Chapter 13
Caeo
Reid and I sit at the corner of the bar in The Buttoned-Up Duck, sipping our drinks.
It’s fairly empty, thanks to the ball tomorrow.
The third-year Academy students start decorating the grounds well before dawn, so they’re all trying to get what little sleep they can, and everyone else wants to avoid hangovers for the festivities.
I’ve technically gone the last three years, but ended up spending most of my time in my dates’ dorms. Now that I’m allowed to attend on my own, it’ll be nice to see what the fuss is all about.
But tonight’s about Reid. These past few weeks, he’s been kind-of-sort-of seeing Emmrich—the guy with shitty taste in drinks—as part of some weird competition with Alexis.
He’s hoping to invite him to the ball, and asked me along for moral support.
So here we are, waiting around in a quiet, poorly lit tavern that smells like nobody’s cleaned the floor in ages.
Emmrich announces his arrival by sliding his fingers along Reid’s back, making him cough as he chokes on his ale.
“If it isn’t one of my favorite people in all of Haven,” he says, plopping onto the stool beside Reid.
He’s got a roguish sort of charm, but isn’t the type I’d have ever expected to catch Reid’s eye.
Even with his blond hair tied in a knot, it’s obviously far longer than socially acceptable, and his loose shirt hangs open in the front, his neck only covered by a carelessly wrapped scarf.
The total opposite of Reid’s well-maintained appearance.
Meanwhile, Reid seems to have missed the opening Emmrich very clearly set up, so I take it for him.
“If that’s true, you should join him at the ball tomorrow.” There we go. Easy.
Reid burns me with a glare. I shrug it off and take another sip of ale. That’s what he wanted.
Emmrich winces, tapping the bar. “Tempting, but I unfortunately must decline.”
I almost breathe down my drink.
Well, fuck. Guess I messed that up. Could’ve sworn he was interested.
Reid exhales, closing his eyes as his palm hits his face. I’m definitely getting an earful about this later.
But then Emmrich squeezes his shoulder. “Nothing against you. I just have no desire to go anywhere near that much incanting. However…” He leans close, whispering some rather salacious suggestions into Reid’s ear. Reid bolts upright, his face flushing bright pink.
I stop listening as he hisses something back, satisfied that I was right after all. The ball may not have worked out like he’d hoped, but based on their proximity as they trade barbs back and forth, I’d say the odds are pretty good Reid won’t be spending the night alone.
That excuse was pretty weird, though. Sure, it’s a lot of incanting, but they’re usually done by the time people show up. There’s no reason to worry about your clothes fading.
Not wanting to be a third wheel, I hurry to finish my ale.
Despite my rush, by the time I swallow the last dregs, not one but two girls have approached, inviting me to the ball while demonstrating incredibly liberal views on what’s considered acceptable physical contact between strangers.
The second makes eyes at Emmrich as she leaves, drawing Reid’s attention.
“They’re getting bold, aren’t they?” he says, and Emmrich chuckles in response.
My tankard clanks as I slam it down. “I can’t wait until this stupid ball is over so everyone and their mother will stop asking me to take them.”
“Just tell them to get lost—you’re already taken.”
“It’s not that easy.” My throat always twists painfully when I lie, and people notice.
“Whatever, man.”
Yeah, I know, poor me. With a sigh, I slump against the bar. “I think I’m gonna head home.”
Reid jerks his head in my direction. “What? Why? Alexis said she’d meet us later with Ellie.”
“So?” Why should I care about Alexis?
“So… Ellie. Here.”
My mind feels cloudy, as if from speckled long leaf, but I haven’t smoked any today. It must be the ale, which is surprising—I didn’t drink that much.
“I’m not sure what you‘re saying.”
Reid rolls his eyes, then turns back to Emmrich.
Whose gaze is on me, his brow furrowed in thought. For someone supposedly interested in Reid, he sure spends a lot of time staring at me. He better not be hoping for a threesome. That’d be weird. Reid’s practically my brother.
“Perhaps you should pay closer attention to your friend,” he says, nudging Reid. He answers with a frustrated sigh before turning back to me.
“What’s going on, Cay? I’m with Ellie at least ten bells a day, and she never mentions you. You practically jumped on her on the way here, but now you won’t even bring yourself to wait for her?”
I blink a few times, trying to clear the fog. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about Ellie.”
“Who?”
Reid spins on his stool to face me head-on. “Arandur’s clapping cheeks, stop fucking with me. Ellie. You met her on the first day of term and were all over each other. We saw her not even a bell ago.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Reid startles back, wide-eyed. “Stop messing with me.”
