“A human was murdered.”
“Murdered?” I shudder. “That’s terrible, but who was it? Someone important?”
“If you’re wondering if it’s a person in an authority role, you can rest easy. It’s not even that big of a deal, really.”
“How can you say that? Just because the victim was a human doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care.”
Bay shrugs. “I knew you would be interested to hear about it.”
“You don’t even have that many details,” I grumble. “How do they know for certain the person was murdered?”
“Oh, it’s pretty clear,” she says dryly. “The person had been literally stabbed in the back.”
“Oh,” I say faintly. Then I shake my head. “Why do you think I would be interested in this?”
“Because.”
I lift my eyebrows and tilt my head to the side.
“Don’t be mad,” she says lazily, in that tone that tells me she did something that will make me mad.
I narrow my eyes. “What did you do?”
“I might’ve read a few entries in your diary.”
Blood drains from my face. My skin is porcelain normally, but now, I have to look even paler. “Why would you invade my privacy like that?”
“Relax. I wanted to see if you wrote about you and Sage getting it on.”
“As if that’s any of your business! Why isn’t it good enough for you to know that we had sex and leave it at that?”
Bay shrugs. “You have a way with words. It’s a wonder they haven’t had you in any of the scribing classes.”
“My words do not hold sway over people,” I say dryly. “If they did, Sage and I would be together right now.”
“Maybe, maybe not. You probably wouldn’t use your words to force anyone to do anything even if you could. Light fairy and all. Or maybe it’s just your written words. Hey, maybe you should write him a letter—”
“What did you read?” I ask, interrupting her.
“About your thinking about sneaking over to the human world and pretending to be a doctor so you could heal them with magic.”
I rub the back of my neck. “I never honestly considered that.”
“Come on, Rosemary. Don’t even attempt to lie to yourself. That would be a very Rosemary thing to do, to help the humans like that. And given everything with you playing at being a sleuth last year, I don’t want you to get caught up in all of that.”
“Then why tell me about the murder in the first place?” I ask, my stomach twisting.
The thought of helping the humans did occur to me, yes, but I would never leave the fairies. I might not worry about the fae courts much, but the fairies are my people. I can’t imagine being the only person around to have magic. It would feel too stifling. I might use their technology and eat some of their food, but I am not one of those lame fairies who wishes to be a human. That said, I don’t like hearing about one killing another.
“Because I thought you might hear about it from someone else and if you learned that I knew before you… I didn’t want you to get upset with me.” Bay shrugs.
I give her a hug. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to get upset with you over something like that.”
“No? You’ve been a little… moody lately.”
“No, I’m not!”
“Hmm. You still stuck on Sage?”
“I don’t know. We have a class together, and we sit next to each other sometimes. We’re talking more, but we haven’t hung out outside of class.”
“No more meals together? No romantic picnics that turn into sex fests?”
“Bay!” I slam her shoulder.
She giggles. “Maybe he’s afraid of being alone with you.”
“Afraid?”
“He won’t be able to keep his hands off you or his cock out of you.”
“You’re so raunchy.” I heave a sigh and flop down onto my bed.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want you to get hurt. There are other fairies out there.”
“Yes,” I murmur, thinking about Damon for whatever reason.
Am I stalling? Why haven’t I introduced her to Damon yet? He’s a bit of a loner even though it seems like he could easily have a ton of friends. He reminds me of Bay in a lot of ways.
“Thistle’s still around,” Bay says idly.
“I know.”
“Just a friend?”
“Always,” I inform her.
“Pity. He really would treat you right.”
I roll over onto my stomach and flutter my wings without flying.
“Okay, so yeah, he’s not the most ambitious of fairies, but he would treat you like a queen.”
“Knowing him, he would pawn off his stuff or steal or do something stupid to treat me like said queen.” I shake my head. “I don’t need to be treated like I’m royalty. I just want to feel important.”
“You are important, and you don’t need to be with a guy to feel that way.” Bay brushes her hair back. “I’m out. You heading to dinner?”
“I think so.”
“Tell Thistle I say hi.”
“Will do.”
We part ways after flying through my window. Orchid, Wren, and Dahlia should be at our spot in the valley by now. They're all in a class together, Divination, a course I took last year. Sometimes, they head to the library to do research or to a field to practice together, so they don't interrupt the rest of us. Honestly, my thinking is that Orchid is using it as an excuse to not be around my sister. It hurts that my best friend and twin are at odds, but I can't force them to play nice. Maybe avoidance is the best way for them to handle things.
“Rosemary,” Thistle says as I enter the food tent. He grins broadly. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” I bite my lower lip as I can’t help thinking I’m doing a lot better than that human and his family. Her family? I don’t even know if a guy or a girl had been killed.
“Did you hear about the human who was murdered?” he asks.
I blink in surprise. Am I giving some kind of human-lover vibes lately?
“I did hear actually,” I murmur.
“Any chance you want to check it out and see what’s going on?”
