by Tiegan Clyne
The hours when he’s allowed to be a man pass all too quickly, and as soon as the sun slides onto the horizon, he’s forced back into his raven form. He hops up onto my shoulder, and we go back to my room.
When I walk in, I’m shocked to find Christopher sitting on Alice’s bed. I come to a sharp halt and stare at him. Not only is he breaking school rules—as if I really care about that—he’s invading my personal space.
Not. Cool.
He gives me a sheepish wave. “Uh… hi. Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I reply curtly. I put Broin in his cage but leave the door unlocked. He preens his feathers, watching the prince with his sharp red eyes.
The water is running in the bathroom, which tells me where Sirena is. She takes long showers, and a lot of them. I wonder if being away from Poseida is difficult and drying for her. Maybe it affects her kind when they’re away from water for too long.
Sometimes Sirena doesn’t sleep in our dorm. I thought she was just arguing with Erik, but she could be using her necklace portal to go home for a while. I know I would if I were her. Everafter is teeming with pompous assholes.
“You were up early,” Alice points out. She’s crouching by Jasper’s cage, feeding him alfalfa. His little nose twitches as he chews and it’s honestly the cutest damned thing. It makes me glad I never killed him in the woods when I first met him.
“I wanted to go for a walk,” I tell her, staring at the prince.
He frowns at me. “Do you not sleep well?”
His eyes are big and clear, and he’s just the poster child for “guileless”. Normally that look makes me nervous but I get the feeling he’s not faking.
“Sometimes I don’t sleep well either,” he adds. “Especially not when I’m feeling guilty about something.”
Too close. Fuck you.
Alice sits beside him and nods. It seems to give him the courage to drone on some more, and his large blue eyes stay locked with my own.
“Redera, I… I’m so sorry for all the mean things people were doing to you last week. I’m also sorry for the way I didn’t stick up for you. It was wrong and cowardly, and I’m not going to let them get away with it anymore.”
I can’t tell if he’s lying. His posture conveys nothing and neither does his smooth voice. He might be just trying to lull me into a false sense of security so his buddies can kick me in the teeth. He could be setting me up for a massive take-down. But… I don’t think he is. I look at Alice and raise an eyebrow, and she nods to me. Between her vacant eyes and his innocent ones, I don't know what to think. I’m so completely out of my element right now and I hate it.
“Okay,” I say. It’s the most non-committal answer I can muster. Broin cackles in my mind.
Christopher stands up with a smile. “I promise you, I won’t let them hurt you.”
“Maybe I want them to hurt me,” I counter, crossing my arms. “Well… not them, probably. I mean, I have standards.”
I go over to make my bed, and behind the headboard, I spot someone in the courtyard I’ve never seen before. She’s small and curvy, with bronze skin and ebony hair that hangs all the way down to her ankles. It’s gathered up by three bands of blue silk, forming multiple puffs all the way down her back.
“Who’s that?” I ask, more to myself than anything.
Christopher comes over to the window and peers through the glass. He’s standing a little too close, but he’s polite enough not to touch me, so he gets to live.
“Ah, her. No one knows her name,” he tells me. “She was already here when I arrived. My sister and I were, like, the fourth and fifth students to show up this year, and she was here before us.”
Alice comes over and looks out the window, too. “Her hair is beautiful. Where is she from?”
“I don’t know.” He looks at my roomie, then shakes his head. “She keeps to herself, mostly. I don’t know much about her. I know she doesn’t have a roommate and I know when she’s not in class, she’s cooped up in her room. I think she even eats up there.”
I’m intrigued. Secrets can be so fascinating…and sometimes useful. “Which room?”
“Uh… I’m not sure.”
“You don’t know much, do you?”
He blushes and looks away.
Too easy.
Sirena comes out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to roll. She’s wearing a pink crop-top covered in shiny scales and a pair of denim jeans rolled up at the bottom. Her jeweled sneakers catch the light, and along with her silver anklets, she looks every bit the sparkling fashionista. Her long lilac hair is still damp, but she’s got her face on and Augustus around her neck.
