Of Curses and Kisses

by Sandhya Menon

  As she idly scanned the shelves on the second floor, the sound of heated voices brought her pause. She tilted her head to listen.

  Rounding a corner, Jaya found herself at the entrance to a darkened area. Her eyes were immediately drawn to five boys standing by a large window on the far side of the room. If the raised voices weren’t enough of a sign, their crossed arms and tense shoulders definitely said this was not a friendly conversation.

  “I’m just curious,” a tall guy with a narrow face and gelled blond hair was saying. He grinned, but there wasn’t a shred of affection or humor in it. His friends, a red-haired boy and a brown-haired boy, grinned sycophantically back. Jaya casually positioned herself behind a large potted plant so they wouldn’t see her. That way, she could run and get help if things got too out of hand. “What’s a scholarship worth these days, anyway? Or was it supposed to be a secret?”

  “I’m not ashamed of being a scholarship student,” a younger white boy with dark hair responded, fists clenched at his sides. His accent was American. “If anything, it shows that I’m here on my own merit. My daddy didn’t have to buy my way in.”

  The blond boy and his two friends took a step closer to the younger boy. “What did you say?”

  “Chill.” The word was a growl, rumbling and low. Jaya’s attention flitted to the fifth boy, the one who’d spoken. He was huge, also white, with an American accent.

  The tallest boy had wild, shaggy dark hair, the tips colored a light brown. He wore ripped jeans, and his big feet were clad in old sandals. There was something feral about him, reminiscent of a wild animal. Or a beast.

  The feral boy put his hand on the blond boy’s chest and held it there, not pushing, but not giving, either. “Why don’t you go calm down before this turns into something you really don’t want? If I remember, you’ve got only one fight left before they expel you. I don’t think your father would look too kindly on you getting kicked out from your third school in four years.”

  “You want to be careful who you’re talking to like that,” the blond boy said, he and his friends turning to the feral boy.

  Smirking, the tall boy leaned back and crossed his arms in one lithe movement. Powerful biceps pressed his shirtsleeves taut. His eyes, a startling, brilliant blue, flashed, and Jaya knew instinctively that if the other boy were to take him on, he’d win easily. “You know, Alaric, I’ll take my chances. In my experience, most snakes aren’t venomous.”

  The boys all stared at each other for another minute, the air crackling with the energy of a fight. Jaya held her breath.

  The tension collapsed when the blond boy, Alaric, shook his head and turned away, his silent friends following in his tracks. They passed right next to Jaya as they walked out a door on the other side of the darkened area, but none of them noticed her behind the plant.

  “You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself.”

  The other boy cocked his head. He was enormous, built like a bear, and he dwarfed the slighter, younger one. “Sure, kid.” He began to turn away.

  The younger boy straightened up. “My name’s Elliot.”

  “Congratulations.” After a pause, the feral boy glanced over his shoulder. “Stay away from those three. And if I were you, I’d clear out of here in case they decide to come back.”

  Elliot crossed his arms. “Why should I have to go? They were the ones who bothered me. I was just in here studying.”

  The older boy sighed. “Doesn’t matter. Alaric’s an asshole and he’s gonna be looking for revenge. I’m not sticking around to watch out for you. So if you know what’s good for you, get out.” Without waiting for a response, he walked off.

  Elliot stood looking after him for a long moment. Then, sighing, he gathered his books and slid them into a backpack. Slinging the bag onto his shoulder, he followed the older boy out.

  They both passed by Jaya on their way out the door on the far side, but just like Alaric and his friends, neither of them seemed to notice her presence. She stood there a moment longer, smiling a little to herself. She always did like when the underdog won. Even though that blue-eyed feral boy seemed rather grumpy, like a bear with a thorn in its paw.

  Sliding out from behind the plant, Jaya walked to the nearest stacks. Nonfiction: Renaissance. She was reaching for one of the books when a deep male voice broke the silence. “Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of spies.”

  Jaya jumped and spun around, heart slamming against her rib cage. A hulking figure stood in the doorway, but backlit as he was, Jaya couldn’t see his face. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth like glue.

