Chapter 12
Ellie
“Hey, Reid, is this right?” From my spot on the cold, gray sitting room floor, I spin my paper toward him. Normally, a man wouldn’t be allowed in the women’s dorms, but as he said the day we met, “Frowns don’t stop him.” So far, he hasn’t been caught.
He drops his pen on the table, skimming the page as he leans back in the purple armchair. “No, it’s not. That would adjust the temperature, not the pressure.” He grabs a spare sheet and quickly sketches a focal. “That’s what you’re looking for. See the difference?”
I scan the drawing, searching for differences from what I described in my essay.
They seem insignificant, but I trust he’s right.
It’s become clear over the last few weeks that he has a better understanding of the theory behind incantation than I ever will.
It makes sense—he taught himself all on his own, while I had my father’s guidance and countless tutors. Not that I’ll ever admit that to him.
With a sigh, I pull out a new piece of paper. Professor Dewey won’t accept any mistakes in our penmanship, and unfortunately, no incantation can erase ink. Evaporation still leaves the pigment behind.
A slam of the door startles me, messing up the word I was writing. I bite my lip in frustration, then let out a deep breath. By Fortune’s favor, I was only a couple sentences into my second attempt.
“Arandur’s sagging crack!” Reid throws his pen onto the table. His paper, almost entirely full, is marred by a shaky stray line right at the end. “Why are you slamming doors like that? Now I have to start this whole page all over.”
He sits back in his chair, crosses his arms, and glowers at Sophie. She stands at the door with her bag halfway falling out of her arms.
“You’re not supposed to be here.” She adjusts her grip on her bag, frowning at Reid.
“You’re one to talk. How are those remedial classes treating you?”
My throat tightens. Reid’s spent enough time with Alexis and me to be aware of the situation with Sophie, but I never expected him to actually say something. I should speak up before things get out of hand.
“Don’t be a jerk,” I say, tapping the table near Reid’s knee in warning, but all it accomplishes is drawing Sophie’s glare.
“I don’t need you pretending to stick up for me,” she says.
It’s like a thread snaps. “And I don’t need you making me feel bad for being who I am.” Where did that come from? But the words are out, bursting free like a thought I never dared speak out loud. “You’re not worth my time.”
Instead of regret, a reassuring glow warms my heart.
Reid whistles. “Damn, Ellie.”
Sophie’s nostrils flare, her grip on her bag tightening.
My paper erupts in flames.
I throw myself back as Reid yells a curse. In an instant, water floods the table as we both use the same incantation to extinguish the blaze. Smoke singes my nostrils, the tabletop marred black beneath the soggy remains of our work.
Arandur’s knickers. My eyes verge on popping out of my skull as I turn to Sophie. “Since when can you incant without speaking?”
She lifts her chin, straightening up. “Looks like you’re not so special after all.” With a sharp turn, she struts to her room, the door slamming behind her.
Not worth my time. My breathing settles, and we spend the next few minutes grumbling through some evaporation incantations until everything’s dry. Despite that, I’m feeling taller than ever. I may have made our relationship worse, but I stood up to her. And Reid seemed impressed.
He sits back down, pulling out a new page. I have no desire to start my wind incanting assignment for the third time in less than half a bell, so I switch to writing a paper for my tactics class: The Dangers of Fae Interrogation.
It’s a subject similar to curses in that it’s not something we’re ever likely to encounter, unless they invade again and we start taking prisoners.
Even then, it’s a job for specialists. The most important points are how incredibly alluring fae are, which can lead to lapses in judgment from their interrogators, and that fae can’t lie, but excel at twisting the truth.
A bell later, Reid and I are stretching our fingers when Alexis arrives, giving us an excuse to take a break.
I wouldn’t consider us particularly good friends yet, with her mostly focusing on Reid when we’re together, but her easygoing nature sometimes makes it feel like we are.
I shift my position on the floor as she lounges on the settee, gesturing animatedly while chatting about her day.
“And did you hear they found some fae sneaking around the border?” She sits up, her elbow digging into the armrest. “Everyone’s talking about it.”
