Page 211 of Blood & Betrayals

“Honestly?”

He nods.

I feel my cheeks heat. “Initially, I thought it was because you were kind of into me, but I know that’s not the case anymore.”

“Hm.”

There is a long, but not uncomfortable, silence. I lean more heavily against his bulk and truly relax for the first time in days.

“I’m going to look into this lead this week.”

“So you’re not going to be around?” I fight to keep the trepidation from my voice.

“Don’t you have exams?” he asks, and I can hear a little spark of happiness in his voice, or maybe it’s amusement.

I shift, making my head more comfortable on his shoulder. “I do.”

“Then you’ll be busy,” he says, and I feel him lay his cheek against my head.

“I’m ready for the exams.”

“I have to go,” he says reluctantly, shifting beside me.

“You do?” I ask, pulling back and looking up at him.

He nods. “I have things to do. You know the stuff I do when I’m not talking to you.”

I wince a little and look down. “All right.”

He boops my nose with his forefinger. “Sarcasm, little fae.” His voice is gentle, and I can hear the smile in it. He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Goodnight, little fae.”

“Goodnight, Stranger,” I say with a smile.

When he leaves, the loneliness encroaches, and I allow myself a moment to sit in it, to feel it, to resent it. Just for a moment, and then I shove it down and go back inside to my family.

84

Summer

The last week of exams seems to fly by, and just like last week, I haven’t seen Connor much due to our schedules and workloads. Alice and I have one of the final exams of the term on Friday afternoon. Most of the student body has already headed home for the winter break. Everyone else is finishing up exams and packing to leave tomorrow or Sunday.

Alice and I leave Alchemy 101 exhausted but thankful exams are over. We walk home in silence, the icy wind whipping at us. We both breathe a sigh of relief when we arrive at the dorm. Shedding our outerwear, we drop it in the entryway and stumble through to Alice’s room, collapsing on her bed.

“Fuck. How difficult was that exam?” I groan, thinking over my paper again. The questions were all worded in ways to try to catch us out.

“It was a war crime,” Alice groans.

“At least we’re done now.” I sigh, staring at the ceiling.

“We’ve got that finals party tonight.”

“Yes, we do,” I say with a smile.

“Also, I love that even though you haven’t seen Connor much over the last few days, your mood has been way better than last week.” Alice nudges me. “You were a raging bitch last week.”

“Hey!” I say, gaping at her.

Alice quirks an eyebrow at me, daring me to deny it.

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