“I’m a student, Thistle, not a detective. It doesn’t concern me.”
“No? But murder is a lot more serious than thefts or arson.”
“Yes, but I’m sure the human authorities can handle it.”
He slowly nods. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best, not getting involved. You need to concentrate on your classes. Of course, you’ll get grades way better than mine without even studying or practicing.”
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself,” I tell him. “You graduated.”
“Barely.” He scowls. “You’ll never date a dumb fairy.”
“Thistle, you aren’t dumb.”
“Will you go out with me?”
I hesitate.
“See?” he says sourly.
“It’s not because you’re dumb,” I assure him.
“It’s because I made some… dark choices before.”
I say nothing.
He heaves a sigh. “How can a fairy change?”
“I don’t know, but trying to take things day by day might help. Besides, you have a job. That’s a good sign.”
“The only reason why I took this job is so I can be close to you.”
“That’s sweet.” I smile. “But if this isn’t what you want to do with the rest of your life, and I’m sure it isn’t, then maybe you should figure that out. Then, you can come up with a goal and a plan and go after your dream.”
“My dream,” he repeats. “I don’t really know what I want out of life besides you. I haven’t had any fairy dust or fae nectar or anything like that since I started.”
“See? You’re making better decisions already.” I accept a cup. “You’ll figure out what you want out of life, and you’ll get it.”
“Might not get you, though,” he mumbles.
“Happiness shouldn’t come from who you’re with. You should create your own happiness,” I say, thinking about what bay and I just talked about.
“I’m more worried about your happiness.”
“That’s sweet, but you should worry about you right now, okay? Please?”
“For you.”
I heave a dramatic sigh. “You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been told that a lot,” he says with a laugh. “Your friends are waiting for you.”
“Thanks.”
I head on over to my friends, bypassing both Sage and Damon along the way. It’ snot surprise that Thistle directed me to my friends and not to either of the guys. As much as I don’t want to date Thistle, I do hope he can get his life on track.
Hmm. I won’t help the humans with their investigation, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look out for someone. I’ll help Thistle if I can and so long as it doesn’t keep me from my studies. I’ll just have to make sure he realizes I’m just a friend and nothing more. After all, I really am trying not to make any mistakes this year. So far, so good.
Chapter 10
Two days later, at lunch, I'm flying high above everyone, trying to figure out who to eat with. My friends are working on a project together for their class, so they aren't around. I’m not sure where Bay is or Sage. Wait, there’s a huge crowd over there. Bay’s probably at the center of it.
As I approach, though, I realize that everyone is congregating around Damon. I should've realized since the crowd is almost all girls. They're flocking to him like the guys flock to Bay.
I hover there, above them, disgusted and not even sure why I'm feeling that way, when he looks up at me. I roll my eyes and fly off but not before he grins at me. I think he might've even blown me a kiss. Fire and brimstone, he needs someone who will knock him down a peg or two, and that has to be Bay. Who else would do it better?
Unfortunately, I don't have an afternoon class with Damon, so I have to wait until tomorrow with Chlorokinesis to be able to approach him.
“I can’t help but notice you like to keep tabs on me,” he says as I fly up to him. He always sits in that seat he stole away from me. I never sit in the one that he claimed to have saved for me. Just a little game we play, although I’m not sure what we’re playing for.
“I don’t keep tabs on you. Have you met Bay yet?”
“Who?”
“Clearly not because no one can ever forget Bay. My twin, remember?”
“No, I haven’t met your twin.”
“You’ve probably seen her around.”
He holds out his hands and shrugs. “Maybe.”
I heave a sigh. “Tonight, come to dinner with us.”
“Just the two of you and me? I think I can handle that.”
“Oh, dear boy, you couldn’t handle us both, not like that.”
His grin is devilish. “You like to pretend to be all light, but underneath, you crave a challenge, don’t you?”
My heart speeds up. “Not at all,” I say coolly, but all the while, I’m wondering if he’s right. Everything with the investigation last year screams he’s right.
Damon just smirks at me as his gaze shifts to the vacant chair beside him, the one I’ve refused to sit on for so long. With a sigh, I finally take it.
He leans over and brushes my long white hair back. “You know that I enjoy a challenge too, right?”
“I am not playing hard to get if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Oh, you’re playing a game all right, and I find it rather amusing that you don’t even know what the game is.”
I gape at him, trying not to reveal my shock. It’s like he’s getting into my head. How can he know me so well? Maybe he can read minds. I’m not sure of what abilities demons have, but he has to have some demonic ones. As hot as he is, as easy as he is to talk to, I can’t forget that he’s not a pureblood fairy. And worse, part demon.
I shiver. Unfortunately, it’s at the same time that he brushes my hair back again, this time with his fingers touching my neck.
“You do not affect me,” I snap.
He just laughs as he settles back in his seat, lounging, his ankles crossed with his legs stretched out as far as they would go. His body is long and lean but muscular, more muscular than Sage. At least I think Damon is. I would have to see him shirtless to compare, but I don’t want to see him shirtless.
