by Brea Viragh
“You’re not going anywhere, I’m sorry.” Mike wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me into the front seat. “Let’s get inside and find a parking spot. Hold on.”
I didn’t want his help. I didn’t want him scrutinizing me, caring about me, especially not when I had to fool him and everyone else to be here. Pressing a hand against my stomach to steady it, I closed my eyes as the car moved forward.
“Almost there, Tavi. Hold on.”
I didn’t deserve his help. Maybe that’s what bothered me more than anything. This guy had stopped to help a stranger when he didn’t have to, and now he was going above and beyond. For me. For a liar.
Definitely not a serial killer.
The gates opened for us without further delay. Mike pressed the gas and zipped up the curling macadam drive into the darkness of the trees. I thought I saw the driveway branching off into two directions but he continued straight. Soon the forest opened up and the whole of the castle loomed ahead of us. I couldn’t see much. Everything shifted and blurred. I groaned, leaning forward before my stomach lost everything.
He parked near the front doors, helping me out of the car and into the front hall, the doors opening automatically to allow us entry. Like magic. The sound of them closing behind us echoed through the large space, with cathedral ceilings soaring toward a peak and a great golden chandelier shedding light. The rest of the entry hall stood empty save for a few folding tables and chairs.
“Hello?” Mike called out. “Anyone home? We need some help!”
I leaned into him when my strength failed. He tightened his hold on me. “It’s too early in the morning—”
Heels clicked along the tile floor and a voice cried out, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion about?”
I couldn’t see the speaker. My eyes were swollen and at once it was hard to breathe, the pain never-ending. I heard Mike ask for a nurse, his grip on my waist tightening further. A wave of agony shook me and I jerked against him. Panting.
The idea of someone scrutinizing me before the potion took full effect…I couldn’t allow the risk.
I tried to tell whoever stood in front of us: I was fine, it was girl problems and nothing to worry about. No one believed me. In a heartbeat, Mike and I were led down a side hallway. Once they felt my forehead and the fever raging, there was no room for argument. Every hair on my body stood upright as they flung open the door to a fluorescent-lit room reeking of sterile chemicals.
The infirmary.
“Oh my, what do we have going on? Someone isn’t feeling well, is she? We’ve got some light sweating…nope, heavy sweating. I can feel the heat coming off of her skin from here. Yowzah, we’ve either got the magical influenza or someone is going through early menopause. Just kidding! I’m kidding, of course.”
I blinked at the nurse with the sweet voice, her image solidifying into two solid presences instead of five. Another species of Fae, with gangly limbs, pointed ears, and shiny wings protruding from her shoulder blades in a blue only a shade lighter than her skin.
Blue skin?
She clucked her tongue to get Mike’s attention. “Keep hold of her, young man. Don’t let her sag to the floor. Get her over to the table and help her sit up,” the nurse said brusquely.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Mike was saying. His hands moved to my shoulders to steady me. “We pulled up to the gate and she said she felt dizzy. Then she almost knocked her head on the car when she went down. It came out of nowhere.”
He helped situate me on the examination table but kept his hands on my knees until I steadied. “I’m fine,” I told them both again, my words only slurring slightly.
An improvement!
This time, I meant it. The wave of pain at last ebbed, the effects of the potion beginning to wear off. I drew in a breath and didn’t feel needles piercing my lungs, and when I opened my eyes again, the world swam into view after a few breaths.
Mike stood at my side with his arms crossed over his chest and concern coloring his every feature.
The nurse was on his right. Her name tag read Julie.
She had a stethoscope in hand, startling amethyst-colored eyes darting over me and flashing in warning. Warning? A muscle feathered in her jaw and I regretted letting Mike bring me to her, if only for the scrutiny flickering in her gaze. As though she saw right through me.
“What?” I choked out. What did she see when she looked at me?