“Breakfast?” she chirps.
“Yes,” Alice agrees, clapping her hands. “I’m so hungry I could eat Ravyn’s horse.”
“Well that got dark real quick,” I say, grinning. “I don’t think Mephisto would be happy about that.”
Sirena snorts, dragging Alice toward the door. “I could use some good food. Too bad we have to eat here instead.”
Christopher laughs and follows them out of our room. I’m just turning to follow them when I catch a moving flash of scarlet. A red-winged blackbird is in the tree outside our window, and I swear it’s staring right at me. As soon as it sees me looking at it, it flies away.
Weird.
Unknown girl.
Mysterious bird.
I really hope these aren’t bad omens.
I catch up with my friends and Christopher halfway down the stairs outside the empty common room. I can already smell bacon and my stomach growls. Finally these damn cooks have some meat on the menu. I’m hoping for at least a bagel or something. If they’re out of bacon by the time I get there, chocolate and cheese will do just fine.
The cafeteria is actually only about half-full when we get there. As we walk over to the buffet stand, Gideon is sitting with Aurora, talking her ear off while she studiously ignores him.
“You’re betrothed to Aurora, right?” I ask Christopher.
He looks at the two of them and smiles. “That’s right.”
“And Gideon’s your roommate?”
He nods, looking confused about where I’m going with this.
“So doesn’t it bug you that your friend is trying to make time with your future wife? I mean… that’s a sort of sleazy thing to do.”
He looks back, a frown on his face. It’s like the idea has never occurred to him until now. “It… I… never thought about it.”
“You’re thinking about it now, though, aren’t you?” Sirena asks, winking at me. “Maybe you need to have a talk with him.”
He looks totally conflicted, and if I had a conscience, I’d feel bad for him. Luckily I don’t. Fly with the crows get shot with the crows, baby. He has a lot of sucking up to do if he wants me to believe his apology.
Once we all get our breakfasts, Christopher leads us over to the table where Gideon and Aurora are sitting. They barely look up when he sits down. When I sit down, however, it’s like I hit a secret buzzer. Their heads snap up and Gideon glares at me.
“Who invited you, Darkblood?” he sneers.
To my surprise, Christopher speaks up in my defense. “I did.”
Aurora pulls her mouth into an unflattering snarl. “You did? What makes you think you have the right to invite someone like her to my table?”
He hesitates. I guess his promise to stand up for me is already too hard to keep. I grab my tray and start to turn away.
“No,” Christopher says firmly. “Aurora, you don’t own this table. Gideon, she’s not a Darkblood or else she wouldn’t be here. Both of you, knock it off and act like the hero and heroine you’re supposed to be. You think you’re so much better than the villains at Nevermore, so stop acting like them.”
Gideon gapes at him, and Christopher glances down at his cereal, stabbing it with his spoon. Aurora sputters and chokes on her drink. Sirena just looks at me and shrugs. We decide to sit at the next table over. Eating with those tw
o idiots gives me indigestion anyway.
Alice, though, is totally overcome by Christopher’s token resistance and remains by their table.
I spread some jam on my toast—no bagels today, raisin bread only—and say to Sirena, “Looks like somebody has a crush.”
She laughs. “Alice? No way. I’ve never known her to have the least sort of attraction to anybody, male or female.”
I gesture with my table knife. “Oh, yeah? Read ‘em and weep.”
Sirena looks over at Alice, who is staring at Christopher like he’s the most golden of golden godlings. She’s so star-struck I want to be ill.
Before I can say anything else, Lockwood’s eagle flies into the room. It makes a quick circuit, checking out the situation. Alice turns and comes to join us, but she’s still looking at Christopher with those wide, dewy eyes.
I lean toward her. “Are you…”
I’m interrupted when the eagle lands on the table in front of me. It screeches twice, then drops a tiny message scroll beside my plate. Satisfied that it’s done its duty, it flies away. I grab the scroll and unroll it under the table where I’m sure no one can see. The elegant handwriting reads, ‘Be at the secret gate at witching hour. Come alone.’
