Page 36 of The Bargain

“The librarian said⁠—”

I shove Elias away from me and spring upright like I’ve been electrocuted. William’s and Austen’s heads appear around the end of the bookshelves. They both stop mid-sentence when they spot Elias, mouths dropping open in identical expressions.

“Oh,” William says, dragging his gaze from Elias to me. “Didn’t mean to, uh… interrupt.”

His cheeks have gone about as red as mine feel.

“You’re not interrupting anything!”

I sidestep Elias, but it’s only when I pass him that I realise his hand is still lingering on my waist. I turn to throw him a shocked look, and he steps back, raising both hands like I’ve pulled a gun on him. His half-smile is unrepentant and rueful.

“Hi, Sutton-Knights,” he says to my brothers.

“Uh, hi—Lennox, right?” Austen says, eyes wide like he’s just seen an alien. “We, uh, we should go⁠—”

“Sorry, Dess,” William adds, as they both start stepping backwards like cartoon characters. “We’ll, um, talk to you later, wouldn’t want to⁠—”

“It’s fine, I was on my way out anyway,” I say. My heartbeat stutters like footsteps tripping in the haste of a terrorised chase. “Um, thank you, Elias. See you later.”

“Yea.” He’s already dropped back into his desk chair. The newspaper is gone—if he shoved it back into his bag or tossed it into the bin next to the desk, he did it too quickly for me to see. He’s flipping open his physics books and casting me a look that’s practically sparkling with amusement. “See ya, love.”

The twins both stare at him, and I have no choice but to force them away, my face burning like Elias has just thrown a Molotov cocktail at it.

13

Incoming Disaster

Desdemona

The twins’ self-control snaps the moment we exit the library. Thankfully, my face has cooled down by then, my heartbeat settled, and my flustered confusion from earlier shoved firmly in a cupboard deep in my mind to deal with later.

“What’s going on with you and Noxie?” William says in a scandalised tone.

They both turn to face me, hands folded in front of them like overzealous bodyguards. They’re almost as tall as me, and at only sixteen, which tells me they’re going to be massive by the time they’re my age. Thankfully, and if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be at Harvard by the time that happens.

“His name is Elias,” I snap, pushing past them.

They have no choice but to follow after me as I make my way back to the girls’ dormitory. I keep my pace brisk on purpose, hoping to lose them along the way—the last thing I need right now is whatever this brotherly interrogation is supposed to be.

Especially when I have my own interrogating to do.

“Nobody calls him Elias,” Austen is pointing out sullenly.

“They should,” I say sternly. “It’s his name.”

“He didn’t call you by your name,” Austen mutters.

I whip my head to throw him a look that paralyses him on the spot. “Pardon?”

He takes a quick step back. “Nothing.”

“So you two an item, or what?” William says. “Just wondering, not disapproving, because⁠—”

I turn suddenly on him—the weak link. “When was the last time you spoke to Ophelia?”

He blinks, taken completely aback. The blue of his eyes, that summer shade, sends a sudden crush of melancholy pressing into my ribcage. Dad’s eyes.

Dad—who said to me at the beginning of the year: “Look after them for me, Dess, will you?”