Her gaze widened as she stared. My fingers clutched the edge of the table. If I had to make a run for it, I wouldn’t get far. Still…
“I just had a weird hot flash and dizzy spell,” I insisted. “Everyone overreacted. It’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m absolutely fine. See? The fever is already fading.”
“It’s not nothing,” Mike said. His golden skin flushed. “You went from fine to sick in seconds. Worrisome.”
“I’m not so sure…” Nurse Julie trailed off, bending in front of me. Examining me.
I sucked on my teeth for a moment.
Finally, she chuckled, a soft and gentle sound breaking the tension immediately. “I think it should be girls only for a little bit. If you’ll excuse us, young man, I need to speak to my patient alone. You can wait out in the hall until we’re done here. Go on, now. Shoo! Shoo!”
She pushed Mike out the door with a cluck of her tongue, flicked the lock behind him, then walked over to the sink and picked up a piece of gauze to run under the faucet. “The teachers here can’t keep their noses out of students’ business,” she told me without looking over her shoulder. “They are inherently invested in the goings-on around campus. It’s always best to keep yourself to yourself at all times. Get me?”
Whoever this nurse was, I wasn’t sure I could trust her, and the ominous tone of her words had the breath whooshing from my chest.
“I don’t need anyone in my business,” I muttered.
“Who does? Now let me just check a few things with you and you’ll be good to go. Your color is already coming back.” She turned around and smiled, holding the gauze up to my forehead to wipe away the rapidly drying beads of sweat. Her wings flickered. “A few more minutes and you should be back to normal, although I recommend getting a little sleep. Okay, a lot of sleep. You’re up late tonight. Have you been eating?”
I answered her questions to the best of my ability. They were perfunctory, going over my personal habits, my pulse, et cetera. She no longer looked at me with the same discretion she had earlier. No longer appeared as though she saw everything I wanted to hide.
“Okay, Miss Alderidge. Off with you now. Go check in and get situated in your dorm. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow and you are going to need your strength. You look fine to me.”
The nurse clearly had her own agenda and soon sent me on my way with a warning to drink more fluids.
I expected Mike to be long gone by the time I left the infirmary, ibuprofen in hand and orange juice helping to settle my stomach. He had no reason to wait around for me.
He stood up from a chair in the lobby and flashed me a smile, one I’d almost come to expect on his face. No, stupid. I couldn’t expect something from a guy I’d known less than a day.
“You waited,” I said in surprise.
“Of course I waited,” he replied, blinking. “I couldn’t let you walk out alone. Plus, I have your bags.”
I stepped up to him, hissing when I expected pain and found none, my potion now in place. “I definitely appreciate it. You’ve been so kind to me.”
“New kids have to stick together, right?” He leaned closer and knocked me lightly on the arm, a gesture of camaraderie. Not hard enough to knock me off my feet in any way.
Why did it make my skin prickle deliciously?
With soft light pouring down from a crystal chandelier overhead, I saw Mike in full light for the first time since meeting, and I wondered how I’d ever thought him merely unconventionally handsome. No, his looks went way beyond handsome.
My heart cracked open a bit the longer I stared.
His skin gleamed with a slight bronze sheen, his hair the color of sunshine itself. His eyes were a vibrant green with gold around the iris, like the personification of a summer forest. Young, sure, but devastatingly beautiful and captivating in a way I had never seen before.
I drew toward him not because of his looks alone, but the inherent kindness he’d shown me. The way he’d offered to lend a hand to a stranger. Then I stopped myself when I took a literal step toward him.
His brows, slightly arched, brought out the color of his eyes.
My breath caught in my throat and I slid my hands behind me to keep from reaching out to touch him. This powerful Fae male. I had to remember that above all else.
What species was he? Half-human? I’d put human on my admission application if quizzed.
Or maybe half-Fae and half-elf?
