by Light
“I don’t think she’d want ‘em back,” Adam laughed.
Christian heard Aria breathe the word, Gross. He’d almost forgotten she was in the room with them. “I can’t believe you,” he said, shaking his head. Adam frowned.
“I got the idea from you. Isn’t that why you take them?”
“No!”
“Huh. That’s almost creepier. You’re like… collecting trophies. That’s serial killer behavior, you know.” He laughed suddenly. “You’re the virgin killer!”
Christian sucked in a sudden breath and what came out was sharp, unexpected laughter. “…Can you just shut up?” he said, trying to sound annoyed. It was difficult to sound pissed through a blatant smile. This was one reason why it was hard to stay mad at Adam.
“No, I can’t. I’ve tried.” Adam flopped down on Christian’s bed, feeling quite pleased with himself. That was, until, he spotted a pair of shoes sitting beside his feet. Girl shoes. The stack of neatly folded clothes resting on Christian’s desk caught his eye like a flare going off in his face.
“Oh my god,” he said. “She’s in here right now, isn’t she?” Adam bent over, peering under Christian’s bed and looking for the girl he had stashed somewhere. A moment later he was ripping the closet open and blinking down at her head of messy curls. “You dog,” he laughed, glancing back at Christian. “How in the hell did you get her to sleep with you again?”
Aria shoved Adam furiously, sending a jolt of magic into his body where her hands collided with his chest. He stumbled backwards with a yelp. “I didn’t sleep with him, you creep.”
Adam was laughing despite the pain. “Feisty,” he said. His eyes swept down her small frame, admiring the way the oversized shirt fell over the curve of her breasts, her hips. “That’s pretty cute,” he remarked, indicating her wardrobe. “But do you know what would look even better on you? Nothin’ at all. And what would look the absolute best is if you were sprawled out naked across my bed. But hey, I’m not picky. I’m pretty shameless, in fact. I’d take his bed, or even the floor in a pinch.”
“You’re a pig.”
“And you’re a slut. Some kind of pair we make.”
Christian surged forward, tackling Adam to the ground like a linebacker. His fist collided with Adam’s jaw with a thunderous cracking sound. “Fucking apologize, now!”
Adam squinted at Christian through one eye. His face was throbbing like something straight out of a cartoon. “Ow,” he complained. “Dude, I thought it was bros before—”
“Choose your words carefully.”
“Before redheaded hoes,” Adam finished.
Christian swung back again, hitting Adam with full force.
“Fuck,” he breathed. “Your left’s worse than your right.”
“I’m ambidextrous.” Christian’s head spun around as his door banged open. Shawn stood shirtless and barefoot in the doorway, hair disheveled and eyes barely open. He looked from Christian and Adam on the floor to Ariahna, blinking and rubbing at his face as she took a step back into the closet and closed the door.
“What in the name of all that is good is going on here?”
Frederick rubbed up against Shawn’s leg, purring happily.
“You’re dreaming,” Christian said. “Go back to bed.”
Shawn spared him a glare, walking up to the closet and sliding it open. Sure enough, Aria was standing just inside. She jumped in surprise and a large pile of boxes went tumbling into the room around them.
“My shoes,” Christian sighed.
That was really the least of his problems.
“Hi,” she squeaked.
“I can explain…” Christian said.
“And I’m sure the Dean is going to love to hear that explanation. I want all of you to get up, get dressed, and meet me in front of his office in fifteen minutes.”
Christian got to his feet, helping Adam up despite his current dislike for him. “Shawn,” he said, “this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Oh, so you weren’t just fighting with your friend, there isn’t a kitten in your room, and that isn’t Ariahna in your closet?”
“Nope,” Adam supplied helpfully.
“Adam,” Christian said, “tell him what they did.”
Adam shook his head fervently no.
“If you want me to forgive you, then speak up.”
He made a desperate sound. “I don’t want you pissed at me, but I’d rather be on your bad side than theirs. I like you, man, but I can’t die yet.”
“Logan and Trent trashed her room,” Christian said. “I had her stay with me last night just in case they decided to come back. Nothing happened, okay? Go see for yourself. Her room is a wreck.”
Shawn took a deep breath.
“That doesn’t explain the fighting, or the kitten.”
“He deserved it,” Christian replied. Shawn shrugged. Apparently he didn’t doubt that that was the case. “And the kitten… um, it’s Adam’s.”
“What?” Adam said. Christian gave him a hard glare. “I mean, yeah. I’ve always wanted a cat.” He picked Frederick up, shaking him happily in front of his face. “I’ll take her to my parent’s house. I’d probably lose her in my room anyways,” he laughed.
Ariahna was fighting not to snatch Frederick out of his dirty, grubby little hands. The cat did not look pleased with being treated like a toy, either. “Be gentle with him,” she said softly, stepping up to his side and elbowing him in the ribs.
“Aria,” Shawn sighed, “take your kitten.” He couldn’t watch this any longer. That poor cat was going to be traumatized. It would probably be dead within the day if he let Adam take it. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to decide what he was doing with them.