  “Who are you?” the figure demanded, walking forward slowly, features finally materializing.

  It was the feral boy from just moments before. His head was cocked, electric blue eyes focused on her the way a wolf might study an interloper in the forest. Though Jaya’s pulse pounded furiously, she attempted a joke to defuse the situation, taking a page from Amma’s etiquette book. “Do you always go around quoting Jane Austen to strangers you meet in libraries? It’s very charming.”

  He didn’t return her smile. His eyes were hooded, guarded, and his jaw was dotted with a few days’ worth of dark stubble. As he walked closer, graceful and silent, Jaya noticed how his broad shoulders took up the space with authority. His eyes seemed to alight on her rose pendant, like almost everyone’s did. Unlike everyone else, a shadow passed over his face as he took it in. His expression cleared so quickly Jaya could almost believe she imagined it, and he said, “You still haven’t told me why you were spying.”

  Jaya crossed her arms and gazed straight into those lupine eyes, feeling her nerves fade and her temper bristle. How dare this scruffy, angry boy question her? And looming over her like some schoolyard bully? “I wasn’t spying. I hid there in case you needed help.”

  He huffed, and what looked like a smile hovered at his lips. “Not likely.”

  Jaya shrugged. “Well, I didn’t know.”

  The boy’s expression softened a bit at that, and his shoulders relaxed. “No, I suppose you didn’t.” After a pause, he added, “You’re new?”

  The tension between them dissipated. “I am. My name’s Jaya Rao. I’ve only just arrived here, and so I thought I’d explore. I knew I’d love the library.”

  She waited for him to introduce himself, but he just nodded at the sign behind her. “You like Renaissance-era nonfiction?”

  Jaya smiled a little, always happy to talk about books. “Of course. Although I read just about anything.”

  “Then I highly recommend The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall,” he said, walking toward the table where he’d apparently left his cell phone.

  “Jane Austen and The House of Medici?” Jaya was impressed he was familiar with the latter; it wasn’t exactly light reading. The book charted the eventual decline of a wealthy, powerful family in Florence. “Well, thanks,” she said. “But I’ve already read it.”

  He didn’t look back as he lumbered toward the exit. “You could always read it again.”

  She frowned at his back. “Pardon me, but you haven’t introduced yourself.” He kept walking, as if he didn’t hear her. “Hello?” Jaya heard the double doors shut with a muffled thump.

  How rude. Some people just didn’t have the same breeding she did, she supposed. And she was hard-pressed to remember an odder encounter. Why would this absolute stranger care whether or not Jaya read some old book? Maybe it was an omen, him recommending it. Royal families were rather prone to superstition, and she wasn’t an exception. Maybe the mention of the Medici family meant the Emersons would fall into decline as surely as the Medicis did. Or perhaps the boy was just rambling because he wasn’t used to human company. He certainly looked the part of the misanthropic recluse.

  Jaya shook off the bizarre incident and turned back to the bookshelf, still happy. She was surrounded by books. Heaven couldn’t be marred that easily. She’d read until she was sated and then see where the day took her.


  Grey

  So that was Jaya Rao.

  Grey sat back in the recliner in his room an hour after their encounter, a small stack of animal science books on the end table at his elbow. She was smaller, more harmless-looking than he’d expect for someone from such an evil genetic line. He stared out the window at the gardens below, wondering again why she was here. St. Rosetta’s International Academy was a fine institution, but he knew from experience—he’d been here more than a decade now—that most students who transferred in this late in their academic careers had something to hide. St. Rosetta’s was a holding cell for the wayward teens of high-profile parents, a place they could be kept safe and away from the public eye until they were old enough to be sent even farther away to college—or until fate intervened. Grey should know.

  Grey’s own father didn’t want to see Grey, didn’t want to see his wife’s eyes in his son’s traitorous face. Grey could understand. He’d been a newborn when his mother died, but he alone had been responsible for her death.

