved winning.
So, I put my nought where it shouldn’t be, and Silas won.
‘All right, all right,’ I sighed, dramatically. ‘What favour do you want?’
Silas’s blue-gold eyes glinted, before he dipped his hand down to rummage through his bag. From there, he pulled out a jersey – more specifically, a jersey with his number and last name on it.
‘I want you to wear this at the next game. It’s our last game before half-term and the festival, and I need my lucky charm there in all her glory,’ Silas said, his smile so genuine it was infectious.
I took the jersey from him, holding the fabric in my hands, and grinned back.
I was playing it cool but inside my head I was letting out the biggest scream.
This was a big deal – his jersey. This felt like a sign things were going right.
All I had left to do was confess my feelings to him.
Tell him the truth about everything that had led to this point.
‘Fine,’ I mock sighed. ‘I’ll wear it. But I won’t like it.’
Silas grinned, like he knew I was lying. He was about to say something else, when we were interrupted.
‘Maya,’ Sofia hissed, and I looked up just in time to see Professor Malt coming towards us.
‘Ms Reverie, Mr Moon. Since you two appear to be whispering so much – answer one question each,’ Professor Malt said, his thin, reedy voice filling the classroom. ‘Give me one property of wolfsbane – not experienced by a werewolf, Ms Reverie.’
Usually that question would’ve made panic swell through me, but Silas and I had actually spent some of our sessions studying.
‘Fatigue,’ I said, calmy, even though Professor Malt’s looming presence was slightly terrifying.
The professor made a reluctant noise of agreement, but then his gaze narrowed on Silas.
‘Now, Mr Moon,’ he began, and collectively, the class winced.
Our potions teacher had never been a fan of Silas, likely because he had taught all of Silas’s older siblings before him, and they’d been a handful. ‘One from you?’
‘Uh, I’m not sure, I only really know the ones that affect us.’
I felt Silas’s leg against my chair, as he gently pushed me closer to Sofia, away from the oncoming verbal massacre.
‘See, Mr Moon, if you spent half as much time studying as whispering to girls during class …’
Everyone stopped paying attention as he went on to lecture Silas, who was staring down at the paper in front of him. All except Sofia, who was watching the exchange with a gaping mouth.
‘This is normal,’ I told her, wincing as Professor Malt’s voice rose. ‘He’s always like this.’
‘But that’s not fair,’ Sofia replied, aghast.
‘Yeah, well, Professor Malt has a vendetta against the Moons, and Maple Falls isn’t exactly brimming with potions professors,’ I remarked, echoing my mother’s words the first time I complained about Professor Malt.
‘Maybe I could talk to Frost – he’s friends with Malt,’ Sofia said, and I felt myself tense. ‘Once he’s back to normal, that is. This week he’s resorted to crying out his feelings – it’s kind of sad, actually.’
Guilt gnawed at me, and Sofia must have seen it on my face, because she was quick to squeeze my arm.
‘Hey, no – you’re doing everything right, OK?
You’re basically ready to cast the spell.
See?’ Sofia said, pushing a paper showing my charms grade out of my folder.
A big fat B sat on top. ‘You’ve been improving. ’
I nodded, trying to find that confidence that swept through me when I got the result in our last class. I was feeling more sure of my magic with every passing lesson I had with Orion, but the doubt was never fully quiet.
‘And things with Silas are going well.’ Sofia’s voice went even quieter, her eyes darting to the werewolf who still had his head down.
‘Yes,’ I said, but then bit my lip. ‘But I am a little worried about telling him the whole soulmate part.’
‘OK,’ Sofia nodded, agreeably. ‘Why not just confess now?’
‘Are you insane? No.’ I shook my head, vehemently. ‘I need somewhere out of school. Not in the library or his house during our study sessions. Somewhere neutral.’
Sofia looked like she wanted to say something, but our conversation was cut short by the loud, whiny voice of Everly Catacomb who was sitting behind me.
I didn’t turn to look at her – our parents had an agreement that we would minimize our interactions after the whole fang incident.
But her voice still rang loud and clear.
‘You have got to be kidding me? They’ve shut Golden Shell Beach down on the same weekend as my birthday bash?’ Everly complained, the pout evident in her tone.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes – Everly’s parties were uber-exclusive, but she sure loved talking about them to anyone who could hear.
