Page 110 of Spearcrest Knight

I stare at him.

“And bring Audrey and Araminta,” he adds.

He’s about to walk away when I point out, perhaps a little belatedly, the obvious issue at hand. “I’m a prefect, Zachary.”

He smiles courteously. “Then you’ll be in good company. All the other prefects are also coming, the head boy and head girl too.”

And then he walks away. I stare after him for a few minutes, completely taken aback. This is technically speaking the second time this year I’ve been invited to a party, by a Young King no less.

I shoulder my backpack and go to my next class, and don’t think about the invitation again until the next day. I’m sitting in the common room, eating a slice of buttered toast while rereading my list of equations and formulas for the hundredth time. The sky outside is still dark, and all the lamps are on in the common room, making the morning feel like the evening.

Audrey plops down next to me on the couch, startling me. “So? Are we going to the party tomorrow?”

“What party?” I ask absent-mindedly.

“The post-exam party. Come on, it’s right after the mocks, just before our week off, and all the prefects are going, so it’s not like you’re going to get in trouble. We’ve never been to a single party together—I wasn’t even there for the last one. But you had fun, right? Please come.”

I stare at her with a mouth full of toast. I swallow and take a deep sip of coffee. Then I finally admit, “Last party was fun but mistakes were made.”

Audrey rolls her eyes and laughs. “That’s on you, though. Just come with me and the girls, we’ll have a drink and chat and relax and dance a little. Then, when we feel too tired or bored, we’ll head back to the dorms. Simple as that. No mistakes need to be made this time.”

I nod slowly. “I’ll think about it.”

Audrey springs forward to hug me with a noise of triumph. “Yes! I’m so excited! Do you have something to wear?”

It’s pretty obvious that, as far as she’s concerned, I’m going to the party. I give her an unimpressed look, but she responds by widening her delighted smile.

“Do you?”

“...I have a dress.”

“Is it cute?”

I shrug. “It’s cute enough. I’ll ask Araminta to do my makeup.”

“Can I curl your hair?”

“You can try, but the curls will never keep.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll see what I can do. I can’t believe we’re going to a party together, I’m genuinely so excited. It’s like we’re going on a first date!”

Her excitement is contagious, and I can’t help but laugh. “Are we going to make out and everything?”

She sighs. “I miss Axel so much, I very much might.”

“I thought you two met up over Christmas holidays?”

“That was almost three months ago, Sophie!”

I smirk at her. “He must have been pretty good if he’s got you in your feelings this soon.”

She leans closer, her mouth almost touching my cheek. “Let’s just say he’s a skilled linguist, and I don’t just mean because he can speak several languages.”

I shove her face away. “You disgust me.”

She stands up and grabs her bag from the side table she left it on. “Good luck not thinking about that during your Maths exam!”

“You perv!” I call after her.

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