by Lucia Ashta
She extended a hand to him. “Come on, Why. Come over here and let Jas rest.”
Why shook his head some more beneath the blanket, batting at it with his paws.
Dave chuckled and lifted the blanket off him. “Whoa, steady there, Why. I don’t want you to impale me with that horn of yours.”
Why whipped his head back and forth as if delighted to discover himself free of the blanket. In so doing, he also whipped his sharp horn back and forth, causing every one of my friends and Melinda to take a hurried step back.
“He sure is dangerous, isn’t he?” Melinda asked. “If he weren’t so cute…
It’s what I’d thought a million times over. If he weren’t so dang cute, my life would’ve been a lot simpler. “Sit, Why,” I said, patting the empty space on the bed next to my side.
Snapping his head toward me with a goofy grin, he ambled over to where I continued patting, circled the small space, making everyone flinch as we thought he was about to tumble off the bed, before finally settling on top of the sheet.
Blessedly, his horn pointed off the side of the bed.
Right away, I started petting him, hoping to keep him from puncturing any more linens. Though I couldn’t feel the extent of my injuries, I no doubt couldn’t afford to take any more damage. And that horn of his, well, no cub without spatial or body awareness should have a weapon attached to his head.
Natural design fail.
I reached up to rub his new magenta and purple fro-hawk, running my hands through the hair that was a couple of inches longer than the rest of his fur. Why’s eyes closed halfway as he hmmed, seeming to enjoy the massage as I rubbed his scalp beneath it.
Dave laughed. “Man, that is one spoiled pandacorn.”
“Tell me about it,” I grumbled. I was stuck with him for sure. There was no way I was sending him anywhere anymore, not even if I could. I’d grown a bit attached to him, though I wasn’t about to admit that to anyone.
I tugged on the line of colored hair that sprouted behind his horn and ran most of the length of his head. “I don’t even know where the fro-hawk came from. It was like he shot it right out of his head from fright or something.”
“Actually,” Adalia said, leaning a hip on the side of my bed, “I think that’s exactly what happened from what he’s explained. It’s one of the first things I asked him.”
Arching both brows, I pinned my “roomie” in a stare that said she and I were going to have words about all the secrets she kept from me. But later. When I wasn’t so damn exhausted.
She shrugged as if she knew what I was thinking and was already brushing off my accusations. “He said he didn’t mean to do it, but right after he also told me how much he likes all the colorfulness of the pygmy trolls. Apparently, he gets tired of just being black and white sometimes. He thinks the world is funner with pops of color. I have to agree with him on that front.”
Everyone hung on her every word, telling me at least that she hadn’t done me extra wrong by sharing before I woke up. I’d give her a quarter point for that, which meant she was still lots of points in the hole. She could speak with Why and shoot wickedly happy fairy dust out of her hands and she’d never told me! According to her, we were roomies and besties. I hoped she had a magical shovel to dig herself out of that hole, because I definitely planned on holding her many secrets against her.
“I’m paraphrasing, of course,” she said, apparently not interpreting my squinty-eyed look for what it was. “He speaks like a four, maybe five-year-old. I don’t know. The only kids I’ve ever been around were fairies, and they aren’t like human kids by any stretch of the imagination.”
“So he just … popped a fro-hawk because he wanted to be more colorful?” Wren asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
Adalia nodded, her shiny brown hair bouncing happily. She was back to being her usual annoying, overly cheery self. She was even grinning, while I was lying in a damn hospital bed. Yet again.
“Wow. He just gets cooler and cooler,” Dave said. “I wonder what else he can do.”
Rina chuckled. “Eat his weight in cupcakes.”
“Or candy or cake or cinnamon buns or—”
“Dave, stop,” I said. “You’re making me hungry.”
He grimaced. “That’s because you haven’t eaten in days.”
All I could hear was my heart beating for a few moments. “What?”
Ky was at the head of the bed on the opposite side of Why, standing next to Leo. He reached out and squeezed my shoulder gently. “You’ve been asleep for five days.”
