Chapter 21

21

" C ome out with us tonight?" I barely heard Ivy speaking, my eyes trained on someone halfway across the dining hall. "I promise, this guy is way better than Daniel."

That certainly got my attention, and I ripped my eyes away from my subject to look at my best friend.

"I really don't…" I didn't know how to respond. I'd been blowing Ivy and Remy off this entire week, spending each night researching the love poison and ways to combat it in the safety of Noah's flat. Of course, they didn't know that, because they would either certify me as a lunatic or call my bluff. I wanted to deal with neither of those options, so I simply relied on the school-wide curfew to excuse myself from dinner to leave campus with Noah.

Speaking of…I looked up again, my eyes going to the spot I'd just seen him in. He had been leaning against the wall, eating a peach as he talked with his mates, and damn, did he look fine doing so.

I mean…I was sure any normal person would find that attractive. It meant nothing specific to me.

Noah leaned over to say something to Lukas, both of them chuckling. Lukas shoved Noah away, and I had to stifle a giggle at the playful action.

"Oh, come on. It's Friday! Administration lifted the curfew for tonight only! We're going to go to Whaler's for dinner and some drinks. There's a ton of us going!" Remy gave me a pleading smile, reaching across the table to grab my arm. Of my two friends, he and I had spent so little time together this semester.

"And I know you said you're not interested in seeing anyone, so there's really no pressure! But there is this guy who I think you might get along with," Ivy said, hope clear in her tone. But I had no interest, especially since I needed to do a little more research tonight at Noah's place. It had nothing to do with the fact that I would also be with Noah, or that he'd even mentioned cooking instead of eating dinner at the academy. "I swear, it's not a date!"

"I'd sure hope not," said the last voice I expected to hear. I went stone-still, heat burning my throat. Somehow he'd walked over here without me noticing, Lukas at his side. They both moved to the side of the table. Noah turned his focus on my friends.

"Hey, Noah. Lukas," Remy said kindly, though the look on his face was one of confusion as he nodded to both of them.

"You all going out tonight?" Lukas asked, his attention directed at Ivy.

"Um…yeah we were just inviting Henri to go with us and a few others for dinner and drinks." Her eyes flickered between Noah and me, and I just sat there, motionless. I didn't even look at Noah, knowing there would be a smirk on his face.

"Lovely. What time should we meet you?" Noah sat down next to me, his arm casually slipping around the back of my chair. My face heated to a million degrees. Lukas sat on my other side and for a second I swore he was going to throw an arm around me as well.

"We?" Ivy questioned, her gaze turning steely, now only focused on him. Thank goodness, because I was sure I was red as a tomato.

"Well, if there is a guy there who has an interest in Henri, I should probably go, no? Just to make sure he knows she's…" Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it.

"Taken." Lukas grinned as he finished his best friend's sentence, this time actually wrapping an arm around my shoulder, his hand resting on Noah's shoulder. Noah shot him a look. Lukas simply patted his friend's arm before removing his arm from around my shoulder.

Both of my friends stared—no, gawked—at Noah as his hand moved from the chair to my shoulder, catching a strand of hair between his fingers.

"Taken?" Ivy said, not bothering to hide the shock in her voice.

"Love, you didn't tell them yet?" Noah turned to me, so I finally gave him my gaze. And I was right—there was the king of all smirks on his face, a glint in his eyes that told me he knew just how devious he was being.

"I thought we were going to wait to tell them," I muttered, trying not to sound annoyed as hell with him. Because now that he'd let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I needed to sell this to my friends. Otherwise, our entire scheme could go up in flames. Since we'd made the poison discovery, we needed to work together now more than ever.

"They're your best friends, darling." He pulled me closer, placing a kiss on my temple, but not before I saw the wicked look in his eyes. Oh, he'd be paying for that later.

"I'm sorry. ' Darling '?" Ivy spat, leaning back in her seat as if we were contagious. "When in the bloody hell did this happen?"

"I was going to tell you soon. I just wanted to—l"

"The love potion," Noah announced, cutting me off. I was glad he saved me from blabbing about who knew what, but his answer nearly had me choking. Ivy and Remy both looked as though they weren't buying it. "Sounds ridiculous, right? That two people who have hated each other for so long were secretly pining for one another? It wasn't until the second potion that she realized it was me she was searching for. But she was steel. Henri refused to even consider it, or truly even accept it. Then, I took her out during one of the attacks and well, here we are."

"Really?" Ivy didn't seem convinced, not if the screwed-up face she was giving me was any indicator.

"He's fancied her for years. Truly yaps about her all the time. Personally, I'm glad something finally gave him the excuse to man up and court her. I was getting tired of all the pining." Lukas piped up, a wicked grin covering his face as he geared up to continue talking. Noah cut him off with a smack to the back of the head.

I turned to look at Noah, forgetting whatever I had planned to say to Ivy. He was already looking at me, his face deadly serious. The wicked glint was gone, and for a moment, I thought he was going to lean in and kiss me.

Did I want him to?

Before I could think about it any longer, Noah turned away.

"What time should I meet you all tonight? I can drive." When Ivy and Remy still stared at him blankly, he added, "I promise not to bore any of you for too long. I'll even stay in the corner if I need to. Just want to make sure no one attacks her in the case of another potion bombing."

"Yeah, um, we can all just meet at the gate after dinner?" Remy sounded mildly uncomfortable, but at least he didn't say no.

"Sounds like a plan." Noah pressed another kiss to my forehead before standing and walking away like he hadn't just thrown me to the wolves.

"Henrietta Ruth—" Ivy started, but I held up a hand.

"I know. I should have told you both sooner, but I was just going to wait to see if this was something serious, or if it was just a silly crush. That's the only reason I was waiting."

"Henri, he's not a good guy. I mean, have you seen his family? They're constantly—" I cut Ivy off before she could finish.

"They're what? Have you met them?" I defended Noah's parents as if they were my actual in-laws, not my fake boyfriend's—who I wasn't even sure I liked—parents.

Noah's family was prominent, yes. They had a reputation as powerful leaders in the Policy world, as they were both defense practitioners, defending criminals they probably shouldn't be defending, but that didn't make them bad people. Someone had to defend them, and in many cases, Noah's father had cleared an innocent wizard of a crime committed by someone else.

"No, but everyone knows who they are. They constantly flaunt their money, and they have no moral code. They have both defended criminals who deserved nothing more than to rot in prison for the rest of their lives. And yet-"

"You do realize I'm going into Policy? I could very well be the practitioner who defends someone the world thinks is guilty. You're making assumptions based on skewed media written by wizards like Carter Springfield, not on facts." I stood, annoyed with the conversation and my best friend. "We'll see you tonight."