Page 38 of Caelum

“Thought it was a sin to lie,” she grumbled.

“Well, it was back at the compound, but I’m no longer there, am I?” I retorted, satisfied with my answer when she muttered at me.

“Look, concentrate. I have places to be.”

“You say that often. Why are you teaching me if you want to be elsewhere?”

“Because I like you, kid, and yeah, that stuns the shit out of me too.” She looked me up and down. “When are you going to stop borrowing your little friends’ shirts?”

I frowned. “When I can buy clothes of my own that don’t?—”

“Don’t, what?” She cocked a brow, eying the T-shirt that was far too large and all the more comfortable for it. “Fit?”

“I’ve never worn anything so revealing in my life as the clothes in my closet.”

She shrugged. “You have money. Buy your own shit.”

“Buy my own shit?” I scowled at her. “Why would I buy that?”

“God help me, you’re so literal,” she growled. “I meant you can buy whatever you want. Most kids don’t have allowances as large as yours.”

“I don’t want to be a burden, and Nestor, Eren, and Stefan don’t mind me wearing their shirts.” Goodness, I wished I could wear their shorts as well. These things called yoga pants went all the way up to the apex of my thighs. Sometimes, they even dug between my most private area!

It was beyond bewildering why females wore them.

“If you want to get laid this century, wear some of the clothes in your closet. Let the guys see your assets. Once you get your freak on, you’ll calm down some. Might be less uptight.”

Considering I understood about seventy percent of that sentence, I just murmured, “If you say so.”

“Meaning you’re going to ignore me?”

I shot her a smile. “I didn’t say that, did I?”

“Diplomacy, I like it. Not.” She shot me a dirty look. “What was I saying about Loreleis?”

Merry was here to tutor me in things that I should have learned four years ago upon arriving at Caelum. Since I was late to receiving any kind of information about my species, I had to catch up.

It wasn’t fun.

Nicholas, the principal, Damon, the man who stood sentinel over the front doors, and Merry each held classes on the differentsouls and how they worked. Thankfully, that was the only time I spoke with Nicholas. One class was more than enough with him.

I quite enjoyed the theory. It was the active sessions I didn’t like.

As anticipated, I was a lot rounder than most women in the school. They could do things called dropkicks and uppercuts without looking like a tomato and getting their yoga pants stuck up their buttocks.

I was certain that was the devil’s work, but for all I’d learned about another kind of world within this world, there was no such thing as that. Or magic. More’s the pity.

When Merry stared at me expectantly, I rummaged around my brain for what she might have been talking about. Mostly it was about the voice and how a Lorelei used it to engage, bewilder, or entrap humans and creatures alike.

“You were trying to show me how we lulled the compound to sleep,” I replied after a few moments of heavy thought.

She pursed her lips. “Do you remember the song?”

I frowned. “No. I don’t really remember joining in with you if I’m being honest.”

“Is it a blackout in your mind?”

Her concern had me hesitating. Which answer wouldn’t get me into trouble?

---