I blinked at him, swallowed, then blinked some more.
“Come again?” I finally croaked.
Ky stared at me for a few beats before a smirk crossed his lips, the ones that drew my stare like a magnet. Even half dead—or half-legged—I wanted him.
Finally, I smiled too. I had a feeling I knew exactly what my question made him think of. I had to hurry up and heal so I could ask him that question again in the proper—much more private—setting.
“Ew,” Rina said from the other side of Leo. “Knock it off, you two.” Then she reached across Leo to slap Ky on the arm. “I’m your sister!”
But Ky held my stare without blinking, and flutters of heat, like the teasing wings of a butterfly, came to life in my belly. Maybe I wasn’t as numb as I thought.
“We were talking about something important here, Ky,” Rina insisted. “Like how Jas almost died and got hurt so badly that she couldn’t wake up for nearly a week.”
My smile fell as swiftly as Ky’s. Yeah, that was pretty damn sobering.
I cleared my throat, but my voice still trembled a bit. “So … what’s the verdict? How’s my leg?”
Everyone’s gazes darted at me before quickly pulling away. Ky, Leo, Rina, Adalia, Dave, and Wren suddenly studied the dimly-lit healing wing in big, frantic sweeps.
The only one who hadn’t looked away was Melinda. When I met her waiting stare, she sighed, her shoulders drooping sadly beneath the bright flower pattern of her dress. She started fidgeting, running a hand along the sheets of my bed, straightening out imaginary flaws.
“It isn’t good, Jas. You aren’t healing the way you should be given that you’re a shifter.”
“But … I don’t feel any significant pain right now. Are you saying it’s not because I’m getting better?” Five days of complete rest should have been enough to heal quite a lot of the damage. With how severe it’d been, probably not all of it, but enough.
“You don’t feel the state of your leg because I’ve been giving you micro doses of venom from the twelve-legged twisted spider.”
When I blinked up at her she explained—though my lack of familiarity with a spider with twelve instead of eight legs wasn’t what had stunned me.
“The twelve-legged twisted spider injects venom into its prey through its bite. The prey doesn’t feel a thing in their bodies, but their minds remain alert and sharp…”
“Let me guess, while the spider devours them?”
“That about sums it up.” Melinda offered me a sympathetic smile and gently brushed back the streak of white hair from where it’d fallen against my forehead. “I didn’t want you to be in pain.”
I gulped. “Thanks for that. So that’s why I didn’t wake up for so long?”
She shook her head, her brown eyes brimming with compassion. “That was all you. Until you just woke up, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”
I flicked a glance at Ky, then at the rest of my friends. The heavy concern dragging down their usual light-heartedness confirmed the truth of her statement. They’d all been worried for me.
Why buried his face in the sheet, tearing another hole, this one clear into the mattress, wagging his round, furry butt in the air. I squeezed his white pom-pom tail as tears burned the back of my eyeballs. When I was sure I had my reaction under control, I looked up again.
Every set of eyes was on me, soft and laden with worry.
I looke
d down the length of the bed to make sure I hadn’t missed something. Pulling in the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, I let it out slowly.
There were two long lumps under the sheet. I still had my leg at least.
“Will my leg heal? Will I be able to … um, will I be able to walk again?”
“I’ll do everything in my power to make it so, honey.”
It wasn’t lost on me that Melinda hadn’t actually answered my question.
She lay her paw on top of my hand as I continued to pet Why with near desperation. Even once her paw landed on the back of my hand I didn’t stop moving it—anything to keep my mind from going to the what ifs. Her paw moved along with me.
“Don’t go worrying ahead of time, sweetheart. Rest is the most important thing you can do now, and that means rest of mind along with the body. Besides, no point worrying about what’s out of your control.”
Only nothing was out of my control. Not really. Not when I could access the power of the angels.
My free hand flew up to my pendant.
