16. Ahmina
AHMINA
Ahmina clenched her fists. Despite the whimsical and celebratory surroundings, she was still on edge.
Standing in the middle of the courtyard, she looked around, taking in the scene.
After ordering Ahmina to save their spot by the fountain, which Rory had deemed the only place in this party where you could breathe properly, Rory and Artie had gone off to get them each a glass of mulberry wine.
Students sipped their drinks and smoked around her, the smell of sweet herb hanging in the air, clinging to her curls.
The Academy knew how to throw a party, she thought, watching the crowd pulse with laughter and excitement. Not that she had been to many. In fact, this was the first time she had ever worn a proper gown, and she kept pulling at the seams, trying to make it feel right.
Jarrians loved colorful fashion, and although their day-to-day clothes tended to be simple and airy, their party clothes were extravagant—bright silks, velvets, and tulle decorated with intricate beading, jewels, designs, and patterns.
The men wore gold buttoned jackets with colorful embroidery and delicate silk.
Such a beautiful contrast to their masculine frames, she thought.
She wore a fuchsia spaghetti strap gown that hugged her ribs in the bodice and spread out down to her ankles.
It featured paper-maché-style flowers made of stretched tulle that she kept running through her fingers, and a long slit up her right leg that reached the crook of her hip.
Her ears were decorated with small gold hoops matched by jewels she had clipped into her hair.
She had freed her hair from two tight braids, and it waved freely down to the center of her back.
The gown and matching jewelry were beautiful, but they were handed down to her from an older student at Anastasia, and Ahmina felt like she was wearing someone else's skin.
“That dress looks good on you; I don’t know why you keep pulling at it,” Loveleena said, appearing out of nowhere. She was a few inches taller than Loveleena, but somehow, she felt small beside her. She had a way of taking up space in a room.
“It’s not mine,” Ahmina said, like that explained it, before quickly changing the subject. “Your dress is stunning.”
“Thanks. It’s not mine,” Loveleena replied, smiling. Ahmina thought that odd, considering Loveleena’s family was wealthy, but she returned the smile anyway and a small gesture of understanding passed between them.
“Hey, you haven’t seen that tall brooding man from Trivium, have you?” Loveleena stood on her tip toes to see past Ahmina, over the heads of other students in the crowd.
“Ren?” Ahmina spotted him standing with Lennox and Emerson at the corner of the courtyard. “Over there.” She pointed in their direction.
“Thanks!” Loveleena said, before pushing through the crowd.
One student cried out as Loveleena walked by, and Ahmina could just barely hear her chirp back, “Well move out of my way then.” Finally, Loveleena made it to the men, and Ahmina watched as they spoke for a moment before Lennox looked up, his eyes flickering over her dress before meeting her gaze.
She quickly averted her eyes, pretending to be fascinated by something on their left.
“Drinks are here!” Rory yelled as her and Artie stepped into the gap beside her.
Ahmina gulped hers down, desperate for a reprieve.
“Good evening, students.” Professor Barrow stepped beside her and his arm brushed hers, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “You all look well.” His eyes stopped for a moment longer on Ahmina’s dress, and she took another sip of her drink.
“Professor.” Artie nodded. “Good to see you.”
“Tell us, Professor,” Rory cut in, “What’s our first lecture going to be like tomorrow? You’re not throwing us to the Hydra, are you?”
Professor Barrow laughed, tossing his head back. “No, but I do have a surprise for you all.”
“A surprise?” The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She loathed surprises. Professor Barrow nodded, his back straight. “You didn’t think we would start you off gently, did you?”
“We expected nothing less, Professor,” Rory said confidently. “Do your worst.”
Ahmina shot her a pointed glare.
“And you, Ahmina? Are you prepared for the worst?”
Ahmina’s throat was dry despite having almost finished her entire drink, and she scraped out some version of yes.
She had memorized everything she could about creatures and the Academy.
She went above and beyond in her Academy prep courses.
She did everything within her power to be ready for whatever they threw at her.
But prepared for the worst? She questioned if she was even prepared for the best.
“I will take that into consideration,” he said, nodding to each of them and disappearing back into the crowd.
“He eyed you up a little too long, Mina,” Rory said, frowning.