Exasperation boils within me, ready to explode. “I’m not. You know me—I can’t lie to save my life.”
There’s a pause as his eyes narrow, searching my face. “Yeah, I know.” He turns to Emmrich, placing his hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I need to look into something.”
Emmrich takes a sip from his tankard. “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to some fun tonight. Didn’t you say Alexis was coming?”
Reid glances at me.
I shrug. “Do what you want. I’m going home.”
Reid’s face contorts, his hands clenching into fists, then he forces out an exhale.
“I’ll come back, I promise.” He squeezes Emmrich’s shoulder, then grabs my arm and drags me out of the tavern.
* * *
“Why are we in the girl’s dormitory?” I ask. “We passed Alexis on our way here, remember?” Scuffed white walls and beat-up doors surround us—this hallway’s just as bland as the rest of campus.
Since we left the tavern, the last half bell’s been a fog. I kept asking Reid to explain where he was taking me, but he never answered, his frustration mounting as he barked at me to follow. He even resorted to herding me with incanted fire when I tried to turn back.
He comes to a halt, banging on a random door. “Don’t act like I’m the one with memory problems.”
“Are we even allowed to be here?” Not that I haven’t been here plenty of times, but I was always snuck in by someone who actually lived here.
The door cracks open.
“Quiet down, I don’t need you waking Sophie,” a girl’s voice says.
“We need to talk.” Reid pushes the door open and pulls me inside.
Ellie stands there, startled, wearing nothing but a towel. She turns completely red as she meets my eyes.
“Ellie,” I say. “Hi.” My eyes won’t stop wandering all over her exposed skin. Perfectly smooth, just begging to be touched. Why was I trying so hard not to come here?
“Oh, now you remember,” Reid mutters, running his hand through his hair.
“What are you doing here?” Ellie pulls her towel tightly around herself, which only reveals more of her legs. Just a little higher and…
“Something’s wrong with Caeo,” Reid says sharply.
“Not this again,” I mumble. What’s gotten into him?
Worry flashes across Ellie’s face. “Let me get dressed.” She hurries into one of the other rooms, closing the door behind her.
Reid plops down on a purple settee, and I glance around—the room’s lit by several lanterns hanging from wainscoted walls, with five pale wooden doors, all closed. Two fancy armchairs, also purple, and a low table covers most of the floor.
I don’t recognize this place at all. “Where are we?”
Reid’s eyes widen. “Do you remember coming here?”
Do I? “It’s kind of fuzzy…”
He groans. “Just sit down and wait.”
Despite my growing unease, I join him on the settee, forcing a relaxed posture.
A few minutes pass, with the tapping of Reid’s foot growing increasingly antsy as the hands on the wall clock tick by.
I almost jump when his tension finally bursts, pushing him to his feet, and he bangs on one of the doors.
“What’s taking so long, Ellie?”
It opens a few seconds later.
“Reid? I was getting ready for bed.”
Who said that?
“Arandur’s fiery mud hole, get out here!” Reid yanks Ellie into the room. She’s wearing a loose chemise that doesn’t hang much longer than her towel did, and she still hasn’t brushed the tangles out of her wet hair.
I bump the tea table as I rush over, the sight of his fingers digging into Ellie’s arm lighting a fire within me. “Stop it, Reid. Don’t touch her like that.”
Ellie’s hands come to rest on my arm, a smile flashing across her face as she looks up at me. It fades when she glances back at Reid, her eyebrows pressing together. “You said something was wrong?”
He curses. “Yeah, something’s definitely wrong.” Then he pinches the bridge of his nose before letting out a heavy exhale. “Just to confirm, you two know each other, right?”
“Of course I know him. What’s going on?”
Reid holds up his finger, looking at me.
I sigh. “Yes, I know her.”
“Don’t move.” He grabs Ellie by the shoulders and turns her around, her back facing me.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!” She pulls at his hands, but he keeps them firmly in place.
“Ellie, do you know Caeo?”
I’ve had enough. “Let go of her.”
He shoots me a glare. “Let her answer the question. Do you know anyone named Caeo?”
“No, I don’t, now let go of me!”
…What?
My knees buckle as my insides plummet to the floor.
Reid releases her shoulders, and she tugs at the fabric of her chemise, straightening it out. His gaze shifts to me, his face softening.
“No…” I stagger forward, grasping for Ellie’s hand. “No. No, no, no!” My hands shake as I pull her back to me. She startles as I cup her face in my palms, frantically searching her eyes for any sign of recognition.
“Ellie? Please tell me you know me.”
“Caeo? What’s wrong? I…”