AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not according to any of the testers,” I murmur. “It’s fine.”
Thistle taps her beak against my shoulder and I raise my hand. She drops something onto it.
“Thank you,” I say, bringing the item closer to inspect it. The seashell must have come from the shore around the island, and is entrancingly beautiful. “I’ll put it with my other treasures,” I say to the raven.
She caws again and flaps her wings.
“Oh, so that’s what the bowl of random crap by your bed is,” Nati muses.
“It isn’trandom crap, it’s treasure.”
Thistle caws in agreement then flaps her wings again.
“All right, go do your thing,” I say to the raven.
She doesn’t need telling twice and jumps into the air, flying away without a backward glance.
“Seems like she understands you just fine,” Nati says.
“Yeah, I can’t say I really understand any of this,” I admit. Despite my ancestors promising me that I’d understand my magic, the familiar part of it really hasn’t been easy to get used to.
We pass through the front doors and pass a group of four students with dark hair and pale skin.
I freeze, the feeling coming from the group is different than from what I can feel coming from Nati.
She keeps walking, only seeming to notice that I’m not with her when she’s halfway down the corridor. She follows my gaze to where the group of students are heading into one of the classrooms.
I shake my head and hurry to catch up with my friend.
“Why the sudden interest in vampires? I thought you were all loved up already.” She raises an eyebrow.
“I’m not loved up,” I murmur, though I can tell that it’s a lie. I haven’t said the words out loud to anyone, least of all Cethin, but I can certainly feel them. “But wait, vampires?”
“Yeah. You’ve been here a couple of months already, surely you know how to spot a vampire?”
“I guess? I’ve never thought about it.” I try to shake the feeling that I’m missing something, which is surprisingly easy given the way my stomach rumbles.
We pass into the dining hall and my gaze immediately lands on the table where Cethin normally sits with his friends.
He raises his hand and waves at me.
Nati sighs. “We’ve got to sit with them, haven’t we?”
“We don’t have to,” I assure her. “Look, there are some free spots there.”
“And have you spend all of lunch sneaking looks at your boyfriend?” She heads right over to them without giving me a chance to protest.
I shrug, not about to complain about the fact that I get to sit next to Cethin. I slide into the seat next to him and lean in to kiss him hello.
“Nathara, it’s good to see you,” Cethin’s friend says.
She rolls her eyes, and I swear I hear Frank hiss from within her nest of snakes. “Lunch will go much better if you keep your mouth shut, Meic,” she responds.
“I don’t know, I’d think anything would be improved by my commentary.” He picks up an apple and bites into it.
Nati glares at him from across the table and I try to smother my amusement.
“Enjoying yourself?” Cethin asks.
