Page 60 of Poet & Protector

The classroom was absolutely silent after we finished. Bryn’s eyes were wide while Fey’s were narrowed with suspicion. The Keeper students in our class wore expressions that ranged from puzzled to intrigued. The humans looked like they were terrified to show any reaction at all, which was how they always behaved when Guardians did anything.

Ms. Castillo stared at us, her jaw dropped in surprise.

Finally, Bryn looked around the classroom, realized no one was going to react without prompting, and started to clap. The sharp noise startled everyone else into action and the applause grew until it was a resounding show of approval.

I was afraid to look at Nev because I didn’t know if I’d be able to mask my feelings, but I couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at him. He was watching me out of the corner of his eye, as if he’d given in to the same impulse, a need to connect after sharing our poem. His expression was neutral but for the tiniest quirk of his mouth, telling me he was pleased with how the reading went. I dared to offer him a quick smile.

“Thank you so much, Mason and Nev,” Ms. Castillo said, having regained her composure. “A wonderful collaboration, and choosing a call and response emphasized the duality of working together on a poem in a very unique and effective way. Exceptional work.”

“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her.

Nev accepted our teacher’s praise with a nod.

I returned to my seat beside Bryn.

She immediately leaned over, whispering, “What was that? I thought you weren’t getting along with Neville.”

“We both wanted a good grade.” I shrugged. “So we made it work.”

“That’s an understatement,” Bryn remarked. “Your poem was amazing. I loved it.”

Fey didn’t agree. She wasn’t quite glaring at me, but it was close. “You shouldn’t have talked about the mountain. You both sounded like wolves.”

“To us,” Bryn argued with her. “Nobody else in the class is going to know that.”

“The Keepers might,” Fey snapped.

“Unlikely,” Bryn replied in a curt voice. “You’re just mad that their poem was way better than ours.”

“You said our poem was good!” Fey objected.

“Our poem was good.” Bryn offered her a placid smile. “But theirs was better.”

“Whatever.” Fey crossed her arms and slumped in her chair. “Mason should have sabotaged the assignment. It would have been worth it to piss off a Bane.”

Bryn rolled her eyes. “Not everything has to be a fight, Fey.”

“Yes, it does, if it involves the Banes.”

Their back and forth continued and I tuned them out. Nev had returned to his usual place on the other side of the classroom. My heart pinched as I watched him settle into his chair and we took up our prescribed roles. A Nightshade. A Bane. Rivals and strangers. Only together when forced to be because of a class assignment.

I pulled my gaze off him because I had to, and not only to avoid being caught staring. Simply looking at him hurt sometimes.

In this moment I was happy with what we’d accomplished. I was also troubled. We finished the assignment, which meant our partnership was over. What would have happened, or wouldn’t have happened, if Ms. Castillo hadn’t paired us up a month ago?

Would we have remained wary adversaries, or would we have found our way to each other anyway? At the Bunker, or through some other random encounter? Maybe when our packs joined next year?

I didn’t like to think about it. Until a few weeks ago, Nev hadn’t been part of my life. Now I couldn’t imagine enduring an existence where we didn’t belong to each other. He was mine and I was his. Every moment I spent with him made me want him, need him more.

That was an unshakable truth I took comfort in but was also overwhelmed by, simply because of the enormity of the emotions defining my new reality. A bond I never saw coming and would never let go, and the most incredible part of it was I knew Nev felt exactly the same way. Every time our eyes met, our fingers brushed, I knew.

None of it changed what we were forced to be to the rest of the world.

Alone.

Apart.

Unknown.