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Maybe he might have been interested in me if I still looked the way I had before The Fire. But not now—no one could want me now, I was sure of that. Least of all someone like Ari. Besides, I knew how his people felt about women with facial scarring or deformities. Drakes considered women like that unfit to show themselves in society.
Unfit to live.
I thought it was probable that he was just curious about exactly how ugly I really was. He probably had a morbid interest in seeing the melted side of my face up close or something—which he certainly had—at least for one horrible moment before I could cover myself that morning.
I’d had people try to peek at me before—to see what I was hiding behind my long black hair. They almost invariably recoiled when they saw what The Fire had done to me. Only my Coven-mates and little Allegra didn’t seem to see my scars—I couldn’t trust anyone else to be so kind.
“Please, Avery—don’t tease,” I said quietly. “You know Ari doesn’t have any interest in me…that way. And I wouldn’t want him to. I just like keeping to myself and staying with my friends. You know that.”
Avery’s sharp blue eyes softened a bit.
“I’m sorry, Katydid,” he said gently, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. It was his pet nickname for me and he always used it when he was being especially sweet and careful of my feelings.
“It’s okay.” I smiled back at him. I have to say, I love Avery—he is one of the best friends a girl could ask for. He’s loyal and true and protective of all of his female Coven-mates—which is basically all of us, unless you count Griffin who had become kind of an honorary member after he and Megan got together.
Avery winked at me. “I won’t say anymore. Maybe I’m a just a tiny bit jealous. I wish I could get a big handsome Drake interested in me.”
“Well, why not, now that the Edict is broken?” Megan said, smiling.
She and Griffin were sitting side by side. Megan’s long, auburn hair was tied back and she was picking unenthusiastically at the cafeteria’s latest offering. For once it wasn’t a casserole, though that hardly made it any better than usual.
Though Megan had come into her power in a big way and had the right to eat from the Sisters’ selections of food—which was almost always better than what they fed us Norms—she still got the same food that Emma and I did, out of a sense of solidarity. I wondered if she was regretting that now as I watched her look unhappily at the contents of her lunch tray.
Griffin, of course, was sipping a chilled bottle of blood. I could smell it from where I was sitting, even though he was far across the table from me. For some reason the harsh, metallic scent actually smelled good to me—appetizing. Which was crazy, right?
Huh—just goes to show how bad the food the cafeteria feeds us really is when a Nocturne’s lunch smells better than mine, I thought with a mental shrug.
“I’ve told you, the Edict might be dead magically, but it’s still with us socially,” Avery said, breaking into my weird thoughts. “Besides which, I’m pretty sure that homophobia is as much a constant companion to most Drakes as their dragons are.”
“I’m quite certain you’re right about that,” Griffin said quietly. He didn’t usually speak a lot, except to Megan, and I got the feeling he was getting used to having friends again—and belonging to a group after he had been a social outcast for the past fifteen years. “I believe it is actually against the law in the Sky Lands for two males to, er…” he cleared his throat. “Cohabitate.”
“Well isn’t that a fancy name for getting the goodies?” Avery said dryly.
Griffin shrugged. “I’m just telling you that you’re right. If you’re looking for a romantic relationship, you should probably look elsewhere.”
“Seriously?” Megan raised her eyebrows. “They actually outlawed same-sex couples? But that’s discrimination!”
“No, Princess, that’s the uber-macho world of the Drakes,” Avery said and shrugged. “And before you plan any protests, remember that it isn’t just the whole gay thing they hate—it’s the idea of a Drake dating anyone outside his or her race. Even humans, which most Others consider fair game. And getting rid of the Edict isn’t going to change that particular prejudice one bit.”
“Really? Even humans? That’s awful,” I murmured, letting my eyes drift over the Dining Hall, looking out from the safety of our own little table. We were located in the far corner of the vast room, away from the long tables which housed four main groups of Others.
Idly, I let my gaze drift over them. The Fae’s table sat under a long purple banner, the Sisters’ had a blue banner hanging over their table, the Nocturne’s had a red banner, of course and the Drakes…
