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Charlotte nodded.
“They can know of the scholarship, and that one stipulation in receiving a full scholarship is you must live on campus. We will provide all your living expenses and additional money for anything you need or want within reason as an allowance.”
She hated the idea of lying to her mothers, but what other choice did she have? If she refused, they might wipe her memory. If she refused, she wouldn’t see Aiden again. She finally had the chance to get a degree close to her family, be with her friends, and maybe experience a relationship worth having.
Straightening in her seat, she took a deep breath.
“I really like Aiden, so I’m willing to see where all this goes. I mean, I wanted to change majors anyway, so this is good timing.” She shrugged, hoping to convey a lighthearted confidence, but she didn’t know if she had succeeded.
“I’m really sorry I never told you anything,” Blaire said, a look of regret overtaking her features. Her eyes sparkled with liquid emotion.
“I understand it now.”
“Come in. She’s accepted,” the headmistress said, looking over their heads. Had someone knocked?
“You’re staying?”
Charlotte twisted in her seat, eyes widening as Aiden strolled into the room in jeans and a T-shirt instead of the clothes from the club. He didn’t have any blood on him, and the wound on his cheek was nowhere to be seen. He looked like himself again. When she didn’t say anything, too caught up in looking him over for injury, his expression shuttered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. Her chest tightened as hopelessness gripped her.
“Is that you?” she whispered.
His dark brows lowered over his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Are you sad?”
His head flinched back, his beautiful green eyes widening.
“I’m staying,” she said, hoping to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. A feeling her instincts screamed were Aiden’s feelings echoing through her.
“You feel me,” he murmured, reverence in his voice.
“I think so. If you were sad.” Her teeth sank into the edge of her lip as she drew it into her mouth.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” He laughed to himself. “I’ve waited for you for so long.”
“What?”
The headmistress spoke up, breaking their connection. “We spend our lives learning of the Korrena bond and our mate to prepare for the awakening, which only happens in the latter teen years. Aiden is twenty and is past the age where normal discovery happens. Not everyone finds their pair, so many his age without a bond often feel despair at the possibility it’ll never happen. His own mother didn’t discover her pair until eighty-one years of age.”
Charlotte looked back at Aiden, and he offered a sad smile. She couldn’t imagine growing up knowing there might be a soulmate meant for her—someone destined to be her other half—and then discovering they didn’t exist.
“It’s because you were human,” he said. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but it happened.”
“I need to speak to the Oracle,” the headmistress said. “This development needs to be explored. We need to know how it plays into the prophecy. For now, show Charlotte to her room. Classes are not in session and won’t be for another three weeks. This should allow you time to acquaint yourself with the campus and the student body. It should be easier for you since your relationship with your Korrena is less volatile than someone who shall remain nameless experienced with theirs.”
“Me. I’m nameless,” Blaire said with a self-deprecating laugh.
The headmistress looked up at the ceiling as if asking for guidance.
“Listen, if I couldn’t laugh about it, I don’t know what I’d do.” Blaire looked at Charlotte. “You have it easy. When I first came here, Headmistress Velastra was stone cold. Nothing could crack her poker face.”
The headmistress arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “Poker face?”
“You never laughed, sighed, or anything. Riley even said you were like that. Now you smile and show your frustration with us.”
Headmistress Velastra smoothed her hand over her pencil skirt, clearing her throat. “Well, you are a frustrating bunch I have grown rather fond of.” Before Blaire could say anything else, she turned her attention to Charlotte. “Again, your relationship is stable with your Korrena, and you have friends already at the academy. Your transition should be easier than it was for Blaire.”
Aiden stepped forward and motioned for Charlotte. “Come on. I’ll show you to our dorm room.”