I roll it back up and tuck it into the pocket of my shirt.
Looks like the headmaster and I have a hot date tonight.
Alice finally sits her ass down, her tray clunking onto the table. She still only has eyes for Christopher, who looks miserable now. Gideon is leaning over to him, hissing in his ear, and I don’t know what he’s saying but it’s obviously nothing nice. Christopher lowers his head and lets his long blond hair fall over his ear, which is probably the closest he can come to plugging it.
Aurora adds her two bits and then flounces off. She intercepts the rest of the Poser Posse, Rapunzel and Cinder, and they leave together. Rapunzel especially sends a virulent glare in Christopher’s direction. I’m starting to feel bad for him.
I hate that I’m feeling bad for him.
There’s a loud bump by the door to the kitchen, seizing our attention. Aladdin comes in, pushing a rubbish bin. He looks like death warmed over. Actually, I’ve seen dead bodies who looked healthier than him. He’s pale and clumsy, like he’s only half-conscious, and he’s got a big bruise around his neck.
“Whoa,” Sirena says. “Looks like someone got roughed up.”
Alice finally turns away from staring at Christopher and looks. Her mouth drops open, and her big eyes widen. Somehow they don’t fall out of her head.
“What’s the matter?” I probe, touching her arm.
“He’s, uh…” she says in her meek voice. She doesn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she gets up and goes over to him.
“What the hell is she doing?” Sirena’s just as confounded by our roomie’s behavior as I am.
I get up and follow her. She puts her hand on Aladdin’s wrist, and he’s actually startled by the touch. His dark eyes swivel towards her, panicked.
She asks in a comforting voice, “Are you okay?”
They both look up when I arrive, and they fall silent for a nervous heartbeat.
“I’m fine,” he tells her, shrugging dismissively. “Just tired. But seeing two lovely ladies like yourselves will revive me!”
His words are flirty, but it’s clear his heart just isn’t in it today.
“You don’t look too revived,” I point out. “What happened to you?”
He tenses up and glances at Alice, who shakes her head ever so slightly. He relaxes, loosening his shoulders. “I just had a rough patch. I’ll be okay in a day or so.”
I nod and gesture toward the welt around his neck. “What’s that from?”
He ducks his chin, trying to hide it. It looks like the mark of a noose.
“Nothing,” he lies, glancing around. “Uh… I have to clear the tables now. I’m sorry. Can’t talk.”
He hurries away and starts dumping leftovers into the bin, stacking the dishes and the trays in his cart. He keeps his head down and hurries with his task.
Gideon—because of course it’s Gideon, the asshole—takes Christopher’s half-eaten cereal and marches over to dump it on the floor right in front of Aladdin’s foot.
He looks at Aladdin and grins. “What are you waiting for? Clean it up, trash dog.”
“What a jerk,” Alice opines. It’s the closest I’ve heard her come to swearing.
I glare at Gideon. It’s not even eight a.m. and I’ve had it with him. I grab a tea towel from the breakfast buffet and twist it up until it’s a tight coil. Aladdin is starting to get down on his hands and knees with a napkin, which is the only cleaning material he has right now, and Gideon laughs at him.
You won’t be laughing in a minute.
I walk over to the scene, past the snickering students who are enjoying what Gideon is doing. As soon as I’m close enough, I snap Gideon in the face with the towel, and it unloads with a crack like a whip. He yelps and jumps back. I’ve had enough towel fights with Redera to know how to make it count, and that one’s going to leave a bruise.
“The hell, bitch?” he snarls, rubbing the sore spot on his nose. Now the students are laughing at him, which is a big improvement to my way of thinking.
“Leave him alone. Next time it’ll be something lower.” I push the towel into Gideon’s hand. “Clean up your mess.”
Lockwood’s eagle flies over and perches on the edge of the bin, glaring at Gideon. He looks at the bird, then at me, and tosses the towel at Aladdin.
“Not my job. I’m a prince. I don’t clean floors.”
“Oh, hardy-har,” I spit at him. I want to grab his face and shove it in the cereal, but Aladdin is already cleaning it up.
