Page 43 of Echoes of the Banshee

My heart thuds for a second as I stare at him.

“What?” he asks.

“You just remind me of someone.”

Zair

Verbal Castration: Setting the New Standard for Dating

Ifind myself in Thea’s nook again tonight. I feel like we’re slipping into a rhythm, like we’re orbiting the same space without pushing each other off course. It’s strange, but there’s comfort in it. Something quiet. Implicit. But it works, even if I can’t explain why. I’ve never been comfortable around witches. But I am. I don’t even keep my barriers up when it’s just the two of us. She could snake into my mind easily, but I know she won’t.

My pen rests idle in my hand as I watch her more than I work. I’ve been asking around about Thea, trying to figure her out. What people say doesn’t line up with what I see. They call her weak, forgettable. But I see the scars, the cracks, and the way she’s still standing. Still fighting. Still hers. That doesn’t look weak to me.

Thea doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, and I think that’s what keeps pulling me in. She doesn’t wear her strength on her sleeve, but I can feel it. It’s quiet, constant. I don’t know how she does it. How she moves through this world so unaffected. I admire that more than I care to admit.

I was supposed to go to a party tonight, but I skipped it. I’ve spent so long pretending to fit in: talking to people I don’t like, wearing the fake smile, keeping up the act. But when I’m around her, I just want to drop it all. Be myself. It’s an idea that feels both liberating and terrifying.

Thea makes me look at people differently, like maybe we’re all more than we seem. Combat class this week put her with Mavrik, and I caught myself watching them instead of focusing on my own drills. I figured I’d have to step in, keep an eye on her. Mavrik struck me as the kind of guy who makes most women uneasy. Not in a dangerous way, just distant, unreadable, like he’s always ten steps ahead and never says why. But Thea? She’s right there with him, maybe even further ahead. The way they work together is natural, a steady exchange I didn’t expect. His shadows curled around her, and she let one loop her arm like a tame animal. I’m starting to think maybe I misjudged both him and his shadows.

And just when I’m thinking people might surprise me, the universe sends a reminder that some of them are exactly as shallow as they seem.

After coach put us through a grueling workout that would leave a nightblind in a cast, a group of us are staggering to our dorms to shower before classes when Wesley Dean zeros in on Thea, stepping into her space like he’s doing her a favor by existing within arm’s reach. She looks at him like he’s just another fly buzzing in her periphery.

“If you’re looking for a workout,” he drawls. “I can think of better ways.”

Thea sidesteps him like he’s nothing and keeps her pace. He follows. The fool.

“So can I,” she says, smooth as ice. “But this one actually brings me pleasure.”

I bark out a laugh, sharp and completely involuntary.

He swings toward me like I slapped him.

“Brennan, didn’t know you were part of this conversation.”

I open my mouth to say something smart, maybe something stupid. But Thea’s already on it. “I didn’t know you were either. So fuck off.”

He stiffens, face twisting like he’s not used to being dismissed, especially not by what he thinks of as a weak witch. Doesn’t know what to do with someone who isn’t interested in playing the game.

“Look, bitch,” he snaps, grabbing her arm. “I was just trying to help you climb the ladder. Suck my dick.”

I clench my fist, ready to defend her honor or some shit. I’m probably not a match for this guy, but seriously.

Thea’s expression twists into wide-eyed disbelief.

“Wow. Is it so gross that even you think it’s a punishment?”

He lurches back and Thea effortlessly shakes her arm free and keeps walking. He gives a short, disbelieving laugh, half breath, half panic before following her again.

“Are you for real?”

She doesn’t even look at him as she replies, “If it was worth anything, you’d be calling me lucky to suck it. But you’re acting like even you wouldn’t want to go near it so yeah, must be disgusting.”

I can’t help it. I lose it. My laughter rings out, the rest of the group joins in, all watching this play out with rapt attention. Even Mavrik is smiling.

“That’s not—I didn’t—” he sputters, scrambling for whatever dignity he thinks he still has.

But Thea isn’t done. She stops to step in a half-inch closer, eyes wide, voice dropping to a stage whisper with mock concern.