‘Yup,’ one of her friends said. ‘Unless you have somewhere else to host the party, you’re going to have to cancel it.’
‘Maya has a place to host the party.’
I stared at Sofia in complete shock. She’d turned away from me to face Everly and her gaggle of friends sitting behind us.
After a beat, I finally risked turning around as well.
Everly, pale, pink-cheeked and dressed entirely in yellow, curled her lip at the sight of me.
Her two fangs seemed to lengthen, and I reminded myself that vampires were not allowed to bite other creatures in Maple Falls.
‘Maya has a place to host the party?’ Everly asked, her voice haughty. ‘Is it somewhere where she goes to mess up spells? Remove vital parts of a person’s face?’
I winced, but Sofia, unperturbed, continued on. ‘Maya has a place you can throw your party. It’s big enough and away from prying eyes.’
The vampires all shared a look, a silent conversation passing between them. I tried to have the same one with Sofia – mainly so I could ask her what she was thinking – but she studiously avoided meeting my eyes.
‘Fine,’ Everly finally said, though she didn’t sound pleased. ‘Maya, I’ll text you the party details, and you send me the venue. And remember, it’s for my party – so if you insist on coming, the venue better be amazing.’
And with that, we were dismissed. We turned back in our seats, and I shot Sofia an incredulous look.
‘A party is neutral, right?’ Sofia whispered at me.
I gave her a puzzled look. ‘You said you wanted to talk to Silas somewhere neutral, and he’s a pretty busy guy.
He has Maple Mart shifts, rugby practice, study sessions with you and he’s popular.
But at a party, you could steal him away for a bit. Talk to him.’
It wasn’t a bad idea, but it did leave me with one particular problem.
‘Please tell me you have a place to host this party?’ I asked, desperately.
Sofia shook her head, and I resisted the urge to scream. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you find a one asap.’
‘I’m going to kill you,’ I told her, and only two per cent of me wasn’t serious in that claim.
But confidence rang out in Sofia’s voice. ‘No, Maya, one day you’re going to thank me.’
‘She’s obviously lost her mind,’ I exclaimed, as I stepped out of the double doors to Maple Falls High, sandwiched between Raven and Sofia. ‘I do not have some secret party venue hidden up my sleeve, and I cannot throw a party at my house. My mother would flip out, or worse, chaperone!’
‘She is standing right here,’ Sofia said, as we walked down the steps to the parking lot. ‘And need I remind you: you were the one who wanted to speak to Silas about your feelings outside school and your study dates. Now you can make your move at a party.’
She wasn’t wrong, but, still, where exactly was I supposed to find a venue? It wasn’t like I had much experience in party planning.
‘OK, let’s say we do find a venue,’ Raven argued, weaving past cars to a parking spot that was empty. ‘What guarantee do we have that Silas even shows up to this party?’
I pointed aggressively at Raven in agreement. ‘Exactly.’
‘Well, I’d say that’s a pretty good guarantee,’ Sofia replied, a sly smirk on her face as she pointed over my shoulder.
I turned around, and my heart immediately started to take flight in my chest. Silas was striding towards us with his books tucked under one arm, looking like something out of a daydream. Eventually, the gap between us was closed and he was stood before the three of us.
‘Hi,’ Silas said, like we hadn’t just spent a whole class together.
‘Hi,’ I echoed back, feeling a grin tug at my mouth. ‘Finally free from Malt?’
Silas rolled his eyes and shook his head. ‘He’s obsessed with me, and it’s actually worrying.’ Amusement twinkled in his eyes. ‘Heard you’re hosting a party.’
I rocked on my heels. ‘News travels fast.’
‘What does a guy have to do to get an invite?’
The feeling of molten lava went down my spine at his voice. It should be a crime to be this attractive. How was a girl supposed to concentrate?
‘Hm,’ I said, faking thought. Silas’s laugh was soft and made my insides warm. ‘Help with the set up?’
‘So you want to put me to work?’ Silas asked.
‘Do you have other uses?’ I questioned, teasingly.
‘I usually bring the drinks to these parties,’ Silas continued, and then seemed to catch himself. ‘The safe stuff. Don’t want anyone going too wild if you get what I mean. I know your mother would … I’m going to stop talking now.’
For the first time, I think I understood what it felt like to be on the other end of a Maya Reverie word-vomit spiel.