He gives me a sad half-smile. “It’s okay,” he whispers, his pained voice cracking.
I turn my glare on Gideon. Magic builds in my fingertips, the signs of a gathering hex that I dearly wish to send his way. That would get me expelled, though, and I can’t have that. I curl my hand into a fist. This pretentious jerk!
Gideon stares right back at me, daring me to do something. I can’t hex him, and I can’t punch him in the throat with Lockwood’s eagle sitting there taking in the scene.
“I hate you,” I growl through gritted teeth, frustrated by my inability to cause serious harm.
“Sticks and stones, Darkblood. I hate you, too.”
I huff at him. He’s so pathetic. “We’re going to have it out someday, and you’re not going to be so smug when I’m done with you.”
This time he snorts and tosses his head. “Bring it. I’m not afraid of scum like you.”
The hex is crackling in my hand again, loud enough to hear. He glances down and sees the emerald energy glowing there, and his eyes widen.
I get right up in his face, bringing my nose inches from his. “You should be. You have no idea what scum like me are capable of doing.”
Sirena appears beside me, pushing her way between us. “Now, now, kids, let’s try to get along. The eagle is watching and you don’t want to get into detention, or worse.” She flashes a nervous grin at me and Gideon. “Play nice. Okay?”
He looks down at my hand one more time, then storms away. I shake the magic off, forcing it to shatter like glass before disappearing back into my veins.
Aladdin stands up and tucks the sodden tea towel in with the dishes. “Thanks,” he mutters, his deathly pale face now a little flushed. “You don’t need to do that. You’re just going to get his attention in all the wrong ways.”
“I’ve already got that,” I say with utter loathing. I’m still livid how a privileged asshole like that can get away with treating people like horse shit. I try to shake off my anger and force myself to smile, which is easier said than done. “I don’t really care, anyway. There’s nothing he can do to me.”
“You might be surprised.” Aladdin rubs his hands on his trousers, then says, “I, uh… I have to get back to work.”
“And we have to get to class,�
� Sirena states. She glances over at Alice, who’s speaking with Christopher. “I wonder why Alice and Christopher are so buddy-buddy all of a sudden.”
“I have no idea, but I don’t really like it,” I sigh, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
My friend seems relieved, and we leave the cafeteria behind.
I’m really starting to hate that place.
Potions class is almost over when the door opens to admit a waddling raccoon with blood-red eyes. I’m not sure whose familiar it is, but it’s walking with a purpose. It goes up to Professor Rumpkin and chirrs at her. She nods and purses her lips.
“Miss Hemlock? Mr. Kingsley?” She calls out. “You’re wanted in Professor Pholos’ office immediately.”
Gideon groans and looks at me. “What did you do now, Darkblood?”
“Now, Mr. Kingsley,” Rumpkin repeats. The raccoon chirps.
I sigh and clean up my workspace, making certain not to mix anything that shouldn’t be mixed. Prince Biff, on the other hand, just dumps everything into a magical containment bucket and dodges the green smoke that spurts out before the enchantment takes effect. One of these days, that fool is going to blow us all to pieces.
Knowing he’s waiting for me, I take my sweet time finishing up. He keeps giving me the stink-eye, his arms crossed as he stands by the door with Pholos’ raccoon.
When I’m ready, I stand up and nod. “Okay. Let’s go now.”
“Finally…” he grouses, then sneers, “Do you know the way, or do you need to be hand-held?”
“I know the way,” I lie.
If raccoons can roll their eyes, this one sure does, and it leads the way, waddling toward the administration offices.
Professor Pholos is the centaur who introduced Lockwood at the opening day assembly. I don’t know what he teaches, if anything. Maybe he’s the riding instructor or am I just being stereotypical?
The raccoon takes us past the secretary’s desk and into Pholos’ office. He’s standing—I mean, of course he’s standing. It’s not like he can use an office chair. He’s at a custom-built desk that’s tall enough for him to write on comfortably. The floor is covered in a soft reed mat, probably so he doesn’t slip. I would imagine that walking on flagstone with hooves could get a little hairy.