With coffee in one hand and my sandwich in the other, I listened to Rowan complain about his very controlling, petty suitress, while trying to understand why he put up with it.
“Power, money, and control,” Rowan said as I finished up and moved off his lap. “It’s that simple.”
“Being happy or in love doesn’t enter the equation?” I asked.
Rowan’s face fell. “I mean, I want to be happy. But those three come first.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Well, power to you then, literally, I guess.”
“We’re going to fall behind,” Adam called from the train. “I can’t go without you for too much longer.”
I stood.
“I’ll clean this up.” Rowan scratched the back of his head, flexing one of his beefy arms. “Um, can we do this again?”
My heart fluttered. “You can give me a break from train duty any time.”
Rowan grinned. “I’ll see you for combat later today.”
Adam pulled the cord on the train horn. The loud blast bounced off the rigid cave walls, making me jump. I gave Rowan an awkward wave and trotted off.
After two more days of this grueling schedule, I was done. My body was exhausted. I’d made zero headway on how to use my magic. I’d gone from accepting my situation to waking up in cold sweats as fear crept into my every thought.
My entire existence depended on someone else. A man who had everything I didn’t. Magic. Resources. An army of enforcers and connections in a world I was starting to grasp. Instead of doing anything to help myself, I watched people do their jobs. I read about a history I was pretty sure I’d somehow skipped, while drifting further and further from my friends. Not only did I not have time for them, but I didn’t have my TB to keep in touch.
Someone, probably Ezra, gave me this schedule to keep me complacent, and it was working. If all of this was real, I had to start looking out for myself.
The next morning, I attempted to sleep through my train work-study. Pounding at my door woke me after five, but Erick was up and on it.
“I told you to keep the fuck away from my dorm,” Erick said.
“Quinn’s late for her work-study.” Brody practically whined. “She needs her work-study.”
“She doesn’t need shit. If you knock on this door again, I will gut you,” Erick promised.
The door slamming shook the walls.
“You owe me, little sis,” Erick said, climbing back into his bed. “The one morning I don’t have to wake up to your alarm, and it’s your little shit problem instead. You might as well have my baby in you for all the work I’m doing.”
I pretended to be still asleep so I wouldn’t have to respond. Not a minute later, Erick’s snores filled the room.
Yeah. No. I really couldn’t do this anymore.
There was one thing that would fix a bunch of my problems in one fell swoop. Money. No more work-studies. I could pay my tab and get my TB back, which would give me the time I needed to actually figure out my magic.
It took a lot of sheep counting, but I managed to fall back asleep and stay asleep until the sun was well up. Erick was long gone, and hopefully Brody with him. Dressed in the most colorful and expensive-looking clothing I could pull out of my pocket-void, I marched into the Happy Rooster.
“I told you to stop using the front,” Matt hissed, herding me to the back.
I threw my hands up in the air. “Enforce it, and I’ll come in the back. I need to send a message on my TB.”
“You know the drill,” Matt said, that stupid smirk appearing on his face.
I pulled what I now considered my apron off the hook and tied it around my waist. “I do. I’m going to The Green. Your note to Moose got me caught last time. And now the gate guards are literally on the lookout for me.” I glared at him. “You can either give me my TB nowto send a message, or I can go alone again. I’ll leave a nice note for my friends this time, so they know why.”
Matt’s chest rose and fell. “Moose. It’s really too bad you didn’t hook up with him.” He scanned down my body again, his gaze resting a heartbeat too long on my chest. “I’ll walk you to him this time. Tonight. He’ll get you out of the walls; we can go together.”
I peered at him. “I need to sell things at the market,” I said slowly. “Going at night doesn’t help me.”