“Don’t even think about it,” Rina said, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “No, it’s not like that, Jas,” she added. “The pendant seems to be part of the problem.”
My hand stilled as I rubbed the pad of my thumb over the shiny violet gem. “What do you mean?”
“That’s why I wanted Sir Lancelot here,” Melinda said, “to explain it to you.” She tilted her head to the side to look at the door. It was closed and no one was walking—or flying—through it.
“Ky, sweetie, will you please go look for Boone and see what’s taking so long? Sir Lancelot and the wizards are well aware of the situation. They should’ve been here by now.”
Ky smiled at Melinda in the friendly way he—and the rest of us—always did. It was impossible not to like the badger. But then he inclined his head to Leo, asking a silent question.
Leo nodded his silver head. “Melinda, I’ll go so Ky can stay with Jas.”
“Oh, of course. Thank you, Leander.” She turned her curious gaze on Ky, then me, and finally to the way his hand rested on my shoulder.
No sooner had the door closed behind Leo than it was opening again. Leo held it open wide for Sir Lancelot, Fianna, Nessa, Albacus, and Mordecai, since none of them could do it on their own without magic. The owl and fairies swooped in; the brothers floated toward my bed. Boone trailed behind all of them.
“Lady Melinda, would you be so kind as to allow me to perch on your shoulder?” Sir Lancelot asked the moment he swooped into the room.
The badger tilted her head to the side, making room. “Why of course, Sir Lancelot.”
He landed gracefully, wide, yellow eyes settling on me immediately.
When the lot of them crowded around my bed, I had unpleasant flashbacks to the previous term, when Wren and I had spent far too much time in this healing wing. I’d grown weary of the constant visits and the concerned gazes, most especially of treating me like I was made of glass and might shatter unexpectedly.
I rocked side to side to adjust a bit, trying to dispel the unease, but all the action achieved was to invite more of it. I couldn’t feel my legs at all. Neither my recently injured or healed one.
Gulping, I finally met the headmaster’s waiting stare. Fianna and Nessa hovered above him, their wings a blur as they flapped rapidly to remain in place.
Melinda wasn’t quite as tall as me, which was to say she was quite short. I only had to tilt my gaze upward slightly to look at the owl.
“I’m glad to see you awake, Lady Jasmine.” He tilted his head to the side, taking me in with those wide eyes. I fought the urge to twitch and rubbed Why’s fur more intensely. He started to purr, and arched his back into my touch.
The feathers around Sir Lancelot’s beak creased as he smiled as much as I supposed a pygmy owl could. The translucent skin around Mordecai and Albacus’ eyes crinkled with their amusement.
“Honestly,” Fianna griped, “it’s like he’s a baby. A highly distinguished academy for the study of magic is no place for a baby.”
Nessa gasped, her mouth hanging all the way open as she stared at her cousin like she no longer recognized her.
“He’s not going anywhere,” I snapped, before realizing the words had slipped out of my mouth.
Sir Lancelot chuckled. “I’m further glad to see that you’re starting to feel like yourself.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I said. “I’d like to know what’s going on with me and this pendant.” I held it up in case anybody had any doubts which trouble-making pendant I meant.
“Yes, we do have much to discuss,” Sir Lancelot said with a meaningful look at the wizard brothers. “I suppose we should begin.”
In unison, the wizards nodded; their long hair, divided up into dozens of braids capped in beads, didn’t make a single sound as they moved.
“The sooner we’re able to return to our research, the better,” one of them said—Mordecai, I thought. But with their similar hair and the way their long gray beards were also braided into tiny plaits and tied together at the end with a large painted bead, it was a challenge to tell them apart. Their long, dark robes masked any other differences I might be able to employ to distinguish them.
“Right,” Sir Lancelot said, bringing a wingtip to rub pensively at his chin. “Actually, there are a few too many of us in here. It makes it hard to focus. Pupils, please return to your duties.”
When none of my friends was in a hurry to move, his tone softened. “I assure you that your friend will be well taken care of.”