I risk glancing over. He’s staring straight ahead, smirking a smirk that I just know is for me. I huff a sigh. He really needs to get over himself.
“Why do you want me to meet him again?” Bay whines as we fly toward the eating area that night for dinner.
“Because I think you two will really get along.”
“I wanted you to get to know him and see if he could replace your heart’s desire for Sage. You know how I feel about that asshole.”
“Bay, you have to remember that I wasn’t comfortable around Sage last year. I did try to emulate you some to get him to like me. He has to get to know the real me, to trust me all over again.”
“He claimed you could be friends but then never reached out once during the break. Yeah, that screams friendship all right.”
“Just be nice to Damon, okay?”
“Sure.” Bay just shakes her head.
Thistle isn’t working tonight, which is good because I don’t want him to see Bay and I enjoying a meal with Damon. It’s bad enough that I’m sure the half-fairy, half-demon will be thinking along the lines of a threesome. I just know he will. I don’t know about Bay, but that is not on the table for me.
Damon’s already sitting down at a spot a little ways away from everyone else. Hmm. Good. He’s been sitting more in the open where all of the ladies can then congregate around him, but for this, I would prefer some privacy, and I am not going to think about Sage seeing this little meal either. Maybe starting tomorrow, Bay and Damon will start to date, and it won’t be awkward anymore for the three of us to be seen together.
This might be Light Fae Academy, but that doesn’t mean everyone here is light, and it also doesn’t mean tongues won’t wag.
I land first, Bay hovering above us. I stare at her until she lands too.
“Damon, this is Bay, my beautiful twin. Bay, this is Damon.”
“Rosemary’s handsome friend,” Damon adds. He nods toward Bay.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Bay says, sounding bored. “Oh, and we both know Rosemary’s the more beautiful one.”
I gape at her. “How exactly can you say that?”
“Your hair matches your wings,” she says.
I eye her and realize her wings look even darker than before. It makes for a stunning contrast with her white hair.
"You're gorgeous, and you know it," I tell her.
She grins and winks at me. “Oh, I know. I just like to fish for compliments.”
Damon watches us, his gaze shifting back and forth.
“So, Damon, why don’t you tell Bay all about your life,” I say.
“My life?” he repeats incredulously.
“Yes. Your parents, your goals, your hopes and dreams…”
He frowns, his brow furrowing. “If you want to know everything about me, Rosemary, you just have to ask.”
“Oh, no.” I laugh a little. “I just thought…”
“I’m actually not that hungry,” Bay announces.
“You haven’t taken one bite!” I protest.
She shrugs. “You two can eat it. I’m heading out.”
“Where to?” I ask, but she’s already flying off.
I kind of wave to Damon, maybe lift a finger for him to wait, I’m not even sure, but I chase after her.
"Bay," I hiss, holding onto her arm and getting her to stop.
“I’m not interested in him,” she says. “I’m sorry. I know you want me to be for some reason.”
I’m shocked, yes, but maybe they’re too similar? I shrug.
I clear my throat and hope my question won’t upset her. “Bay, wher
e are you always running off to?”
“Worried that I’m dealing drugs again? That I’m using them this time?” She rolls her eyes. “I appreciate that concern, but I promise you, that’s not going on here.”
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
“A girl needs to have some secrets.”
My nostrils flare, and I'm ready to explode on her, to let her have it for wanting to keep secrets while invading my privacy, but she gives me a quick hug and flies off. I don't stop her. She's her own fairy, and she can do what she wants.
That doesn't mean I'll stop wondering and worrying about her, though. She's my twin, and I might be light, and she might be dark, but we love each other, and I'll always be there for her no matter what.
Chapter 11
I'm torn about trying to follow her, to catch up, but I don't want to hover and yank on her wings. She's been behaving for the most part. Yes, I've seen her hanging around some of her friends from last year, including Bracken and Cosmo, but the one I haven't seen is Holly, thankfully. She only lasted a week at the other academy from what I hear. I'm not sure what she did, but clearly, she did something to upset someone on the fairy court. All of the other academies are influenced by the courts except for this one. I'm glad I haven't seen her because, and this isn't the nicest for me to say, but she irritates me. Cosmo still doesn't like to wear shirts. As for Bracken… I make sure to not hang around him at all. I don't think he's forgiven me for thinking that the thief used fairy dust and might be one of their gang even though that had been the case.
No, better to let her go off. Besides, I do consider Damon a friend, at least I think I do, so I’m not going to run off and ditch him.
I slowly return to him, and he looks completely unfazed by our sudden departure and my lonely approach.
“So that’s Bay,” he says.
“Yep. All the guys want her.”
“Is that so?” He plops a grape into his mouth. He’s reclined on the grass, a hand supporting his head, elbow digging into the earth.
“Mmm hmm. So if you want a chance with her…”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“How so?” I feign innocence as I reach for a strawberry.
Light Fae Academy: Year Two Page 5