His head quirked to the side, adorable to the point where I had to draw in a breath to center myself. “Come on, Tavi. Let’s get back to the entry hall and see if they will let us check in before orientation tomorrow. Our kind never sleep! I saw some tables set up where I guess the professors have prepared for early arrivals. We can get signed in, grab our paperwork, and then they’ll administer the blood tests.”
I started and felt my face go pale. “The blood test.”
I’d known it was coming, even as my heart clutched and I followed Mike back the way we’d come. They’d need to make sure the students fell into the acceptable half-breed categories. They couldn’t simply take us at our word.
“Are you afraid of needles?” Mike asked over his shoulder. “You can tell me if you are. I won’t make fun of you.”
Struggling to swallow, I said, “Yes, totally afraid.” It made more sense for me to fear the needle rather than fear the result.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. You won’t even see the needle, from what I understand. It’s a machine analyzing magic in your white and red blood cells. It should only take a few seconds.”
“I appreciate your trying to spin this around for me,” I told him with a mouth gone dry.
This was it. If the potion didn’t work, then I would not be able to hide the truth from anyone, and they would turn on me.
“Come on, don’t be scared,” Mike teased. He stood beside me with a calm and steady presence. I tried not to lean on him. “It’s a little blood test and then we can get settled. No worries. See? There are already people here.”
Scared? No, I wouldn’t say scared. I was terrified. I wondered when I’d grown so bold as to think I could pull this off and get away with it.
Enough time had passed that a line had formed while I was in the nurse’s office. I stared around at the crowd, the beautiful men and women who were all like me. Maybe everyone else had the same idea Mike had, to check in early and save themselves the hassle of doing it in the morning.
Yet I stood alone in the crowd.
My turn in line came up faster than I wanted. The woman in front of me maneuvered my finger into the device as I stood statue-still.
The needle shot out and sliced into my skin.
The moment of truth. If they could see the shifter inside of me…then I was done.
11
If the reader registered anything besides human, I could kiss my place here goodbye. You’re a liar. You’re a fraud.
I waited precious moments for the results to come in, my blood pressure rising with each second, almost hearing the clock in my head.
Tick.
Tock.
Liar.
Fraud.
Darkness crowded the edges of my vision as the machine beeped, clicking, analyzing the drop of blood I’d provided.
My teeth bit down on my lip hard enough to leave a bruise.
“Tavi, try to breathe. It’s not so bad.”
Mike stood behind me grinning. He thought this an irrational phobia, like people who couldn’t stand to see a mouse, or didn’t want to walk beneath a ladder because of bad luck.
He didn’t know this meant the difference between a future of freedom or a matrimonial prison.
The machine squealed out its results.
“Half human, half Fae,” the teacher said with a shake of her head. She didn’t sound impressed. “Next.”
I stood there for a moment in shock. The potion from Barbara…had worked? It was impossible.
“Next!”
The teacher repeated the demand and the few people behind me surged forward for their turns. I drew my finger from the machine, my smile secretive and wide. Nothing but half Fae and half sniveling, cowering human. Barbara’s disgusting concoction had done its job and hidden my true self.
Thank goodness.
Maybe the old witch knew what she was doing after all.
“See? It wasn’t so bad,” Mike continued with a chuckle as we walked toward the next closest table. “You got yourself worked up for no reason. There’s nothing to worry about.”
For him, sure. I hadn’t paid attention to his results. I cradled my hand to my chest and watched the pinprick heal seconds later. “Not bad, you were right. I’m not even sure why I worried.”
“I told you, you wouldn’t see the needle.”
“I’ll never doubt you again,” I cooed, which drew another laugh from Mike.
“Oh, I’m sure eventually I’ll do something stupid to have you doubting me. Never say never, Tavi.”
The rest of check-in went by in a blur, whatever other students were there before first light getting their papers and sleeping assignments before the masses. All first-year students were obliged to sleep in separate dormitories with other members of their specific breed and gender.
I’d been allocated a bed number and sent on my way with directions to my new home.
