Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Nati

I look around, trying to work out why Meic has had me meet him on the top floor of the astronomy tower. I’m not even sure if we’re allowed to be here this late at night, and certainly not alone.

Footsteps sound behind me and I turn around to find Meic entering the room. He smiles, his whole face lighting up in a way I didn’t think would be possible for ghouls.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi.”

“You look amazing,” he says, his gaze lingering slightly as he takes me in.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” I respond. He’s done something to his hair that makes it seem even shinier and curlier than normal, drawing attention to the proud horns that twist up through it. I never thought I was into horns before I met him, but seeing them on him makes me want to touch them.

“Shall we?” he asks, gesturing over to the corner of the room where there’s nothing but a boring expanse of brick.

“We shall, though that’s just a wall.”

“Ah, but don’t you know that Blackthorn Academy is full of secrets by now?” He heads over to the wall and counts along the bricks. He presses one inwards and the wall disappears almost instantly.

“I have no idea how to spot any of these places.” Though I’ve always wondered how the other students manage to find them. Maybe the secrets are just passed from one person to another.

“I was told where it was,” he responds. “And now we’re going to take advantage of it. We’ll be away from prying eyes and we can have our date in peace.”

“You’re lucky I know you’re not going to try and murder me or something.”

An uncomfortable expression crosses his face. “If you’d rather go somewhere else...”

“No,” I cut him off before he can finish his suggestion, regretting the joke just from the way it made him panic slightly. I shouldn’t forget that he’s already admitted to being nervous about our situation. “Lead the way.”

He steps through the gap in the wall and pulls out his phone so he can use it as a torch. My intrigue grows as I follow him through a small tunnel.

We arrive in a cosy-looking room with several blankets and pillows scattered around, as well as a basket sitting on a low table. But that’s not what catches my attention.

“Why is there a line down the middle of the room?” I ask.

Meic chuckles, seeming a little more nervous than I expect him to. “Well, you said you didn’t like it when people touched you.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure what that has to do with a line across the floor,” I say.

It’s hard to read his expression, but he seems more nervous than ever.

“Meic?”

He sighs. “I wanted to give us an easy way for you to make the decision that it’s okay for me to touch you,” he explains. “So if you stay on your side of the line, then I know it’s not okay. If you cross onto my side of the line, then I know it’s okay.”

I blink a few times while his words sink in. “Meic...” My voice cracks as I say his name. Despite my normal aversion, there’s a part of me that wants to go touch him now , though I’m not quite ready for everything that’s going to mean for us.

“It’s weird, I’m sorry.”

“No. I mean, yes, it is a bit weird. But it’s also really thoughtful.” So much more so than I’d previously given him credit for. Which is unfair to him when he’s clearly trying hard to make sure I’m comfortable with all of this. “Thank you.”

He beams, his teeth flashing in the flickering lights around us. “I hope it works.”

“It will. So did you have a side of the line in mind?” I ask.

“This one.” He gestures to the left.

“All right.” I make my way over to the pile of cushions and blankets on the right and sit down, leaning back against them.

He watches me for a moment, his gaze intense and full of hunger that I don’t think has anything to do with his ghoul side. I’m not sure what to make of it. I’m not completely unaware of the attraction he has for me, or for the physical draw I feel towards him, but I’m also not ready to make that a reality yet.

He clears his throat and pulls his attention away, focusing instead on the basket. He unloads a selection of food and places it on the table between us. It’s the perfect height for how we’re sitting, and I appreciate all of the attention to detail that he’s given to the whole thing.

“I can safely say I’ve never been on a picnic inside an astronomy tower before,” I muse.

“It’s scheduled to rain,” he says. “I didn’t want you to get wet.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you want me to get on a date?” I joke without meaning to.

He pauses what he’s doing and looks up to meet my gaze, an intensity lingering there that I really don’t expect.

“It’s almost a challenge if you can’t touch me,” I say without thinking. What am I doing? If I’m not ready for us to go there, then I need to stop saying things like that, it isn’t fair to him. Maybe this is how he felt every time he made a dumb gorgon joke.

A low rumble escapes from him, but he tears his gaze away from me and focuses on unpacking the picnic instead. “Do you want something to drink?”

“What have you got?” There’s a part of me that wants to take the suggestive part of our conversation further, but he’s been trying to make me so comfortable that it would be unfair of me not to do the same.

“Ginger beer, elderflower cordial, or orange juice.”

“An interesting combination. I’ll take a cordial.”

“Smart choice, that’s my favourite.” He puts two glasses down in front of him and starts to fill them.

“Elderflower cordial is your favourite?” I ask, somewhat surprised by that.

He shrugs. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know, maybe blackcurrant squash or something.”

He pauses for a moment, as if considering what I’m saying. “You know what, I see it. I do feel like a blackcurrant squash kind of guy. Maybe I’ll try it tomorrow.”

“You’ve never had it?”

“I assume I did at some point when I was a kid,” he says. “But not that I really remember.” He pours a glass for each of us.

