Page 121 of Echoes of the Banshee

I glance back quickly, and am surprised when I see Bernard, Lunita, and Varkas standing behind me. Bernard and I’ve always been friendly enough, and I sparred with Lunita last week. She gave me some hydrating powder to add to my water. But Varkas… I don’t think I’ve ever even exchanged two words with him. Yet here they are, standing tall, offering silent support.

I square my shoulders. I’m not backing down. Not now. Not ever again. Ethan’s grip tightens for a moment, seeing the crowd forming behind me.

“What’s wrong, Ethan?” I ask sweetly, tilting my head, as though his anger is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. His face twists, eyes unfocused.

“How dare you sleep with a fucking goblin? You are mine,” he sneers, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear, his claim hanging in the air.

I shake his hand off and take a step back. “I’m quite certain that I’m mine,” I reply with certainty. “And it’s none of your business who I sleep with.”

“Yes, it is,” he presses. “We’re dating.”

“We are?” I ask, incredulous. “We broke up over the summer.” He freezes, like his brain has short-circuited. “We haven’t been together for months, but I can see how you’d have trouble telling the difference. I certainly can’t.”

“Is that why you’re saying I have a small dick?” His voice drops to a harsh whisper, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “Because I’m not paying you enough attention?”

“Did I say you have a small dick, or did your own insecurities bring that forth?” I ask without bothering to lower my voice.

Ethan’s face goes crimson, his eyes narrowing as he shifts uncomfortably under the scrutiny of the entire class, clearly regretting the spectacle he’s created.

“You said to tell me that Benson has a big dick,” he hisses.

“And if you were as confident in your manhood as you are in your lies,” I continue sweetly. “I wouldn’t have been left so unsatisfied.”

Without waiting for a reply, I walk right past him, giving a nod of thanks to the three who came to stand behind me and resume my circuit.

Gym was bad enough, but now it feels like I’m navigating a maze of rumors. I might’ve overdone it with the goblin joke. The laughter and whispers become a constant backdrop to my day, a soundtrack I can’t turn off. It was funny the first few times, sure. It made Benson laugh, and it felt like a quick jab at Ethan. But now? By the fiftieth time someone asks me if Benson is really that good in bed or if I’d mind sharing, I’m done with it. The whole campus is treating me like I’m some kind of punchline, and the worst part is that they think it’s hilarious. Zair actually growled at a witch in potions who wouldn’t stop pestering me. Then gave me a look as if to say ‘you did do this to yourself.’ Yeah, I know.

Anita’s curse reactivated around lunchtime today. An added bonus I hadn’t counted on. Every seventeen hours and twelve minutes and lasts for thirteen minutes. It will take her a long time to figure out the pattern and make it to the curse breaker on time. Especially since her next two will be when she’s asleep, making her think it’s over. I smile at the thought. It’s probably the only thing that makes the day bearable. That and her telling the goblin who teaches crafting that she’d walk over the flames of his forge.

By the time I reach the library, I’m ready for some silence. The boys have soccer practice, so I will be alone for a few hours until Zair finishes up. I might have to text him to bring me food here. While I wait, I desperately search through the banshee books. Trying to find any clue to the man I lost.

Panic prickles at the edges of my thoughts. What if I find Lazlo, and he wants nothing to do with me because everyone thinks I’m sleeping with a goblin?

No, Lazlo isn’t a bigot.

Hell, he’s the one who told me goblins had huge junk.

The ache of missing him is sharper in the quiet. And then, in that silence, the memory slips in so clear it almost feels like it happened yesterday…

***

“Is it weird that I’m horny?” His voice, dry and hoarse, breaking the silence between our cells.

I’d laughed. “You’re literally chained up in a dungeon being tortured, so… yeah, a little.”

“Lack of relief is its own kind of torture,” he’d muttered. “Being near you like this and not being able to touch you… it’s driving me insane.”

“I can’t believe you even have enough blood left for an erection.”

“Priorities,” he’d deadpanned. “Wanna have dungeon sex?”

“I think sex dungeons are supposed to be more fun,” I’d shot back. “What are you wearing?”

“Rags,” he’d replied with mock seduction. “Barely hanging on. Not that I blame them.”

“Oh, sexy. And what are you packing?”

“I’m no goblin. Huge, though,” he’d said smugly.