“He was just being friendly,” she said in an effort to dismiss it. So, Rory had felt it too. His eyes did linger. She hadn’t imagined it. A chill went up her spine, and she took solace in polishing off the rest of her wine.
Artie watched Professor Barrow disappear into the crowd, his chin dipping slowly to the wine he held at his collarbone. “Everyone’s weird in their own way.”
“Excuse me, Artie, what exactly are you insinuating?” Rory’s hand was on her hip, exaggerated shock on her face.
“What?” Artie laughed, while waving his hand chaotically in the air. “Everyone’s a little freaky. Maybe he has a new student kink or something.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Rory said pessimistically.
“Oh, stop.” Ahmina rolled her eyes. “I probably just came off nervous or something.” She pulled at her dress, which suddenly felt even tighter.
“Yeah, loosen up, will ya?” Rory teased.
Artie leaned in, hungry for gossip, “So… is there anyone around here you two would want to, you know, get freaky with?”
“Not yet, but the night is still young,” Rory said with a grin.
When they had graduated school and went off to Academy Prep College, Rory had become more adventurous.
She had boyfriends and enjoyed nights out with groups of girls, while Ahmina stayed back and studied.
Perhaps they would have grown apart if it wasn’t for their shared background and determination to get into the Academy.
Despite their differences and Ahmina’s lack of dating, they always remained friends.
And it wasn’t like Ahmina was a prude. There was one boy who worked in the library whom Ahmina dated for a year, but when his family moved to Northern Jarrah, they broke up, and she hadn’t heard from him since.
“Our Trivium leads weren’t bad to look at,” Artie said, answering his own question.
As if on cue, Lennox emerged from the crowd with Emerson at his side. “Talking about my magnetic charm and unreasonably good looks?”
“Aw for the love of the Moon Goddess.” Emerson groaned, looking up at the sky, and Lennox laughed.
Ahmina glanced at her friends to find Artie’s eyes wide and Rory smirking. “No,” Ahmina said because the silence was killing her. “We weren’t.”
“What were you talking about then?” Lennox’s eyes flared, challenging her.
“That you’re wayyyy more confident than you should be with that sorry excuse for a haircut.
” It wasn’t in her nature to satirize others, but when she was nervous, sometimes it happened.
A form of self-preservation. It came out of her mouth before she could stop it and she internally cringed, cursing at herself.
There was no way she just blatantly insulted their second-year lead.
Their second-year lead who looked painfully handsome in his Gala attire. And honestly, she quite liked his hair.
Emerson laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and held up his drink to cheers her. “Now that’s more like it. Checkmate.”
“You know, they say if a girl bullies you that means she likes you,” Lennox said, eyes locked on Ahmina.
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Lennox laughed, a beautiful carefree sound that loosened something in Ahmina, making her laugh too. For the first time that day, she felt her tension ease just an inch.
“Wow, such a warm welcome tonight.” Lennox shook his head. “The way this conversation is going, I think I’d have a better time with the creatures.”
They probably didn’t want to get on Lennox’s bad side. There was a reason he was their lead: he was an exceptional warrior, and an even better killer. But when he playfully nudged her elbow and offered her a smile, she knew he hadn’t taken any of it to heart.
“Well, you’ve made Emerson’s night. He loves a good dig at my appearance.”
“It warms my heart,” Emerson joked, and they all laughed before their attention was stolen as sharp voices rose over the crowd. Two men argued, their faces inches apart, until one pushed the other and the crowd surged in response, egging them on.
Lennox eyed them. “Remy and Tristan again.” He ran a palm down his face. “Can those two go a single hour without breaking each other’s noses?”
Lennox and Emerson attended to the fight, disappearing into the crowd.
Suddenly, Ahmina had reached her social limit and the Gala felt like the last place she wanted to be.
Slightly tipsy and exhausted from the day, she set her empty glass down on the fountain and turned to leave.
All she wanted to do was sink into her bed, safe and hidden from the world.
“I’m not feeling good; I’m going to head back to the dorms.”
“Sleep well!” Rory hugged her drunkenly. Before anyone else could notice, Ahmina quickly slipped away, eager to escape the party.
As she left her friends in the crowd, Artie’s voice faded in the background, his words clinging to her ears all the way back to her dorm: Honestly, I blacked out. Do you know how many creatures that man has killed?
Ahmina’s stomach turned.
How many creatures had Lennox killed?