Chapter 14

14

Michael Thornwood, the Crown Prince of Faerie, waited for me outside the cafeteria at three on the dot, and I wasn’t sure if I should smile at him or drop into a curtsey.

Oh God, what had I gotten myself into now?

Sunlight shone on the golden strands of his hair, hanging below his ears. His green eyes fixed on mine immediately with a singular focus twisting my stomach into warm knots. Any more time with him and I’d start to crush—if I hadn’t stepped into crush territory already. Which wasn’t a good idea. In fact, it was a very bad idea.

“Hey there, Tavi.” He raised a hand in greeting. “You’re early.”

Early? “No, apparently I’m late, since you’re already here,” I teased. “Homeroom went well for you?”

Did the rest of our professors know why the prince was here?

He shrugged, unconcerned and amazingly put-together in his dark blue jeans and red v-neck t-shirt. “My orientation ended early and I had a little time to spare. I guess it went well. It was boring.”

I didn’t know what to say to him, honestly. I hadn’t exactly been sure back when he was regular old Mike, but now? Talking to a prince, for cryin’ out loud?

“Let’s go get your suitcase,” he said. “It’s a nice day outside and I’m sure we could both use a walk and fresh air.”

“It’s not much. I can get it myself if you point me in the direction of the car.” We fell into step beside each other. Maybe I should have stayed a step behind him. Were people looking at us?

Oh, definitely.

I struggled not to wrap my arms around my chest against their attention. I really needed to shower.

“Nonsense, I’m happy to help,” Mike said with a chuckle and a twist of his lips. “And I’m not giving you the keys to my car. I’ve seen what you do to your vehicles. Can’t risk you steering my poor girl into a ditch.”

I couldn’t help but laugh in return. “It wasn’t my fault! I bought the worst car on the lot for this trip. I was in a hurry to get here.” Then I shut my mouth. I didn’t need to give too much away. But he didn’t press me about Big Dan, and I was grateful.

We chatted lightly as Mike led the way to the school’s parking lot. I didn’t remember much of the walk. My attention was focused on Mike and how closely we walked together, our arms knocking occasionally. Was I supposed to stay a certain number of steps behind him? Was I supposed to address him in any kind of certain way? Your Highness felt stuffy after everything he’d helped me through.

He was still helping me.

Mike clicked the keys to open up the back door to the car and then proceeded to drag my suitcase out. “This is large enough to fit a body in,” he grunted. “What did you put in here?”

I watched the way he moved, the way his muscles bunched and flexed beneath tanned skin. The red shirt brought out the startling color of his eyes and put me in mind of spring grasses yet again.

More than a small part of me warmed this time.

Prince Michael Thornwood of Faerie.

No, bad idea, I told the warmth, urging it to disappear and quickly. I didn’t need any other complications, let alone entertaining dirty thoughts about someone like Michael. Someone who was way out of my league on a good day and was in a bad position to rat me out if my secret ever came to light.

“Yeah, I know it’s heavy,” I said at last, purposely turning my gaze to the ground and my dirty sneakers. The most comfortable pair I owned. “I may have brought too many things.”

“You packed everything,” he teased. “Let me guess. You chose some of your favorite rocks from your garden so you wouldn’t get homesick.

“No rocks, but everything of importance, because there’s nothing to go back to.”

Dammit!

Open mouth, insert foot.

Mike stopped and stared at me, leaning heavily on the top of the suitcase. “Tavi, I’m sorry.”

I scrambled to smooth over my last statement. “It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.” I’d already said too much. “Let’s just say I’m going to make sure I do the best I can to stay at the academy. This place…” I turned to look at the castle looming through the trees. “This is my future. I have no reason to go home.”

And no one would accept me back if I couldn’t hack it here.

His smile widened. “I’d think nothing less of you.” He kept the suitcase in hand as we walked back up the hill toward the castle, and he didn’t press the issue.

I appreciated that, too. No prying into my past. I did the same for him even when I was dying to know about his presence at the school. He pulled the suitcase along the winding cement path through the trees until the castle loomed before us.

We chatted about the school’s expectations and the point system. We chatted about the weather and what would be done about my car, presumably still on the side of the road. But we didn’t talk about our pasts, and I was pleased Mike left the subject alone.

Everyone else had already gone to dinner by the time we walked into the dorm. Another meal missed. Looking over at Mike, somehow I wasn’t upset about it, no matter how my stomach grumbled for me to fill it.

He hauled the suitcase up to my bunk when I didn’t know what to do with it. “You’re going to have a hard time later,” he warned. “Unless you take everything out. Pretty sure the drawers on the left are yours. The one set into the wall there, you see?”

I followed where he pointed and nodded. “I’d rather have everything up where I can sort through it in my own time than leave it on the floor. Besides, I’m not sure the girl beneath me would like coming back to see a giant suitcase next to her bed.” He continued to watch me and I picked at my shirt, refusing to meet his gaze. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m not sure. You seem different.”

“I’m still just me,” I replied easily. “Besides, this is the first time you’ve really looked at me in direct sunlight. Otherwise it’s been dark.” I held my hands out at my side, head quirked and single eyebrow raised, model pose. Wondering if he liked what he saw and why it would matter so much to me that he did.

