Page 57 of Trivium

“Clearly.”

“I mean it.”

“Is that a promise?” He laughed. “I’d be into that if it’s coming from you.”

She crossed her arms, brows furrowed.

“Kinky.” He winked.

A small laugh escaped her lips, the tension breaking, and she tried to restrain it. “I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in defense, relaxing at her smile. “You’ll tear me up. Spill my insides. I get it. But as much as I love whatever this is…” His eyes dragged up and down her, a slow smile creeping across his face like there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she wanted him, before his expression dropped into a concerned frown. “When you’re ready to talk about what’s going on, I’m here.”

Scowling, she strode forward again. “Nothing is going on, and you—” she stuttered. “You need to keep your distance. It’s called personal space. You’re making me late for class,” she said over her shoulder.

“You were already late for class.”

Ahmina kept her eyes ahead and focused on not letting the burning inside of her rob the last of her common sense. There was a fine line between her desire for Lennox and her logic, and she was tripping over it. She needed to get away from Lennox before she did something foolish like…

Push him against the wall and kiss him.

Tear off his shirt and run her hands through his hair, down his chest, back, and along the waistband of his pants.

She could forget her courses, Barrow, and her failure and just let go. Allow that ember to ignite into a wildfire.

“You really want me to keep my distance?”

“Yes, because…” What was she even saying? She had spiraled into a whirlpool of emotion and her headache had returned. “Because we are friends!”

“Friends?” he repeated like he had never heard the word.

“Friends!” She tried to ignore it. But she couldn’t stop the flutter in her heart, the heat raging at her core, and the quiet disappointment in her chest at the word friends.

“That’s a big step up from hating my guts… you sure?” he teased.

“I never hated your guts,” she said softly, mostly to herself.

How she felt was very un-friend-like.

Damn him.

Why was he so stupidly hot and charming and caring and⁠—

She turned and scowled at him one last time before quickening her pace down the hall, only to realize she was heading in the opposite direction of the Apothecary. Still, she kept going out of sheer stubbornness.

“Friend-Mina?” he called after her. “Just so you know, you were never a coward.”

✧✧✧✧

Later that night, Ahmina arrived at her dorm to find her dagger sitting on her bed. She unpinned the little yellow flower from the leather cover of the notebook and set it in water on the windowsill. Pulling out her textbook on plant life, she dropped it on the center of her bed with a thud before flopping down to study its contents. It described the yellow flower as one of protection, self-love, and empowerment.

She lay in bed, staring at its golden petals until the sun rose.

41

AHMINA

“Second assessments are approaching.” Professor Barrow rounded his desk to stand in front of Ahmina. He had asked her to come early to Trivium to discuss her grades. Now, they stood alone in the classroom. Ahmina’s head pounded. “You know the rule.”