“Thank you,” I say as he pushes mine towards me.

“You’re welcome.” He gets up and heads over to the wall. “Now for the reason that this is the secret room we’re in.”

“Were there others that were a choice?” I ask.

“Cethin told me of a few,” he responds. “Where do you think the two of them go when they’re not in the dorms?”

“Honestly, I’ve been trying not to ask. I don’t want to go into a classroom and think about Anja and Cethin getting it on.”

“As far as I know, the only one they’ve done anything in is the...”

“Nope. I don’t want to know,” I cut him off. “Though I can guess.”

He chuckles, the sound deep, low, and inviting. But instead of responding to me, he pushes on a brick. There’s a grinding sound and large windows appear in the stonework, letting us see out into the evening. There are plenty of clouds around, but I can still see a hint of stars peeking through.

It’s beautiful.

Meic returns and takes a seat beside me. “I wanted to make sure tonight was perfect. Though I had no idea how to do that until I caught you looking out the window and you said you liked to look at the stars.”

My heart skips a beat. “It is perfect,” I say, giving him what I hope is a reassuring smile even as one of my snakes hisses. It doesn’t feel like a warning though, not like it sometimes does.

“I’m glad you like it. I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do on a date.”

“Haven’t you been on one before?”

“Well, yes. But never the first date with my fated mate.”

“So no pressure, then,” I murmur.

He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, I don’t want that for you.”

“It’s fine, Meic,” I assure him. “It’s a lot, but that doesn’t change whether it’s true or not.”

“I guess.” Something about his expression suggests that he’s more nervous about the situation than I am. Which I suppose makes sense if what Anja said is true. I’m able to turn down the fated mate bond, and he’s totally dependent on me accepting it.

“Do you know anything about the stars?” I ask, deciding that the best course of action is to change the subject. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable with the talk of fated mates until we’re more certain about what this actually is.

“Absolutely nothing. I should have taken Astronomy , but I never thought to,” he responds. “You?”

“Not really,” I admit. “I like looking at them, but I know nothing about them.”

“Didn’t you take Astronomy ?”

“No. I had too many other classes I wanted to take, so I wasn’t able to. I don’t really mind. I like looking at the stars without knowing anything about them. It feels like I can enjoy the stories about the stars more.”

“Like?”

I get up and head over to the window. “Have you heard the one about the gorgon?”

“No.” Meic shifts and gets up to come stand beside me. He hesitates for a moment, but I don’t really know why.

“The legend goes that there was a gorgon who refused to turn anyone into stone...”

“That doesn’t sound that unreasonable. You haven’t turned anyone to stone.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Haven’t I?”

He opens his mouth to respond then shuts it again. “All right, I actually don’t know that.”

“I did once,” I respond. “When I was eight.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t imagine that was very fun.”

“It wasn’t. I vowed never to do it again.”

“Is it that easy to control?” he asks.

“Yes and no.” I take a deep breath. “Do you mind if we don’t talk about this now? It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I’m just not ready yet.”

“Of course.” From his voice, I can tell he’s a little disappointed, but I can’t find the words to explain exactly how it works. And while I know he’s certain about us being fated mates, and I feel it too, but it’s too early for us to be sharing secrets like that.

If this all goes well, then I’m sure we’ll get to that point. We’ll have to, because there’s no way that we’re going to be able to do certain things if he doesn’t know the risks that come with gorgons.

“What happened to the gorgon who didn’t want to turn into stone?” he prompts, making me realise I’ve been quiet for a while.

“Someone tried to force her. When she wouldn’t, she was hurt badly enough that she was going to die. She prayed to a snake goddess in her last moments and the goddess intervened. She couldn’t save the gorgon, but she made her into a constellation so that she could watch over others and stop them from ending with the same fate.”

“That’s sad,” Meic says.

“And beautiful. I looked at her a lot when I was a child and felt like being a gorgon was the worst thing in the world. She made me feel less alone.” I let out a sigh. “Do you have any ghoul stories about the stars?”

“Yes. About Betelgeuse,” he says.

“Which one is that?”

“It’s a red star that makes up part of Orion,” he responds.

“I thought you didn’t know anything about the stars?” I tease.

“I don’t know any more than that,” he admits. “And it’s not very interesting. It’s just a legend that when Betelgeuse is shining brightly, it means that the ghoul hunger is stronger.”

“Is it true?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” Meic responds. “But it’s something I’ve gotten used to, it’s always there. It’s not something I can ever forget about.”

“Like my snakes,” I respond.

“Yes. I mean, I imagine so.”

I sigh and look out of the window. “This is a really nice date,” I say.

“I’m glad you think so.” He smiles at me and reaches out, pausing when he remembers the line.

Feeling bold, I take his hand in mine, liking the way it feels even if it’s foreign to me. I could get used to this, and I’m going to have to if I want to be able to act on some of the thoughts I’ve been having about Meic, because I’m definitely not going to be able to experience any of that if I don’t want him to touch me.

But we’re just going to have to build to that. And it’ll be worth it in the end.