“I guess you’re right.” Then he shook his head when the realization struck him. “Oh. Oh, man, I see. I get it now.”

“What?” I asked anxiously.

His gaze went direct even as his mouth smoothed into a tense line. “I get why you’re looking at me like that. Someone told you. About me. Who I really am.”

The knots in my gut smoothed. I’d almost thought he’d figured me out. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. My mentor did. She…ah, she showed me your portrait on the wall in the great hall.” I flashed him a sheepish grin.

Mike flinched at the title and glanced left and right over his shoulder before taking a step closer until I felt caged between him and the ladder to my bunk. Leaning toward me until I ached to close the distance. “Tavi, I’m still just me, too. I’m the guy who gave you a ride last night when you needed help. Nothing has changed,” he insisted. My chest hollowed out when he groaned. “Everyone always gets weird when they find out who I am. Maybe can it on the Highness stuff.”

I pulled my finger across my lips, mimicking a zipper, then snorted for good measure.

I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t being odd about him being a prince, although it had certainly crossed my mind more than once. But if we remained friends, and he found out I was really a shifter, then it could spell ruin for me. I would never get into Faerie. He would be obliged to tell his parents and they would hand me right over to my uncle. Or worse, Kendrick.

Not only the thought of being returned to my so-called fated mate, but the look on Mike’s face right now, at this moment. Both tore me apart. The pain of heartbreak I saw casting a shadow on his features. My heart clenched in response and all thoughts of Kendrick disappeared.

“Hey, you aren’t my prince. I grew up human.” Or close enough. I playfully tapped him on the shoulder to get him to move back. “I just thought maybe you were too cool to be my friend. Although we might have a problem if you expect me to curtsey every time we see each other. I’d trip over my own feet.”

His smile returned slowly, and it lit something inside of me. “Maybe you’re too cool to be my friend. Did you ever think of it in those terms?”

I looked around the empty room, thinking about how we were missing out on dinner and I didn’t even mind. “Me? Cool? You have me mistaken for someone else. Although just maybe we can be too cool as friends together.”

Mike held out a hand. “Shake on it.”

We did, and that was that.

* * *

A week later, rough hands shook me awake. I tried to burrow down into my pillow until those same hands, most assuredly not a part of my dream, yanked at my hair and I jumped up with a scream.

“Keep it down, newbie. Jeez. It’s not like we hurt you.”

I knew the voice. It wasn’t a dream, more like a nightmare. The nightmare of my reality.

“What do you want, Persephone?” I grumbled.

“I want you to wake up,” she said snidely.

When I cracked open my eyes, Persephone and two of her goons were there staring at me over the edge of the bunk like little gremlins. Their eyes practically glowed in the dark. They’d dressed in black and had their hair in long ponytails down their backs.

“A bunch of us are going outside to play Capture the Scroll. Do you want to come play?” she asked.

Glancing over toward the wall, I saw the batter of rain against the front window.

“It’s raining.”

“Don’t you think we know?”

I shifted and dragged my blanket closer. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to get out of bed for some stupid game of yours.”

“Tavi, get real. You’re the outsider here. I know, you know, everyone who has met you knows you don’t belong.” She shared a smile with her friends. “But winning a game of Capture the Scroll can go a long way toward changing your image.”

Like I’d believe she wanted to help me. She’d rather toss me out the window than work toward “changing my image.”

“I don’t even know how to play,” I hedged.

She leaned forward further, smile widening. “Exactly. We grew up playing Fae games and you did not. It’s about time you learn a thing or two. We’re giving you the opportunity to learn. And you seriously want to lie there and blow us off? How lazy can you get?” This to the other girls, who agreed with her with a low snicker.

I also seriously didn’t want to get out of bed because I needed my sleep. Rain, plus a game I didn’t know how to play, plus Persephone more than likely plotting to make me look like an idiot? It sounded awful. No thanks.

“One game,” I finally agreed, against my better judgment. “And then I’m out of there.”

Persephone nodded. “Of course. One game.”

I caught the second look she shared with her friends. This one full of promise to make my night a living hell.

Barbara had warned me to stay out of direct moonlight. Or was it the full moon? Gah, I knew I should have written these things down. It wouldn’t have been a problem at all if I’d stayed in my bunk, which remained in the shadows most nights. With the rain pouring down outside, which meant no moon, I could manage one game with relative ease. But I had to make sure I followed the rules of the potion no matter how Persephone taunted me. My safety came before the acceptance of my peers.

But with the rain…

“Fine.” I pushed out of my bunk, crawling down the ladder with care and grabbing a sweatshirt from a nearby peg. The rest of the girls waited for me to dress, to lace my sneakers, before gesturing for me to follow them outside.

I raised my face to the sky, letting the water sluice down my cheeks. My hair sopped up the moisture and hung in heavy red strands. I drew in a deep breath and held it inside my lungs.

I should have been sleeping, the logical part of me growled, upset at being woken up for some stupid game. I should have been conserving my energy in preparation for classes tomorrow. Instead, I trailed behind Persephone and her meanions toward the center lawn of green I’d only glimpsed in the daylight. It stretched away from the circular drive and extended toward the border of forest trees keeping us hidden from the outside world.

