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“Damn, I need someone to kiss me like that.” Trixie high-fived another girl. Zadie, I thought her name was. “Wait, no, I changed my mind. I need someone to kiss me like Bain was kissing Endymion in the library the other day. I mean, that stuff should be illegal in all fifty states and on both sides of the veil.”
Alara gasped at the same time I did. She slapped my shoulder, and I grabbed it. “Ow, what the hell?” I knew why I was in shock. I had no idea that anyone even saw us kissing.
Alara’s cheeks were blooming in redness. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Are you two together?”
I covered my face with my hands, now the target of everyone’s gaze. Their eyes were wide, and they all expected details or answers. “We made out a few times. I didn’t really have time to ask him to define the relationship. And I don’t know if I want to. It was kissing.”
Trixie flung herself back onto her chair. “Gods, he is so hot and brooding. I bet he really means it when he kisses with those lips.”
I nodded, and they all screamed and kicked their legs.
I did give a few details but kept most of them to myself.
I thought about Zephyr while I spoke about Bain. It almost felt like I was cheating on each of them even though nothing was set in stone with either one. I was tied to them both in a way I didn’t understand. Craved them, drawn to them like a magnet, caught in their snares and not really wanting to be released.
We watched three more movies before deciding we weren’t quite the partiers and all-nighters we’d ascribed ourselves to be. Alara and I said our good nights and went into our room where she slapped me again, this time on the back.
“No more secrets. I’m your best friend, right?”
I took a moment to think it over. She kind of was. “Yeah.”
She smiled. It made her eyes twinkle as she wrapped her hair up in a messy bun. “Good. Best friends tell each other everything. And that includes any and all encounters with hot guys.”
I snorted. “What about not-so-hot guys?”
“Come on, Endy. Think about it. There are no such things as not-hot fairy men.”
Gods, she was right. I mean, I wasn’t attracted to all of them, but, in general, there were no ugly guys at Sciathain Academy.
“That’s true. But Bain and Zephyr are the hottest.”
She gasped. “You have the hots for both of them? Nice!” Apparently, that warranted a fist-bump.
We turned out the lights and I knew from her breathing she wasn’t asleep. “What about you?” I asked her in the darkness.
“What about me?”
“Anyone you have your eye on?”
She laughed. The sound filled the room like a joyous choir. “I’ll let you know when we have our first make-out session. That’s the deal.”
Chapter Five
A couple of days later, I was still trying to figure out who my friend—my best friend—Alara had her eye on. At least I could eliminate Bain and Zephyr from the list. She’d been admiring rather than negative or upset when she learned I was attracted to them both.
As she pointed out, there were few if any guys here at the academy who would not qualify as far above the average in terms of appearance. Translated: Every guy here was hot. So, I’d never figure out who she liked unless I was very clever. Or unless she hurried up and made out with him because then according to our friendship pact, she’d have to talk.
I spent most of my free time wandering the grounds. It seemed like there was always more to see. More gardens, more wildlands. Streams and ponds and little waterfalls. Fountains and beautiful stonework. All the structure was of natural materials like stone and wood. Fairies, apparently, did not like iron or some other metals much.
Stainless steel, they did well with for reasons I didn’t entirely understand but which apparently related to the addition of carbon making the iron less pure. It had been explained in science class, but everyone else already seemed to understand it so well, the instructor just buzzed right along and I didn’t want to slow things down.
Which was why I currently was heading home after the library closed. I’d spent hours trying to learn more about what repels fairies and why and trying to think of how it might have affected me in my life before I knew my heritage. I didn’t remember being repelled by anything in particular, but that could be because in the twenty-first century, steel would be much more common than iron, wouldn’t it?
It didn’t rust or anything...what were cars made out of? I could research that online, but honestly, I wondered if maybe being born and raised in a human community hadn’t muted some of what made me fairy? Perhaps I wasn’t as bothered by iron or as likely to have successfully emerging wings.
Unlike the summer term, in fall, people flew as often as they walked. Many of their clothes had special openings in the back for their wings to emerge, and Alara had suggested we either needed to shop or do alterations for me, but the thought just made me feel worse and even more of a failure.
Tonight, the common area outside the castle was void of anyone flying around or walking, except me. It was usually not this empty, but there was a tournament tomorrow on the field, all sorts of weapons and flying around, and everyone was probably getting their rest. I had no reason to prepare since I’d be sitting on the sidelines. I could do that sleepy. Unlike the average neighborhood in my town, there were few outside lights even this close to the building. Most of the pools of light on the cobbles were cast by windows above and didn’t help much. The corners were dark and a little scary, but if I mentioned that, my fellow students would probably laugh. And rightly so. The only danger lurking here was the veil, and I happened to know certain staff members crossed it regularly. I suspected a few students did as well, but it seemed to be an upper-class privilege or something.
