Page 15 of A Sin So Pure

Agirl bursts from the dorm in a storm of tears, anger and heartbreak pulsing off her. I stumble out of her way, watching her run down the hall before turning back to the door. But as my hand touches the doorknob, it bursts open a second time, one of our classmates pushing past me to follow the crying girl.

“Agnes, wait!” he yells.

“Jeeze,” I murmur, nudging open the already ajar door, ready for a third person to appear.

But I push inside without incident. The party is unfazed by the couple’s outburst as I squeeze around my classmates. Some are already smoked and falling into revelry, while others mull about and chat.

We had our last class today; our graduation ceremony is this weekend.

I sidle up to Earl, the classmate who’s hosting today’s celebration, in his small kitchenette. He’s one of the few fae who live in the university’s dorms, having moved to the city forschool from a small village out west. Most of us live at home, our parents not wanting us to live with members of other Houses, lest we get too close to our rivals.

“What happened there?” I ask, nodding my head to the door.

Earl doesn’t miss a beat. “She caught George in the bathroom with Myrtle.”

I grimace.

“Yeah, I made the same face,” he chuckles. “Drink?”

“Please.”

We’re quiet as he mixes me a quick cocktail. It’s far too strong and sweet, made with cheap liquor and mixers I’d never pair together, but it’ll do its job.

I take a second sip, larger this time, and my lips twist into a puckered mess. A shiver racks my body.

Maybe I should have offered to do it myself.

“Nora’s playing cards with the others, if that’s who you’re searching for,” Earl says casually. He doesn’t meet my eye, busy fussing with his makeshift bar. “They’re at the dining table.”

I shoot him a side-eyed look.

Nora and I had one class together our first year. From there, our friendship flourished. We’re both the daughters of House Heads; there’s a kinship there that I haven’t found with many others.

And there’s something else, too, niggling deep in my gut, when it comes to the heir to House Pride.

“You’re far too observant for your own good,” I say. “You sure you wanna stay in House Sloth?”

He laughs. “Not really my choice, is it?”

I shrug. “I could pull some strings with my mom.”

Earl pauses his mindless organizing, looking up from the bottles to meet my gaze. “I’m not an empath. I don’t have magic.”

“Don’t need magic to have good intuition. Or working ears and eyes.”

I quirk a brow, trying to convey my meaning with as few words as possible. I’m not as good at this as my brother, despite our comparable magic. Conor’s always been a natural at working a room. I got this far with lots of practice and lots of failure.

“I’ll think about it,” Earl says.

“Good. Door’s always open.”

I pat his shoulder, leaving it at that. My mother asked me to make friends in different Houses while I attended school, but I can see Earl being more than a convenient asset. He’s a good guy, and Leo likes him too.

I make my way to the dining table. Despite the dorm being relatively small, it takes longer than I’d like to walk the thirty feet, having to field hellos and congratulations from our classmates.

Finally, I face the circular dining table where there’s an animated game of cards going. Leo’s clearly winning, his pile of poker chips mountain-high compared to the others. The only one even close to him is Josie. Even Nora only has a measly three chips left, while the others at the table only have one each.

Nora ups the ante, throwing another chip into the pile. The others groan, tossing their last chips in one by one. Leo snickers, not even trying to hide his lopsided grin. My magic picks up the dejected slog of loss radiating from the few guys at the table; it’s only a matter of time before whatever money they bet is swept into Leo’s pile.

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