Page 85 of Gothikana

Corvina felt her lips twitch but stayed silent, finishing the last line on her page before closing the book and putting it in her bag, the thrill in her veins at the story something novel.

‘Are you excited for the Ball?’ Jade asked her once she was done.

To a tiny degree, she was excited. She’d never seen anything in her life like the Ball these guys talked about. Good food, good music, good clothes, and masks, it all sounded like such a perfect night. As long as no one disappeared this time, that is.

She shrugged. ‘A bit, yeah.’

Jade looked down at her nails that she’d finally painted pink again for the first time since Troy. Just thinking of him sent a pang through Corvina’s heart. She missed his presence and his trademark grin every single day, so she couldn’t even imagine how much harder it must be for her roommate. She imagined sometimes how she would feel if she lost Vad the way Jade had lost Troy, and just the fact that Jade could get up from bed and resume life was a marvel to her.

‘Ethan asked me if I’d go with him,’ Jade told her, still looking at her nails. ‘Not romantically or anything. We both just loved Troy, and he thought it’d be a good idea for us to go together.’

Corvina felt her eyebrows go up slightly before she schooled her expression. She was pretty sure Ethan liked Jade, but like the good friend he was, he’d never looked at her twice while Troy had been there. ‘I think it’s a good idea,’ Corvina agreed, hoping it would bring her friends some joy.

Jade picked up her discarded pen and began to doodle. ‘Who are you going with?’

The silver-eyed devil of Verenmore. Secretly. But of course, she couldn’t say that.

‘No one.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ll be fine on my own.’

‘I think Jax wants to ask you.’

‘I hope he doesn’t.’ Corvina bit her lip. Vad was not a fan of Jax trying to get under Corvina’s skirts, as he said, and if the roles were reversed, she probably wouldn’t have been either.

‘It’s a gorgeous day outside.’ Jade stood up, grabbing Corvina’s hand. ‘C’mon. Let’s get you some sun. You spend too much time in this dungeon anyway.’

Most of it screwing her hot teacher, but again, Jade didn’t need to know that.

They went up and exited into the back lawn gardens, the sun shining beautifully over the entire mountain, the heat refreshing after weeks of cold. Students were sitting on the grass everywhere, soakingthe sun in groups. Jade led them to the side of the Main Hall where the cobblestoned path to the faculty wing ran, and sat down in an empty spot.

Corvina put her bag there, spying a bush of red roses next to the Main Hall window. She went and plucked two, careful of the thorns, and brought one to her friend, loving the smile that lit up her face. ‘This castle is such a beauty during the day.’

Corvina leaned back on her hands, tilting her neck up to the blue sky dotted with clouds, a smile on her face.

‘What the hell is that?’

Immediately looking down at the distress in her friend’s tone, Corvina found her green eyes on her shoulder where her sweater had drooped to the side. The perpetual hickey, that’s what Jade was looking at. Vad loved having that mark on her in a place usually covered, just for the two of them to know, a mark of ownership and tenderness so deep it felt bottomless.

Was it messed up? Probably. Did she care? Not really.

She loved it, thrilled in it, knowing that she was so utterly and completely his.

But she hadn’t wanted anyone else to see it.

Playing it off, she rubbed the spot on her shoulder and shrugged. ‘Oh, this? I just knocked myself into a shelf the other day.’

Jade gave her a look that screamed, ‘Really?’

‘Girl, I know a hickey when I see one, and that, Cor, is the boss of hickeys. If hickeys could be sport, this one would qualify for the Olympics. Are you seeing someone?’

Corvina bit her lip, not wanting to lie to her friend but not wanting to share it either.

‘Look,’ Jade went on. ‘I know I haven’t been in the best headspace lately and you probably felt like you couldn’t tell me, but I’m here for you, okay? And I want to know when you’re seeing a guy seriously enough to let him leave that kind of mark on you.’

God, she felt like such a bad friend when Jade put it like that. But she knew she couldn’t share about Vad, given the complexity of the situation. So she settled in the middle ground.

‘It’s recent,’ Corvina confirmed. ‘But we’re keeping it low-key until we’re sure it’s serious.’

Which was a lie because she already knew how serious they were.

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