  Grey stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows. There, down below in the garden, he saw Jaya Rao sitting on a bench, her face serious, thoughtful… and guarded. Her slender fingers played with the pendant at her throat. Something about it had tugged at him when he’d first noticed it in the library, sparkling against Jaya’s throat.… A blanket of unease settled over Grey.

  “Why are you here? And what are you hiding?” he murmured, his breath fogging the glass.

  CHAPTER 4

  Jaya

  Isha still hadn’t texted by the time Jaya was finished at the library, so she decided to explore the gardens she’d seen from the window in her dorm room. She could use the time to plan her first meeting with Grey Emerson on Thursday, and nature always calmed her. When Jaya was in elementary school, Appa had the palace groundskeepers set up a little bench by the roses where she could spend her summers reading in peace and quiet. It had been her own private sanctuary, away from Isha’s troublesome antics, though neither of them said that out loud. Jaya smiled at the memory.

  Outside, she walked along a small, winding path. The hedge along the pathway shielded her from anyone who might walk by, and she sat on a bench shaded by two large pine trees, pleased by the privacy, her thoughts returning to Grey Emerson.

  Things had fallen into place well so far, Jaya had to admit. She’d been worried about how to insinuate herself into his social group, but it had worked out seamlessly when his friends took care of that. It had to be a sign from the universe; she was meant to break Grey’s heart.

  It wasn’t uncalled for, not in the least. There was a running joke in the Rao family: What zodiac sign did the Emersons share? Gemini, because they were all so incredibly two-faced.

  But she could play that game too. Thursday morning, the first day of school, she’d begin phase one of her plan. She would flirt and banter to the best of her ability; she’d stroke his ego and smile sweetly at him despite the poisoned arrow in her heart.

  Jaya thought of how proud Appa would be of her for defending their family’s honor. Once the Emersons had a taste of their own medicine, he’d forgive her instantly for not being candid about her plan.

  Glancing down at her rose pendant, Jaya discovered one of the eighteen rubies was missing. She stared at the empty socket, her stomach dropping. She’d worn this necklace for months without incident. She was normally so careful with her things, and to lose a gift from her father? Oh God, Appa. He was going to be beside himself; he couldn’t abide irresponsibility. Jaya got down on her knees and began to look.

  It was like the stone had disappeared. Five full minutes later, she was still searching under the bench for the missing stone when hurried footsteps crunching down the path startled her out of her thoughts. Jaya saw a flash of red through gaps in the hedge, then heard the sound of someone breathing heavily. She sat quickly back down on the bench. “No, stop.” The voice was full, round, every syllable like ripe fruit. She’d heard it only a couple of hours before—Daphne Elizabeth McKinley. “I told you, Alaric, it was a summer-only, messed-up thing. We shouldn’t even be out here talking.”

  Alaric? Could it be the same Alaric from the library?

  “Then let’s not talk,” a smiling, husky, familiar male voice said. Yes, definitely the same boy from the library, although he was being much nicer now (for obvious reasons). His accent was a mixture of American and something else, hard to place, but Jaya thought it might be German. All she could see were his polished black shoes. Jaya considered clearing her throat or sneezing. She didn’t want to take part in any inadvertent snooping.

  There was silence for a moment. Jaya braced to step out and announce herself when she noticed their shoes moving closer and closer together.

  Oh, fantastic. She squirmed—quietly—on her seat.

  It wasn’t hard to work out what was happening. Isha had sneaked innumerable Harlequin romances from their governess’s room—and Jaya had once peeked at one, her young curiosity changing quickly into shock. Plus, palaces came with their share of drama—cooks with maids, bodyguards with village women, governesses with older, visiting cousins (now that one had been interesting). If past experiences had taught her anything, it was that her best move was probably to stay here, quietly. Hopefully their… moment… would be over quickly so she could get back to her daydreaming. She wished she had a book to while away the time.

  “Look, I can’t do this, okay?” Daphne Elizabeth again. “You made your choice when you decided not to break up with her. I can’t be your booty call when Caterina’s not around.”

  Jaya sat up straighter in spite of herself: intrigue. She may be a royal, but she was only human.