Everyone stayed in different wings of the castle, I saw now. How big was this place, really?
“Hey, wait for me,” Mike said from over my shoulder, trotting to catch up.
I was immensely glad for his presence. It made the process a little less lonely to have a friendly face close. “I’m not sure what I’m doing.” I shook my head. “It’s all happening too quickly. Do you have any idea where I’m supposed to go?”
“Let’s see where you’re staying.” Mike craned his head to glance at the papers I’d been given. Wow, he smelled good. Better than any boy I’d ever met, a combination of sandalwood and sea salt. “Ah. You’re in Tamerlain Hall. I think I know where to go. I can walk you there if you still want the company.”
Feeling much better, the weight lifted off my shoulders, I knocked against him playfully. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve been here before. You know where to go. Are you sure you’re a first-year student?”
He held two fingers straight up in front of him as we walked. “My honor as a Scout, although I’ve never been in the Scouts. I did study the school’s website before I came.”
“Ha! Me too. It doesn’t seem to be helping much.”
I tried to shuffle through my armful of orientation papers and dropped several in the process. On our way we passed by several students, species I’d never seen before, some tall and more human-like than fairy, while others were very clearly pixie or elf or other. I tried to avoid staring at them. Good practice for later, because I didn’t need the attention either.
“The area is laid out pretty well. We have a map. And it’s not like we can get lost. The castle might be huge but at least there’s no reason to go outside.”
Better for me. Better to avoid the moonlight since I’d taken my first potion vial. It wasn’t a full moon yet but I’d need to be cautious and find alternate routes for future moon cycles.
“I must be on your map too,” I joked with Mike, giving him a long look. “Because you keep finding me no matter where I wander.”
“You do tend to stand out. Not many people with this shade of hair. Makes you easy to spot.” Mike reached out and tugged on a corner of my braid. I almost siz
zled at his nearness. “I’ll have to find you tomorrow to get your stuff out of my car.”
“What am I going to do until then?”
“Get a little sleep? I plan to pass out immediately. We don’t have anything on our schedule until luncheon, plenty of time for a few hours of shut eye. Then orientation in the afternoon.” He winked. “Here you are. Tamerlain.”
I stopped in front of a giant gray stone arch with a green-painted placard displaying the name of the dormitory in flowing script. “Already?” I’d been enjoying the walk and the company.
“Already. Have a good night, Tavi. I’ll see you soon. Try to get some sleep.” He inclined his head in goodbye.
“Thanks, Mike.”
I watched him leave for his own dormitory on the next floor, if I had to guess. I still didn’t know what kind of half-breed he was—why hadn’t I paid attention to his test results? —and he didn’t seem to be forthcoming with the information. I set my lips in a line. One of these days, I’d get to the bottom of it.
But I had a friend. I hugged the knowledge close to me, warmth spreading through my chest. I could use a friend in this place.
A gust of wind shook the eaves of the castle and echoed down the drafty hallways. Shivering, I pushed through into the dorm. Sleep, yes. Definitely next on the list of priorities.
The doors to Tamerlain Hall opened into a small common room with couches and a large fireplace housing roaring flames filling the space with warmth. Easing open a second door to the left, I walked into a square room bedecked in hues of red and orange and gold, lined with oak shelves like a library. Similar to being surrounded by an autumn wood. There was no hint of the dreary castle here. A low ceiling made the space cozy and intimate.
Each shelf, I now saw, was an alcove of bunk beds, giving the illusion of each girl having their own private space.
A long table sat beneath a window to the right of the long room, covered in books and writing utensils.
I squinted down at the paper in my hand and noted my assigned bunk number. So many, there were so many girls here. All half Fae and half human. My bed was the top bunk above a sleeping blond. Trying to be quiet, I crawled up the ladder and flopped down on soft sheets with my purse and papers and duffel next to me. The moment I went horizontal, the full weight of my exhaustion hit me. I yawned.