My stomach tightens. “What? Were they attacking? Is the Order—”
“Relax, hun,” Alexis says, glancing briefly at me as she waves her hand. “The rumors are all over the place. No one agrees on if they were coming or going, if they escaped, were killed, or taken prisoner.”
“But… it could mean war’s coming.”
While many of our fellows, Alexis and Sophie included, have dreamed of vengeance for family members killed or disabled in battle, none of us truly understand living under the shadow of never-ending bloodshed.
The fae may never stop being the enemy, but I’d rather they stay on their side of the border, never to be seen again.
“No one ever expected this peace to last,” Alexis says, relaxing into the settee’s cushions. “And it’d be a letdown to have spent all this time studying incanting and never actually fight.”
Reid scratches at the embroidery on his armrest. “I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have to. I just liked the challenge of it—being able to do something no one else could.”
“Well that’s silly. You may be advanced now, but by the time we’re in the Order, the rest of us will have caught up.”
Unlikely. If that were true, my father wouldn’t have had reason to make me practice so hard.
Reid presses his lips together, focusing on a thread he pulled loose. I’d never have guessed he didn’t actually want to fight, that I wasn’t the only one with doubts. If only there was something I could say to let him know he’s not alone. Something not too sentimental, something—
“Oh!” Alexis exclaims, jolting me out of my thoughts. “You’ll never guess what! Oliver, the one with the dimples I was telling you about, he pulled me aside after class and asked if I’d go to the ball with him!” She squeals excitedly.
My brows knit together. “What ball?” Something tells me I should know what this is, but I don’t.
“Oh, honey, you need to spend less time studying. The Equinox Ball, of course!”
I glance at Reid.
“They do it every year. It’s a big celebration.” He twirls his finger in a lazy gesture. “The third years have a competition to decorate the grounds—everyone in Haven comes to see it. But only Academy students and their guests get to attend the ball.”
Alexis leans closer, nudging my shoulder. “You should see if Caeo will take you.”
“Hmm?” I didn’t catch what she said.
But instead of clarifying, she claps her hands on her thighs. “And we can go buy new dresses! It’ll be so nice to wear something other than these drab uniforms for once.”
My palms grow clammy at the thought of an outing with only her. Without Reid around, I’ll have to keep up with conversation all by myself. So I give the first excuse to come to mind. “It seems wasteful to buy a new dress only for one night.”
“Oh, it is,” Reid says. “That’s why they make them quickly and sell them for cheap. Which is great for when everyone rips them off in the throes of passion when they get back to their rooms.”
“What?” My eyes widen as my stomach drops.
“Don’t act so scandalized. What’d you expect after a night of drinking and dancing, in a school packed with young people? This isn’t high society with its arranged marriages and debutante balls.”
Alexis leans toward me conspiratorially. “They say the effect incanting has that drains all the color also drains any life from our wombs. So we have nothing to worry about!”
That’s disturbing. Though, now that I think of it, that could be why I don’t have any siblings, knowing how much my father incants. And it’s not the sort of topic my tutors would’ve brought up.
But they should have. I always hoped to have children of my own someday; I like to think I wouldn’t struggle so much to connect with them.
If incanting might hinder that… I shake away the worry as my stomach flutters.
That’s a future problem. Until then, there’s always a chance I could enjoy that side effect. Maybe even tomorrow.
“I hope you have fun with that,” I say, blushing furiously as I pack my things into my bag.
Alexis grabs my wrist. “Come dress shopping with me. Please? It’ll be fun. There’s so much we could do with you.”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t you want to wear something with color? Just for one night?”
It’s like she knew exactly which thread to pull. She squeals with delight when I finally agree.
* * *
A rainbow of dresses hangs from racks haphazardly shoved into the crowded dress shop.
The floral perfume of oil lamps saturates the air—it’s surprisingly well lit, considering the deep orange sky soaking through windows draped with heavy, cream-colored curtains.
The high-pitched gossip of our fellow female students skitters against my eardrums, and watching them confidently try on various gowns already has my nerves tightening.
A coral-pink dress catches my eye. I pull it from the rack, its soft fabric gliding between my fingers.
“You would look stunning in that,” Alexis says, peeking over my shoulder.
“It’s very… bright. I don’t like being the center of attention.”
“Everyone will be wearing bright colors, trust me.”