“Can you just leave Aria out of it?” Christian said. “I don’t care if I get in trouble, but she didn’t do anything wrong. If that’s what I get for trying to do the right thing for once, then so be it.” Shawn was giving him a look that managed to be both bewildered and skeptical.
“Oh my god,” Adam said suddenly, turning to Christian with wide eyes as Aria wrestled the cat from his hands. “You have a girl in your room. In your room. You’re breaking a cardinal rule.”
“The rule only matters if you want to get rid of the girl.”
Adam’s jaw tried to run away from him. “You need help.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes you do.”
“No, I don’t!”
“Yes—”
“I’m in love with her,” Christian shouted.
Adam spun in a frantic circle, trying to pretend he hadn’t just heard Christian, of all people, say those words. “No. No, no, no, no, no,” he mumbled. “I—I need reinforcements,” he said, striding quickly out the door. The sound of his footfall echoed down the hall.
“Okay,” Shawn drawled. Sure you are, he thought. “Put some clothes on you two.” He glanced down at his own attire. “I’m going to do the same. After that, I want to see her room.”
They nodded and got ready before meeting him down the hall.
Shawn didn’t know what he was going to find when he opened the door to Ariahna’s dorm. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He stepped carefully inside, doing his best to avoid the broken debris scattered across the hardwood.
“Logan and Trent did this?”
“Yeah,” Christian said, closing the door behind them.
“Did you see them?”
“No, but this is Trent’s knife.” He yanked the thing out of the back of her door, grabbing the picture that had been pinned there. He gazed at it for a moment, noticing a crease in the middle of the photo where she’d folded her father out. He rubbed his thumb over the hole, using magic to repair her mother’s face. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered, folding it in half again so it was just her and her mother smiling warmly back at them.
“Thank you,” Aria said, taking it from him gently.
Shawn sighed. “If you didn’t see them, that knife isn�
�t going to be enough to prove they did it.”
“Well, Adam saw them, but he’s too chicken-shit to say anything. Where exactly does that leave us?”
“…I’ve decided I’m not going mention what I saw this morning. But this is partially your fault, Christian.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“This isn’t his fault,” she murmured.
Shawn didn’t argue the point. “I’ll tell the Dean I saw them coming out of your room last night. He’ll believe me.”
Ariahna frowned. “But we don’t really know that it was them.”
“Christian’s right, I’ve seen Trent with this knife before.”
“And so have I, but that doesn’t mean he did it. Do you know how many people probably own a knife just like that one?”
“Adam admitted he was with them,” Christian countered.
“Do you really trust him?” she muttered. “He could be lying. For all we know, it could have been him.”
“Trust me,” Christian laughed. “Adam does not have the balls to do this on his own. If he had, the only damage would be some missing underwear. Whoever did this did so with real malice. If I was putting together a list of people capable of this level of callousness, it would be two names long.”
“Let me deal with it,” Shawn said. “I’ll make sure I have my facts straight before I say anything. For now, just—keep that cat out of sight.”
Christian snapped a few photos with his phone as Shawn shuffled out into the hall. “What do you say I help you clean this up?”
“That’s okay,” she mumbled. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
Ariahna looked over at her dresser, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that her panties were all over the floor and hanging over the drawers. She should be worrying more about the letters, about the picture in her hand, or perhaps her locket, which seemed to be missing. But what was she worried about? That Christian could see her underwear.
She walked over to it hurriedly, grabbing them off the floor and throwing them back inside before slamming the drawer closed. She felt dirty just knowing they’d gone through her things like that. Christian turned her around, and Aria found herself pressed between him and the dresser.
“You missed one,” he grinned. “Can I have them?”
She blushed at his request, trying to snatch them away as he held them just out of her reach. “Christian, give them back!” she said embarrassedly. She was trying not to smile. He was teasing her. What a jerk, she thought, trying to convince herself that she didn’t find it completely adorable.
“I’m joking,” he said, setting them down on the dresser. He was still pressed up against her, pushing her into the drawers. His hand curled around her waist. The smirk on his lips had her heart thumping against his chest. Christian snapped his fingers and the room transformed behind them. The word burned into her comforter disappeared and a few broken items fixed themselves, while others beyond repair simply vanished.
“Now that that’s done, how about we go down to breakfast together? I think I’ve got a plan to put an end to all of this.”
“Somehow,” she whispered, “I’m afraid to ask.”
Chapter 44
Vardel Academy had transformed into a deadly hornet’s nest. The last thing it, or any of its students needed was more ammunition – more things to gossip about. Yet it seemed that that was exactly what they were going to get. Christian stepped into the cafeteria, fully prepared to aggravate the horde. Aria looked up at him with uncertainty as he took her hand, smiling down at her reassuringly. He found them a seat in the center of the room beside Dallas, Scarlet, and Eliza. The three of them seemed perplexed as they joined them at their table. Eliza leaned over to murmur something in Scarlet’s ear, and Dallas sat back, staring at them in open curiosity. Christian wouldn’t have guessed Dallas could look so disapproving.
