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We emerged into a quad decorated with trees and benches. Several uniformed students lounged in the morning sun while birds tweeted cheerful melodies. As far as I could tell, the students were older (maybe juniors or seniors) and they gave the two of us uninterested glances.
The air smelled like ripe apples and honey, and the dry, earthy scent of autumn leaves as they crunched beneath our feet. I’d always loved that smell. It brought back memories of Samhain, when our Coven would light bonfires, make costumes, and bribe the Autumn Fae with the best fruit in our orchards. Last I’d checked, though, it was January so why the air felt like October was anyone’s guess—I just figured like all things regarding Blood Rose, things here were… different.
“Why do you look so happy?” Oleander observed with a frown.
I smiled sheepishly. “Oh, I was just enjoying the weather which is weird to say, considering it’s January.”
“Outside of Blood Rose it might be January,” he answered. “But the weather here is on its own schedule.”
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged. “It means it could be winter one day and spring the next.”
“Hmm,” I answered, not really knowing what to make of that. This place certainly was like no other place I’d ever been, which made sense because it existed in its own space. The only way to reach Blood Rose was by portal—you couldn’t just drive or hop a flight here because it didn’t exist in the mortal world. “Summer must be your favorite since that’s your court?”
He shrugged. “It’s alright. I was born on the very last day of summer, so I straddle the line between Summer and Autumn, so I like both.” Oleander then glanced at the clock tower looming over the quad and paled, picking up the pace even more. I struggled to keep up. I was going to have to start some kind of exercise regimen if I was going to be running around like this all year.
He dipped beneath a stone archway that opened onto a long atrium full of blossoming trees. The sweet smell intensified, but I didn’t get a chance to fully enjoy it because we were doing a great impersonation of Kevin’s mother at the airport when she realizes she forgot her kid at home. Our footsteps echoed on the stone walkway beneath the trees as we veered quickly off the path. Oleander paused for a moment, whipping his head this way and that, no doubt to check that there was no one around. Then he produced a bundle of leaves and, putting a spark of power into them, tossed them at the space between the trees. The air rippled like a summer heat haze.
“What’s that?” I breathed.
“The shortcut. It’s a brief detour into the faerie realm. Space over there is different than it is here.”
“Um… I’m not a faerie, remember?”
He didn’t seem concerned. “You’re traveling with one so you’re good.” He stepped into the rippling portal and reached out a hand to me.
“Are you sure it’s safe,” I started.
“A bored Summer Sidhe built this portal a hundred years ago and used it to get to his classes faster. You just have to think about where you want to go, and it’ll take you there. The catch is you have to be Summer Fae.” He grinned mischievously and glanced down at me. “Or accompanying one.” He shook his hand. “Now let’s get to it.”
I gave him a hard look, buying myself some time because I was still suspicious of the swirling portal before me. “Is this a ploy to hold my hand?”
Oleander laughed aloud. “You’re pretty, but no. Truth be told, I only have eyes for Elly.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised and at the same time sort of offended, but sort of not because it wasn’t like I was attracted to Oleander.
“But she won’t pull her head out long enough to realize I’m smitten.” His smile faded around the edges. “Not that it matters, in the end.”
I slid my hand into his. It was large and calloused from hard work, a reminder that he’d been working most of his life just to keep his head above water. He was already so different than any other faerie I’d met, in the Hollow or otherwise. How much different would he seem when we really got to know each other. I had a feeling we were going to be friends, if only because of our mutual dislike of Vivian Grimsbane.
We stepped through and my eyes were momentarily dazzled by summer sunlight. It beat down, warming my skin, seeping into my hair to caress my scalp. A drop of pure, childish joy slipped into my belly. It smelled like freshly cut grass, linen on a clothesline, and baking asphalt. When I swallowed, I tasted sun tea, watermelon, and snow cones. Anything that made summer living so glorious. It bolstered me, made me stand a little taller, and keep my balance when we emerged from what looked like a solid stone wall, next to the statue of a long dead Grimsbane witch.
“Why doesn’t it matter?”
He shrugged. “Elly’s dad has already arranged her marriage for the day she graduates or drops out. So that means I don’t stand a snowball’s chance in summer of dating her.”
My heart twinged in sympathy. I didn’t know a whole much about it or dating in general, really. I mean, I’d gone out with a few mundane boys at Haven High, but that hadn’t really amounted to much. And, truly, that really shouldn’t have bothered me. Witches were pleasure-seekers and didn’t do romantic entanglements.
Oleander gave me a light push, pointing at a door straight ahead. It was propped open, letting idle chatter filter into the hall.
“In there. Hurry, we only have two minutes left before we get locked out.”
I fell into step behind him and found myself at the back of a huge classroom. It had to be augmented by some kind of dimensional magic, because it reminded me painfully of the high school gym. The desks were arranged in rows that stair-stepped down to the bottom, where the teacher’s lectern stood. There were at least fifty students in attendance, and they half-turned to regard us. I didn’t meet any of them in the eye.
Oleander found a seat in the back, and I sat beside him. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his back against the seat in a slouch, supremely unconcerned by the looks we were getting. I took the hint and relaxed my rigid posture. The best way to bait a bully is to show weakness, and I was more than sure everyone in here was firmly in the bully camp.
So, I pointedly ignored the gaggle of witches nearby, scanning the room to see who else was in attendance.
