Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Nati

I head into the dining room, pleased to see that Anja is already sitting with Cethin, meaning that Meic is almost certainly going to join them.

It’ll mean putting up with Afan, but I suppose that’s unavoidable, especially now I’m properly dating Meic. It’s not like he’s going to suddenly stop spending time with one of his best friends, and I wouldn’t want him to either.

I take my seat next to the empty chair and flash a smile at my roommate.

“Hey,” she says. “You got in late last night again.”

My cheeks flame red. “Mmhmm. Meic and I had a date.”

“Again? That’s the third time this week, and it’s Thursday.”

“Because you and Cethin were any better when you started dating?” I ask, then check around to make sure no one else is paying attention. “And I don’t believe you haven’t been taking him back to our room without me there.”

Anja laughs and flicks her silvery-white hair over my shoulder. “No comment.”

I shake my head in amusement and turn my attention to eating. It’s been a long morning, and I don’t want to go into my afternoon lessons without having something first.

“Hey,” a familiar voice says, making my heart skip a beat.

“Hi,” I look up to find Meic standing beside me.

“Is this seat taken?”

“I was saving it for you.”

“Eurgh, nauseating,” Afan mutters from next to Cethin.

I ignore the merman. I’ve heard plenty about his views on fated mates from Meic. He and Cethin are convinced their friend will change his mind once he finds his own fated mate, but surely fate wouldn’t be that cruel to whoever it is he’s meant to end up with?

Meic takes a seat. “Ah, wing day, my favourite.”

I smile and lean in to kiss his cheek, not lingering too long in case Frank decides he wants to take a bite of him again. He’s been reasonably behaved the last few days, but I still worry every time the two of us are alone, or too close together. And I can’t wear a turban all of the time. Though it’s been helping me feel more relaxed when the two of us are alone.

Meic puts a hand on my back and I lean into his touch. I didn’t realise until he started paying me attention like this that I missed being touched so much, but there’s no doubt that’s the reaction I’m having to him.

He pulls back to tear apart some of his chicken.

Frank slithers out of the nest of snakes in my hair and I freeze. He’s been sulking since I milked him, and staying fairly hidden, but he seems to have decided that enough is enough.

Anja freezes on the other side of the table, watching me with concern in her eyes. I’m lucky to have a friend who cares as much as she does. Or maybe she’s just worrying that I’ll need her and Cethin to break into the Charms and Potions classroom again and risk getting them caught.

“Hey, Frank,” Meic says, flashing the snake a friendly smile. It’s certainly friendlier than I’d be if I were in Meic’s position.

My snake hisses.

“It’s not beef from the sandwiches, but will it do?” Meic asks, holding out a piece of fried chicken for Frank.

My heart pounds in my chest as I wait to see what my snake does. I don’t want him to bite Meic, but I know that we have to try things if we’re going to make this work. Once we accept the mating bond, there’s going to be no going back, and that means Meic is going to be in my life for a long time.

Frank moves so far towards Meic that there’s a slight tugging on my head.

“Careful,” I murmur. It’s not often that one of my snakes tries to get that far away from me.

Meic gives me a questioning look.

“Him, not you. Except, also you. Don’t let him bite you or you’ll have to avoid me and any other gorgons for the rest of the day.”

Frank takes the chicken from Meic and wolfs it down without even a nibble.

“I don’t care about the other gorgons, but I’m not avoiding you,” he says before leaning in. “If he bites me, we can bring the blindfold back.”

My breath catches in my throat.

“Though I’d prefer not to be bitten, we’ve been having a lot of fun without it.”

“Meic!”

“Yes?” He picks up his smoothie and seems to take a drink in order to hide his wide grin.

“We shouldn’t talk about this here,” I murmur.

To my surprise, he nods. “Do I need to bribe your other snakes, or is Frank enough?”

“The others don’t seem to dislike you as much, I think you’re fine.”

“All the more chicken for Frank, then.” Meic holds out another piece to the snake. He’s playing with fire by doing it, but I kind of love it. His acceptance of the snakes being part of me means a lot.

“I have a gorgon question for you,” Anja asks, making me glad Meic agreed to change the subject.

I raise an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“It’s about Frank.”

“Isn’t it always,” I mutter.

She gives me a strange look. “It’s just, I never hear you talk about the other snakes. Or is it all Frank?”

I shake my head. “There are five of them,” I respond. “Frank is just in charge.”

“Oh.”

I reach around to the back of my head and coax out the small snake who likes to live there. Her head is browner than Frank’s, and only about a third of the size. “This is Camille,” I say. “She’s the quietest of my snakes.”

“Hi,” Anja says, waving at the snake.

“What are the others called?” Meic asks.

“Mary, Philip, and Joyce,” I respond.

“And you named them when you were a kid?” Anja asks.

“Oh, no. Gorgons don’t get their snakes until puberty,” I respond. “I named them when I was twelve after the characters from my favourite mystery series.”

“What was your hair like before?” she asks.

“I can show you if Cethin will help?”

The dark warlock gives me an inquisitive look. “How?”

“Can you cast an illusion spell over me? I’d normally take a potion if I were going into the human world.”

He nods and holds out his hand until a puff of purple smoke fills the air. He pushes it towards me.

My skin tickles as it hits, though I know it isn’t doing much to most of me. The only part of my body that ever needs an illusion is my head.

“That’s so cool,” Anja says. “The green is so vibrant.”

I lift my hand up as if to touch my hair before remembering that it isn’t actually there. “That’s what it used to look like. Mum used to get so many letters home from school annoyed that it was dyed when it was always naturally this colour.” My skin stops tingling and I assume the spell has worn off.

“I like you with snakes,” Meic says firmly. “Even if they bite me.”

I laugh at the way he finished his thought, even while the first part makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I’ve had ten years to get used to having snakes for hair and I’m confident about them now, but that wasn’t always the case. Hearing my fated mate say he likes them just reassures me.

Though I suppose it makes sense. I like his horns just as much.

“So do the snakes just grow out of your head?” Anja asks. I can tell from her face that she’s curious about this and probably has been ever since we met. But I wasn’t exactly forthcoming in the beginning. I’m still not convinced by whether I should be now, but considering how much Anja and Cethin helped me last week, it’s fair I tell them some truths about gorgons.

“They work kind of like antlers,” I respond. “I always had spots on my head where they’d grow out of when the time was right.”

“That’s like my horns,” Meic says. “I just had tiny stubs until I was fourteen.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” I respond. “When my snakes started growing, my hair fell out. A bit like teeth, I guess.”

“Do they just keep growing?” Anja asks.

“No, this is as long as they get.” Which is definitely a good thing. Snakes down to my waist sounds like a nightmare. “The length varies a bit by gorgon, but most of the time, the snakes get to about shoulder length.”

“Makes you wonder how close they were when Meic got bit,” Cethin jokes.

Anja taps him on the arm. “Too soon.”

I manage a weak smile. “It’s fine. Everything is good now.” I look at Meic, hoping he feels that way too.

He flashes me a smile that seems like it’s just for me and reassures me more than he can possibly know.

The conversation moves on and I lean back in my seat, glad that everything is as comfortable as this. And looking forward to when I get to spend alone time with Meic again, away from our friends.