‘That … that would be great,’ I said, my cheeks aching with how hard I was smiling.
Silas mirrored it, his chest puffing with excitement. ‘So we’ll meet early then?’
Silas. Freaking. Moon. Wanted to hang out with me. Not to study. Not for good luck. But just to hang out. He’d given me his jersey, and surely that meant something? Something more than just friendly. This had to be a sign. Sofia was right: I needed to confess my feelings to him at this party.
‘We’ll meet early,’ I replied, and I scurried about for things to ask him, just to keep him talking to me, when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
It felt like I was being doused in cold water when I stepped out of Silas’s orbit. I twisted around to see Raven and Sofia were now sitting in a car.
A car I recognized.
And its owner was leaning languidly against its hood, waiting.
‘Sorry to break this up,’ Orion said, though he didn’t sound very apologetic. ‘But I’ve got the car running, Maya.’
Seriously. Could he not see the sparks flying between Silas and I right now?
‘I didn’t even know you were picking me up,’ I sniped.
‘Raven asked,’ Orion said shortly, and his gaze was flinty. ‘Let’s go.’
I bristled at the order. He was Raven’s brother, not mine.
I wanted to retort but, behind me, Silas coughed.
I turned around to apologize for Orion’s brutish behaviour, but the werewolf stepped around me, sticking out a hand for Orion to shake.
The dragon shifter looked at it like Silas had offered him a wet fish to hold.
I glared daggers at Orion, waiting for him to stop being such a jerk.
As the moment stretched, Silas dropped his hand but soldiered on. ‘Silas Moon,’ he introduced himself. ‘It’s so nice to meet Maya’s brother.’
My ears perked up at the hard edge to his tone. I’d never heard anything more than softness or laughter in Silas’s voice before. I watched the encounter unfold from the sidelines, not entirely sure what was going on.
Orion’s gaze narrowed on him, and I suddenly felt a charge run through the air. ‘I’m not her brother. Reverie’s a witch, you know.’
I mean, he was right. You’d have to be a sightless faerie to not notice Orion and I were clearly not related.
‘Right, sorry,’ Silas replied, like he’d known that all along. ‘I just assumed you know, with your whole overprotective vibe … Either way, nice to meet you …’ he trailed off.
‘Orion.’
Silas clicked his fingers. ‘Orion, I’ll try to remember that,’ he said, but it sounded like it was the last thing on his long list of things to do.
Then he turned back to me. His attention felt like the morning sun grazing the dew-dappled grass.
‘Maya.’ Even my name sounded nicer in his voice. ‘Text me later, yeah?’
I nodded, and the smile on my lips lingered until Silas was a safe distance away. Once he was out of sight, I turned to Orion, fury coursing through me.
‘Have you lost your mind?’ I demanded. From behind him, Sofia and Raven watched the two of us like we were in a tennis match. ‘That’s Silas Moon, remember?’
‘I remember,’ Orion said, disinterestedly.
‘Seriously, what were you thinking? You’re supposed to be helping me,’ I exclaimed.
He pushed himself up and off the car, stepping closer. He glanced over my shoulder, and a smug smirk played over his mouth.
‘He needed a little competition. I promise you, Maya, he’s going to be a hundred times more interested now, trust me. He’s already looked back twice.’
I stared at him, my mouth gaping like a fish. Because surely, surely, Orion wasn’t suggesting Silas was going to be jealous … over him.
‘What were two talking about anyway?’ Orion continued, as if nothing had just happened.
The reminder of our conversation brought my dilemma back to the forefront of my mind. I had to find a venue. It wasn’t negotiable. My burgeoning love story with Silas depended on it.
Places where I could throw the party buzzed through my mind but were all quickly discarded. I needed somewhere no one would report back to my mother. Somewhere that would impress everyone.
Sofia’s voice floated through my head: Orion always seems to be there when you need him.
I looked up at him, desperation plastered all over my face.
‘What?’ Orion asked, with an edge to his voice, like he already knew I was going to ask him something he’d hate.
‘Don’t say no,’ I coaxed. ‘But I need to host a party, and I need you to help me find a venue.’
I waited for him to shut me down. But, instead, he started to smile.
Not his regular smile. Not his smirk. But that slow, sweet spread of something a little roguish.
‘Not to worry, Reverie,’ Orion said, his jewelled eyes glinting. ‘I know just the place.’