“But how are we supposed to help figure this out for her if we aren’t here to listen in?” Leo asked.
“I have no doubt Jas will pass on everything I say. There’s no secret safe within this mountain.” His brow rose comically. “Please, go. Lords Albacus and Mordecai need to focus, and I will do what I can to humbly offer whatever knowledge I might have to contribute.”
Dave, Wren, Boone, Leo, and Rina dragged their feet.
The owl shooed them with a gesture from both wings. “You can come visit after your final class. Besides, if I’m not mistaken, this is your lunch hour. You don’t want to miss that. The pygmy trolls refuse to offer food outside of regular mealtimes.”
“Don’t we know it,” Dave grumbled, and shuffled toward the door, wrapping an arm around Wren. “We’ll come see you later, Jas,” he called over his shoulder. Wren nodded her eager agreement, and they pushed through the door.
“Come on,” Leo said to Rina, leading her by the hand. Her concerned eyes held mine all the way until she stepped through the door.
Boone winked at me and followed.
Adalia and Ky hadn’t budged.
Sir Lancelot overlapped his wings across his chest and pointed those big yellow eyes at them, settling on Adalia.
She didn’t even flinch.
Whoa, when had she gotten so badass?
“Pardon me, Sir Lancelot, but I’m her roommate. I need to be here.” Adalia straightened her shoulders and widened her stance.
The door swung open. “And I’m her bestie!” Roberta sauntered in with purpose; her tall ears, one flopped over, obviously helped with extensive hearing. “I’m not leavin’ her side.”
Sir Lancelot faced Ky. “And you?”
Over the owl’s head, Fianna crossed her arms and jutted out her bottom lip, defying Ky to sass her precious headmaster. Nessa, the mildest of the two tiny fairies, narrowed her bright blue eyes at him too.
Ky shrugged. “I’m her boyfriend. I’d like to stay please.”
With a slight blush creeping beneath the dark stubble on his cheeks, which only served to make his copper eyes seem to glow, he tilted his head and looked at me from under his thick, dark lashes.
“Is that all right with you?” his look said.
Shit was dire, and my leg was one big festering crapfest. Even so, I couldn’t help the grin that stole across my face.
He squeezed my shoulder, and I reached my hand up to his.
Finally. And all it’d taken was a near death experience, a psycho pendant, and a ton of secrets that would surely only make everything worse.
Ky’s my boyfriend. So. Cool.
26
I would have loved nothing better than to bask in the afterglow of Ky’s declaration. He was my boyfriend! I could scarcely believe that the guy who’d played hard to get since the moment I first set eyes on his deliciousness had finally admitted that he was playing a losing game.
He was mine.
But Sir Lancelot and the half-dead wizards had other plans. With the way their eyes bore into me, there wasn’t a chance of delighting in my new relationship status.
I forcibly swallowed my grin, the taste sour. Why did life have to be so messed up that I couldn’t just enjoy being a regular young adult? Boyfriends were what I should be thinking about, not my chances of survival—or threat by jewelry.
“I can’t take the suspense anymore, Sir Lancelot,” I said. “Please enlighten me.”
“Well, Lady Jasmine, that’s part of the problem. We’re still not entirely sure what’s happening.”
“But we’ve made progress!” Albacus, I thought, pierced the air in front of him with the upward momentum of an enthusiastic index finger. “We have more of an idea now than we did before.”
“Well, I guess that’s something,” I mumbled, remembering not to be overly snarky with the only people who had a real chance at clarifying things for me.
“That’s more than something, Jas,” the other brother said. “We’ve narrowed things down quite nicely. It shouldn’t be long now before we figure out the rest.”
“Well?” I prompted when they didn’t continue. “I can’t take a moment more of this waiting. Sir Lancelot, please, oblige me. I want to know how I’m going to come out of this.”
Sir Lancelot blinked comically at me for a few moments, as if he’d gone somewhere else before I called his attention to the matter at hand.
