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She nodded, snorted a sound that had me holding back a snicker as she flipped through the pages and said, “I’ve never read this book before. Could never get my hands on the ones my father had on his shelves. He’s written several.”
I’d read them all. “Yet you are in an advanced course.”
She laughed and the sound and expression was so intense I knew before she said it what the problem was. “Exactly! How the hell does he think being his daughter is enough to make me advanced in all this? Like his bloodline was supposed to code my genetic magical makeup to just know things because he did. I know nothing!”
I started to speak, but she was not done venting.
As she pulled her auburn hair into a messy ponytail she continued, “And everything I did know, or thought I knew how to do is like…” She made a sound as she also moved her arms and hands about as if indicating trying to grasp at something in the air. “I can’t catch one break. You know?”
I did not know. I nodded because I was growing more interested in this unusual witch with every word she spoke. When she stopped speaking, which was several minutes later, she looked at me as if really looking at me for the first time. Her eyes blinked and when she focused on my horns, I was sure she knew it was me she literally backed into in the library.
Instead, Eleanor said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve never met anyone with your… features before.”
Again, there were not a lot of students in the school in the past years. They had canceled more than one class due to low enrollment. Our realm was not exactly one where a college degree was needed, though it certainly helped, especially when traveling to or through other dimensions. There were only a handful of gargoyles around and most of them had shorter horns. The demon side of my line had huge horns, but demons could be horned or hornless, so even if I was small in the horn department, I made up for it in the rest of my body because gargoyles were known for the muscles, the endurance, and of course, the ability to turn to stone and perch for hours, days, months, years, eternity if from the right lineage. My horns were considered medium for a demon and large for a gargoyle of my age. “I’m… a demon.”
Not a lie, just not the whole truth.
She nodded. “Oh. Okay.” She looked at my eyes and her brow went up. She knew there was more, but was not going to ask. I was not going to tell her anyway.
“What?” I asked because she was still seemingly processing that information.
She gulped and I focused on her throat and my demon side began flashing all sorts of illicit images in my head. I looked at her lips as she said, “I just thought demons would be more… offense than defense.”
I smiled and nodded. “I double majored. It’s good to know both sides.”
She said, “Good point.” Then a distinct sound disrupted her.
The blush of color heating her face made me want to smile, laugh, but I would not embarrass her further than she obviously already was.
“I—” she started.
“Have you been outside the cafeteria yet?” What the hell was I doing?
She shook her head.
My mouth was on autopilot. “Would you like to grab dinner in town then?” And before she could refuse or cause my face to heat with embarrassment, I added in a rush, “I already planned to go to the pub.” She looked at the table between us. Now, I was the one who couldn’t seem to shut up. “It’s good food, but I understand if you’d rather—”
“I’d love to go.” She closed the book in front of her and as she placed it back in her small bag, I tried to let out a quiet breath of relief.
Eleanor was not what I had expected. Her full, inviting lips seemed to never stop moving. She was curious about everything around us as though she only read about it in a book or something. I was drawn to her in ways I had never anticipated. It wasn’t like I could find a mate the way others could, yet here I was, listening to this witch tell me about the flowers she was seeing along this ride to town as though she wanted my confirmation the information she was sharing was correct. And it had been, probably, I kept getting distracted, but what I tuned in to hear sounded accurate.
“You seem very fond of plants. Are you studying—”
“No.” She laughed. “No way. I’m a… basic witch. Basic being the key term and witch being the goal. The degree should satisfy my father and his family that I can do more. Possibly… something other than manage a magical clothing store in this realm or a fancy boutique in the one I grew up in.”
My brow shot up so far on my forehead I thought it would touch my hairline. “What realm are you from?”
She leaned in a bit and despite my best efforts, I let my eyes linger on the sight of the top of her left breast exposed by the angle.
After worrying a kissable bottom lip for a moment, she whispered, “The human realm. Planet Earth.”
“At least you are not from Mars.” I made my line of sight shift to her face. “The only magical being I met from that planet was wild and crazy.” She opened her eyes wide. I smiled and added, “Best roommate I ever had. Sophomore year.”
She let out what could only be a breath of relief. She then said, “Please don’t tell anyone else I’m… half… human.”
I nodded. This was the moment I should tell her, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know this woman well enough to trust her with all my secrets. Only a handful of faculty and staff knew my origins. Instead of confessing my own mix of parentage, I blurted out, “Did you know the town’s name is Wellspring because of the island’s ability to create and provide its own fresh water sources?”
She nodded. “It’s in the freshman orientation.”