“What are the rules to this game?” I asked, striving to be overheard above the relentless rain.

“You’ve heard of Capture the Flag, haven’t you? It’s along the same lines, except more dangerous because we can use magic,” one of her friends snapped. She glanced over her shoulder at me and her one look held enough disdain to fill a crater on the moon.

“I’ve played it before. It’s just been a long time.” I tried not to affect the same kind of tone. These were the people I needed to compete against for my place here. I didn’t want to stoop to their level.

Although maybe tonight they’d see what I could really do without magic.

“Try to keep up with us, will you?” Persephone called back to me. “There are the boys.”

And when we reached the center green, I saw Mike waiting there with Roman at his side, along with a group of other half-Fae from the boys’ dorm.

His eyes found mine without hesitation, his hair a beacon in the gloom. “Hey, Tavi. I didn’t think you’d be joining us tonight.” He inclined his head in greeting.

Persephone moved to his opposite side, sliding her hands along Mike’s shoulders in a proprietary move. “I finally managed to get her out of bed, in case you were wondering why we’re late. This should prove to be a fun game, don’t you think?”

I didn’t like the way my blood boiled while watching the two of them together. I didn’t like the way part of me, a large part of me, wanted to stride over and punch Persephone right in the face. I knew how to make it hurt.

Rather than give in to my violent desire, I forced a smile on my face. “So, let’s get the game started already.”

Moonlight was something to fear for the first time in my life. Luckily, clouds covered the sky and kept the moon from sight. But the weather could change at any moment. I’d have to make this quick despite the rain.

Roman walked over and gave me a short rundown on the rules and soon we were split into two teams. I found myself beside Mike, balancing on the balls of my feet, ready to capture the scroll wherever it landed.

One of the boys next to him clenched it in his hand, his lips pursed in preparation for the spell to send the magically-protected parchment airborne.

“You’re going to do fine,” Mike told me. He blinked against the rain. “Follow my lead.”

“I think I can handle it,” I replied swiftly, and kept my eyes focused on the paper.

“I don’t want you to think you have to win just because Persephone is super competitive. She can be a little crazy sometimes.”

I didn’t like the way he spoke about her. “I didn’t realize the two of you were such good friends.”

“She runs in the same circles as my parents and some of their friends. I wouldn’t say we’re close, exactly—”

“Tavi,” Persephone snapped. She’d affected a similar posture, her feet apart and balanced, her arms loose at her sides. “Focus.”

Oh yeah, she didn’t like me talking to Mike. Good. Her irritation added another level to this game.

They didn’t expect my reflexes. I took satisfaction in their surprise. When the scroll shot off into the air, I bolted after it, my shifter nature reacting without hesitation despite the spell keeping it contained. I rebounded off one of the trees, twisting my body midair and reaching out to grab the scroll before it even hit the ground.

“Foul!” one of Persephone’s goons called out.

I clenched my fist around the scroll and dropped down to a crouch. “It’s not a foul,” I argued.

Mike came up behind me and clapped a hand down on the top of my head. “Good job! You’re a natural.”

This time, my smile was easy. “Damn right.”

“Throw it again,” Persephone demanded, fixing the boy who’d uttered the spell with a look designed to peel the flesh from his bones. “And this time, let’s make sure we have it in play for more than five seconds.”

We continued with the game, and now my dodging became real as the moon peeked out between the clouds here and there between the raindrops. There were a few near-misses where I had to twist away seconds before I landed in a shaft of light. Like a damn vampire instead of a creature who’d once run free beneath the same light.

I missed the pull of the moon. Felt entirely too human.

Still, time and again I captured the scroll before Persephone or anyone else had an opportunity to grab it. Soon the last bit of sleep left me and my movements became sharper. Faster. It became a game I played with myself. To see how fast I could move, to see how adroitly I could play, how I could show the rest of these girls who they were really dealing with.

I raised my arm to the sky with the scroll in hand yet again.

This time, this win, Mike came over and grabbed me around the waist. “You’re doing a great job! What did I tell you?” he crowed to the others as he twirled me in a circle. “How did you get so good?”

“Natural talent.”

I was breathless. I was floating and flying in his arms and I never wanted the moment to end. We tumbled to the ground beside each other and the dampness sank into my clothing. My arms flung out to my side, fingertips grazing against something as I stared at Mike, at his smile.

Whatever my outflung hand had found felt familiar. What… A shoe?

I broke his hold on me and pushed up on my elbows to grab the shoe, staring for the longest time. I glanced down at my own feet to see if I’d accidentally knocked my own sneakers off during the game. Mine were still there, and so were Mike’s, as well as the rest of the group.

“Whose is this?” I asked, holding it up. “Someone lose a shoe?”

Mike shifted to stare at the shoe, and then to take the same inventory I’d taken. Nope, not one of ours. I was about to toss it away when something else caught my eye, flopping back onto the wet grass as I slowly raised my other arm and pointed straight up.

Lodged in the tree above us was a body. Dead, from the looks of it.