See you at eleven!
I burst out laughing before I peeked out my window, towards the clock tower in the center of the city.
Shit. I had to start getting ready.
I slathered my toast with butter and jam as Sienna Makar ranted and rambled about the expectations of her father.
“And like… Tell me whyTheiahad to be the one to tell him that was unrealistic. He thinks that I should come home onevery breakbetween quarters so that I can shadow him at Court, as if it’s not a week’s worth of travel both ways. Sure, Theia does it all the godsdamned time, but she doesn’t eventeachright now. She barely needs to be in Sophrosyne!”
“Wait, so Markus thinks you should travel for a week, spend a week back home in Luxtos & Stygos, and then journeybackto Sophrosyne. Just to then take the week-long journey homeagainin between every academic quarter? To train for a role that you’ve, uhhh, literally grown up training to inherit?” I asked, incredulous. “That would eat up your whole break.”
“Right?Gods, the man is exhausting. Thank the gods for Theia. She’s the only one who can keep my father in line, I swear.”
“At least shecankeep him in line,” Laurel laughed, though the smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Mama Ansari couldn’t keep my dad in check if shetried.And she does try, to be fair.He’s just as stubborn as an ass.”
I chewed on my toast, a little bit lost in thought. Sometimes when Laurel or Sia talked about their family lives, I felt strange pangs of wistfulness—a certain morbid curiosity overtaking me.What were my parents like?What would our relationships look like, if they hadn’t… If they were…
“You alright over there, Arken?” Sia asked, nudging me with an arm.
“I mean, just take a look at her fuckingneck,” Laurel crowed. “That rude bastard kept her up all night, I’d put every Lyra I have on that bet.”
“We fell asleepeventually,” I murmured, cheeks heating.
Sia cackled.
“Good for you, girl,” she said with a smirk, clinking her glass of juice against my tea cup.
“Am I allowed to sayI told you soyet?” Laurel inquired, reaching across the table to swipe the grapes that I had pushed aside on my plate.
I rolled my eyes.
“If you need to get it out of your system, go right ahead, Ansari. By all means.”
She didn’t even hesitate.
”Ifuuuuckingtold you so! ‘Just friends’ my ass,” Laurel snorted. “What did I tell her, Sia?”
“That they just needed to bone and get it over with?” Sienna replied, smirking over her juice.
“You keep that shit in mind the next time I offer you my advice, Asher,” Laurel cackled.
“I dunno, Laur—I’m not sure they’vegotten overanything. It’s what, day ten? Eleven? And they’re still going at it like horny teenagers,” Sienna said, pushing my hair back to get another glance at my neck.
Kieran had bit me hard enough last night that those strange godling teeth of his had nearly punctured my skin. I couldn’t help but laugh when I’d caught a glance in the mirror. I looked like I’d fallen prey to yet another daemon attack—a vampyric one, this time.
Close enough.
Laurel let loose a low whistle, craning her neck to see just how shamelessly the man had claimed his territory.
“We’ve gotta get you some concealing powder or something, godsdamn. Or we could hit up Elise. She’s getting pretty good at her cleric shit. Fixed my sprained wrist last month without any issues. I’m sure she wouldn’t charge ya to clean that up.”
My blush deepened as I realized that the dark little creature stirring in my chest didn’twantto cover it up. Or conceal it. Or heal the wound with arcana. Not when the bite had made me come harder than I think I ever had before.
“Oh, you’ve got it socataclysmicallybad, Arken,” Sia said with a wicked grin.
“So is he your boyfriend now, or what?” Laurel tacked on.
I shrugged.