Page 80 of On Wings of Blood

The night was warm and muggy. The salty scent of the sea drifted on the breeze.

In the distance, we could see a large bonfire flickering, casting an orange glow over the sand as its light reflected off the crashing waves.

High above us, Bloodwing Academy loomed, the castle’s towers silhouetted against the starry sky. Even from this distance, I could make out the tips of the stone statues, high above in the Dragon Court.

I tripped in the soft sand and let out a curse.

Bending down, I yanked off the boots I was wearing and dropped them in the sand, making a mental note of where I left them in relation to where we’d just come.

The sand was cool between my toes.

“Much better,” I said with satisfaction.

Florence said nothing, just wrapped her cloak more tightly around herself.

“Are you cold?” I asked, feeling guilty. I’d had to convince her to come.

“I’m not sure I should have come,” she said nervously. “Theo Drakharrow invited you, not me. I’m an uninvited guest.”

“You’remyguest,” I said loyally. “If they don’t want you there, we’ll leave. But I don’t think it’s going to matter. Theo made it sound as if it was a big party every night on the beach.” I shrugged. “Maybe they always invite a lot of blightborns.”

Florence shook her head. “I don’t know, Medra. Highbloods and blightborns don’t usually, well, party together. We might work side by side and be close colleagues, but we don’t really socialize except on special occasions.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Well, maybe it’s time that changed. Theo obviously thinks so.”

“Theo is a bit of an outlier, even among his own group,” Florence said, echoing my impression of him. “I just hope...” She trailed off.

“What?” I stopped walking. “You hope he isn’t pranking us?”

She nodded, looking uncomfortable.

“Fair enough.” I took a deep breath. “Maybe this was a bad idea. We can go back.”

The wine we drank had left us nicely buzzed but now the effects were fading.

“No.” Florence shook her head stubbornly. “Don’t listen to me. I’m being silly. We should go. I should be honored that you thought of inviting me.”

I laughed and put my arm through hers. “Now you’re truly being silly. You’re my friend. Who else would I invite? I would have invited Naveen, too, if he wasn’t asleep already. I’m just glad you were brave enough to come along.”

“Speaking of bravery...” Florence bent down and reached under her skirt.

“Florence!” I said in delight as she pulled out a metal flask. “You naughty girl.”

“I had it strapped to my thigh,” she said, giggling. “I read about a girl doing it in a book once.”

“Just what kinds of books do you read for fun, Florence?” I opened the flask and took a swig, then sputtered. Rum. Strong stuff, too.

Florence took the flask back and downed some of the rum. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Better. Much better.

“Who knows what will happen tonight?” I said playfully. “Perhaps we’ll find you a...” I paused. “Boy? Girl? I’m not sure what your preferences are. I never even thought to ask if you had a sweetheart already.”

Even in the starlight, I could tell she was blushing wildly. “I’m not. I mean, I don’t. I mean...” She took a breath. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. Not really. But boys. Men, I mean. I think I prefer men.” She looked at me dubiously. “Though they are awfully stupid at times.”

We both burst out laughing.

“Absolutely,” I agreed. “But there’s just something about them...”

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