  “Daphne—”

  “I’m serious. Just leave me alone.” But her voice wobbled, and Jaya didn’t think she really meant it. Not all the way down, where it mattered. Her expression must’ve been fierce, however, because shiny-shoed Alaric didn’t argue.

  Jaya heard retreating footsteps, counted silently to ten, closed her eyes and sighed in relief, and stood.

  She found herself face-to-chin with the willowy Daphne Elizabeth. Clearing her suddenly dry throat, Jaya looked up to see shock mingling with anger on Daphne Elizabeth’s freckled face, like ink spreading in a cup of water. “You! Were you… spying on me?”

  What was it with people in this school and their obsession with spying? Daphne Elizabeth seemed liable to break Jaya in half and throw the pieces into the bushes, however, so Jaya spoke hurriedly. “No, I wasn’t, I promise. I was sitting here when you both began your… conversation, and then it was too late to say anything. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

  Daphne Elizabeth smiled a ghost of a smile, her eyes green fire. “Well, lucky you—you’ve stumbled onto primo gossip your very first day. Nothing endears you to people more, at least at our school.” She raised her arms, waving her fingers dramatically. “Tell people what you heard and watch yourself rise in the social ranks like magic!” Dropping her arms, she sighed, resigned. “And watch me be destroyed by Caterina LaValle,” she mumbled to herself.

  Jaya straightened her shirt, tilted her head back, and looked Daphne Elizabeth right in the eye. “I don’t know about the other people at this school, but I am a Rao. I would never stoop to that level.” Her regal pose was only slightly marred by Daphne Elizabeth’s height advantage.

  Daphne Elizabeth tensed and studied her for a long minute, as if she didn’t know whether or not Jaya was laughing at her. Finally, her shoulders relaxed and she blinked a few times, looking away. “It’s just so messed up. I never thought I’d be the kind of person to…” She paused. “He already has a girlfriend and I… People would never forgive me if they found out. I mean, Alaric and Caterina are an institution at this place. They’re the kind of couple everyone wants to be.” She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes searching Jaya’s. “You probably think I’m a total mess.”

  “I don’t,” Jaya said honestly. “I don’t know Alaric and Caterina, and I don’t
know you, but I do know what it’s like to have a secret you hope no one finds out. And I know what happens when people do.”

  They started back up the path in unspoken unison, their feet crunching loudly on the gravel.

  Daphne Elizabeth ran a hand through her short crimson hair. Her nails were painted bright green with small diamonds dotting the tops. Smiling at Jaya as they entered the cool interior of the school again, she said, “I like you. I hope you’ll come sit with us at breakfast tomorrow.”

  It was the second invitation she’d received from Grey Emerson’s social group. They seemed nice, the kind of people she might actually be friends with if circumstances were different. Jaya wondered how Grey had managed to fool them all. “Thank you. That’d be wonderful.”

  “Well, I better go get unpacked. I hate leaving it for later.” Daphne Elizabeth made a face, half-rueful, half-resigned. “See ya.”

  Jaya spent another fifteen minutes fruitlessly searching for the missing ruby under the bench. Where had it gone? Rubies didn’t just disappear. Appa was going to be angry. She’d have to have it replaced before she saw him again.

  Sighing, Jaya made her way back around the building, to the stairs.

  * * *

  Jaya walked up to the senior wing again after texting Isha that she was ready to eat. Inspired by Daphne Elizabeth, she went to her room to unpack while she waited. She stood undecided for a moment, looking at herself in the mirror. The necklace hung at her throat, its one empty socket mocking her. Should she put it away in her drawer to keep it safe until she could get the ruby replaced? Jaya stroked it. It was a reminder of home, a reminder of happier times. She didn’t want to part with it yet. She’d just have to be more careful. Nodding firmly to herself, Jaya walked to her suitcase. But before she’d even begun unpacking it, there was a knock on the half-open door. Jaya turned to see a girl with peach-pink cheeks and long blond hair in a braid leaning through the doorway and staring at her unabashedly.