“What’s this? Now you’re eating breakfast together?”
Christian turned to look at him calmly. “We’re dating,” he said.
Eliza choked on her orange juice, coughing as Scarlet slapped her on the back. She clearly had an opinion on that. Namely, that he’d either lost his mind, or his end game was so clever not even she could see what was in it for him. She noticed Scarlet quirking an eyebrow at Aria in question. She appeared to be just as startled as the rest of them.
“Dating?” Dallas said with a harsh smile, showing teeth.
“Dating,” Christian confirmed. “Do you need a definition?”
“I think you might,” Scarlet muttered snidely.
“Scarlet,” Aria whispered, “please.”
Scarlet pursed her lips at Christian but remained silent.
“You three are going to spread the word,” he said. “Text, tell your friends, send out god-damn letters for all I care. By lunch, I want everyone to know that we’re together. Got it?”
Dallas stood wordlessly, looming over him for a moment before stalking off and disappearing through the back doors.
“What’s with him?” Eliza mumbled. She turned back to Christian, trying to ask with her eyes if he was really serious. She knew Christian. He wasn’t the dating type. And if he was going to go down that road with anyone, why would it be some nameless nobody instead of someone of similar social status? She couldn’t understand it. “Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked, pulling out her phone reluctantly.
He nodded.
“Whenever this little game you’re playing blows up in your face,” Scarlet said, “your death will be painful and slow.” She shot Aria a worried glance. She would make Christian pay if he hurt her again, she could do it with ease. But it wouldn’t matter if the girl she’d grown to actually care about was destroyed along with him. “You know where to find me when prince charming shows his true face,” she said, leaving the table.
Eliza hurried after her.
“That went well,” he said with an ironic smile.
“Why would you tell them that we’re dating?”
“Why do you think I told them that?” he asked.
Honestly, she didn’t have a clue.
“Okay, let me ask you this. Do you think I’m playing a game?”
Aria frowned at him in thought. “I think there are better ways to ask someone out if you’re not,” she said.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“…I see.” That wasn’t exactly the answer she wanted.
“And who’s going to protect you when I kick your ass?” Rome asked, slipping into a seat beside him. Kaleb floundered near the table for a moment like he was considering sitting with them, and then walked off, apparently having changed his mind.
“And why is my ass being kicked?”
“Kaleb just got a text on the phone he commandeered from some unsuspecting student. Funny how both of you failed to mention to me that you’re dating now.”
“Believe me,” Aria said, “I was one of the last to know.”
Rome shot her a puzzled glare. “Okay, now I’m confused.”
Christian sighed. This wasn’t much fun anymore. “Somebody trashed her room last night and I’m tired of people talking shit about her. If she’s seen with me, then it should stop.”
“Great, so what am I supposed to do now, wait until you two ‘break-up’? Either you didn’t think this through, or you did, and you’re just an ass. I can’t be seen with her now.”
“Huh,” Christian grinned. “That worked out better than I thought.”
Rome shot him a dirty look.
“Consider it payback.”
“Payback for what?” Rome said.
“What you did might come back to bite me.”
Rome felt more lost than when he’d entered this conversation.
Christian leaned forward, keeping his voice low so Aria couldn’t overhear them. “I know you sent that text,” he breathed.
“With what phone?” Rome stressed. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but it wasn’t me. Though I have my
suspicions about who it was.”
“It wasn’t you?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“What are you two talking about?” Aria asked.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Christian said.
“So, are you mad at me, or are we okay?”
Ariahna thought Rome was asking Christian until she noticed him staring at her. “What? No, we’re fine,” she smiled.
“Then maybe we could start going through those letters together at lunch?” he suggested.
“About that,” she said, “I looked through them yesterday and there wasn’t anything helpful, so… You know, I think I’m going to head to class. I’ll talk to you two later?”
Rome nodded slowly.
Christian just kept blinking at Aria as she walked away. Why didn’t she want to tell Rome what she’d found? he wondered.
“So who trashed her room?” Rome asked roughly.
“And here I thought you just didn’t care.”
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Why, so you can go and do something stupid? No, I don’t think so. Besides, I’ve already got it handled,” he said, finally looking away from Aria’s retreating back. “What I don’t have figured out is why she just lied to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure if I should say or not,” he admitted. Rome looked beyond worried. “I’m not entirely sure she’s going to class.”
“Okay, either you’re going to start talking, or I’m going to make you,” Rome said. “Your choice.”
Christian sighed.
“She found out how to break the curse through those letters.”
“Really?”
“Don’t look so excited.”
They stared at each other for a long moment.
“To break the curse, she has to sacrifice her magic to the yew tree,” he whispered. “And doing that might… kill her.”
“What?” Rome said, jumping up from his seat.
A few people turned their heads to stare.
It wasn’t until that moment that Christian realized why Ariahna might not have wanted to tell Rome. He was already gone, weaving through tables and chasing her out into the hall. “Rome, stop,” Christian said. “Maybe she just wasn’t ready to deal with this. We should give her a day or two.”