Page 25 of Broken Lands

Avani—Goddess of Growth and Mother to All

Beyonte—God of Light and Keeper of the Sun

Jona—God of the Seas and Keeper of the Stars

Armani—Goddess of Heart and Love

“I expect a full report on a God or Goddess of your choice by the start of class next week. We will continue discussing the remaining factions of Faerie then.” He moved around behind his desk, turning to face us once more. “A reminder that you are all to report to your assigned community jobs immediately after lunch. Class dismissed.”

I stood along with the rest of the class, quickly packing away my things, ready to follow Bee out of the room. We’d barely made it into the hallway when a hand grasped my wrist from behind, stopping me in my tracks and spinning me around to face them.

He spoke before I could even react, his voice deep and soothing. “Can I have a word?” I looked up to find myself staring at Prince Lincoln. It took everything I had not to fall endlessly into his depthless navy eyes. I only just kept my feet planted firmly on the floor. “It’s Riley, isn’t it?”

“Hey Lincoln,” Bee said cheerily, having stopped when I did. I turned to face her, contorting my face into a plea for her to rescue me from yet another tempting man, but she simply said, “I’ll meet you in the dining hall, Riley.” Winking at me as she hurried off, she gave me no chance to object to being left alone with Prince Lincoln.

“Stefan has told me a lot about you.” Lincoln said, dropping my wrist as I turned back to face him, plastering a smile on my face that I hoped was kind and welcoming and did not resemble the internal hurricane of emotion I was feeling. Bee and I would be having words about when NOT to ditch our friends.

“Oh? All good things, I hope.” My voice was stronger and clearer than I’d expected, with the way butterflies swarmed in my stomach.

“Well… mostly good things.” He winked at me, my heart skipping a beat at his easy banter. “He said that on your very first night in Danann, you attempted to burn him alive.”

I groaned, remembering how close Stefan was when my power awoke. “I didn’t…”

He cut me off with a laugh that I felt all the way down to my core. “I’m teasing. I know you did no such thing.”

“I could have hurt him, and others. I’m surprised those close to me all escaped unscathed.” I admitted. I’d felt guilty since it had happened, despite everyone telling me it wasn’t something I could have prevented, even if I’d known what was about to happen to me.

“You didn’t, though. You’ll find us fae are resilient and able to protect themselves in various ways. They all likely blasted shields of various elements the moment they felt your power stir.” He smiled at me reassuringly, the beauty and kindness in that smile causing my chest to tighten. What was happening here? These feelings were like what I felt with Stefan. “I’m sure you’ll learn control soon enough, particularly with General Brand giving you private lessons. Walk with me,” He said, gesturing down the hallway. We fell into step beside one another as we made our way to the dining hall.

“I’m sure his tutoring will be fantastic. I’ll make leaps and bounds just so long as I learn quickly how to translate his grunting and growling into actual instructions.” I muttered quietly, sarcasm coating my words and somehow easing the remaining threads of tension between us.

He roared a laugh as we walked down the empty corridor, void of any other students now, most of them having already made their way to lunch or their job placements.

“You’ve certainly got his number. I promise he’s not as bad as he seems. He has a lot of… baggage. He takes time to warm up to newcomers.”

Silence fell between us as I considered it. I had seen glimpses of a softer side of General Brand, one that wasn’t as stone cold as he often tried to portray. Maybe Lincoln was right, maybe he’d warm to me. That thought alone made me happier than it should have. I settled into Lincoln’s company, not as uneasy as I had been to start with.

“What did you want a word about?” I asked, remembering his words, curiosity suddenly burning through me.

“There’s a start of term dance Sunday night,” he said, stopping in front of the dining hall and turning to face me again. Taking both my hands in his, he took a steadying breath. “Would you come with me?”

I couldn’t speak for a moment. Scratch that, I couldn’t even breathe. Of all the things—that was the last thing I expected him to ask me.

“There’s something here, Riley. I felt it the moment our eyes locked together. By the Goddess Armani, I’d like to explore it.” His eyes were pleading with mine, tingles spreading up my arms from where our hands were intertwined. He had felt it, too. I hadn’t imagined the pull I felt to him. Only it wasn’t just him, was it?

“Yes, I’ll go with you.” I heard myself saying.

“Fantastic.” His navy eyes sparkled, as though all the stars in the galaxy just brightened at my words. “I look forward to it. Pick you up at 8.” He leant down, quickly pressing a soft kiss to my cheek before hurrying away with a wave, leaving me standing there stunned.

What. Just. Happened.

I entered the dining hall in a daze and found Bee at our usual table. She had grabbed us both bowls of pasta and a huge garden salad to share. The rich smell of bolognese hit me, and my stomach growled loudly as I flopped into the chair next to her.

“Is there a dance Sunday that you just so happened to forget to tell me about?” I asked accusingly, as I shoveled pasta into my mouth. I moaned at the freshness of the tomato and herbs, any anger I held dissipating as I savored the flavor.

Bee laughed, the musical sound calming me even more. How did she do that?

“Who are you going with?” she asked, taking her own bite of pasta.

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