I wasn’t sure what had changed between then and now. Just knew that I had. That something about her got to something inside me. It was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
“What are you reading?” I inquired with a rasp, trying to focus on the documentary Nestor was making us watch rather than on her sweet expression as she smiled up at me.
“War and Peace.” She patted the book after she’d shuffled nearer to me on the sofa. “I did that thing you told me to do.”
“Which thing?” I’d told her to do a lot of things. I was her walking Alexa.
“That thing with the Google.”
“Just Google,” Stefan corrected. “No ‘the.’”
“Nit-picker,” she grumbled.
“What did you Google?”
“’Literature you have to read before you die.’”
“You’re not dying,” I reasoned. “Won’t be for a long time.”
That had her clearing her throat. “I have to divide up my reading time.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Some time is for pleasure, but most is for study.”
“You can chill a bit, Eve,” Nestor argued, melted chocolate clinging to the sides of his mouth like he was a damn toddler. “You don’t have to read the whole library before you graduate.”
I kicked his foot. “If that was a prerequisite, Dre would never graduate,” I joked, and Stefan and Nestor laughed with me.
“Doesn’t he like to read?”
Stefan snorted out another laugh. “Nope.” Then, at Nestor, he groused, “Do we have to watch this shit?”
“I like it,” Eve declared. “It’s quieter than all those guns you like to watch.”
Nestor extended chocolate-covered fingers toward her. “Want my last one?”
Her eyes rounded. “You wouldn’t mind?”
He grinned. “Nope.”
I knew for a fact he wouldn’t have shared that with Stefan or me, but I wasn’t pissed. I was glad, actually. It was yet more proof of the effect Eve had on Nestor, which was all for the good. He could be weird around girls, but Eve seemed to relax him. Enough to share his last treat with her, apparently, and I watched as she took the chocolate truffle covered in brown sprinkles and raised it to her lips.
Nestor’s sacrifice was more than worth it when she released a soul deep moan as she savored the treat.
“That tastes so good,” she purred, her voice smoky. When she saw we were watching her, her cheeks turned pink, but her smile was bright. “That was delicious. Thank you, Nestor.”
“You’re more than welcome,” he stated, his tone so heartfelt I was hard-pressed not to laugh out loud.
Instead, my lips curved and I lifted my arm and curled it over the back of the sofa. Nerves filled me, wondering if she’d move away from the touch. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if she’d recognize what the move technically meant!
When she did nothing but open the book and begin reading, I averted my attention to the screen, but not before I glowered at Nestor and Stefan who were smirking at me like the douches they were.
But they were the ones who were left hanging when, after five minutes, she turned into me, leaned against my side, then curled her legs up, so the book was on her lap.
Did she recognize what that meant?
I didn’t think her Succubus was in charge today, but some days, she didn’t present. Unlike the rest of us. It was pretty easy to sense which soul was taking the lead, but Eve’s weren’t that discernible. She kind of went from zero to a hundred where that was concerned. All or nothing.
Swallowing, I felt my Adam’s apple bob at her proximity, at the scent of chocolate that lingered in the air from her treat, as well as from her scent. It was clean and fresh and delicious too. Inside, I was tense, uncertain, but when she relaxed, I did as well.
There was something about her, something that eased an internal ache I’d never known I had.
Whether that was for good or bad, we’d find out eventually.
❖
Eve
Settling into Caelum was surprisingly easy. It helped that most people ignored me. Well, save for Stefan, Nestor, and Eren. I had a feeling that when their friend finally woke up, he’d hang around me too just because they were close, but otherwise, the rest of the students seemed to go out of their way to avoid me.
It made me grateful for whatever it was that linked me to Stefan. I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I felt like I’d been alone all my life, and now I was here, with the promise of a community, but it was only being followed through by Stefan and his friends.
My major complications stemmed from not understanding what people were saying. It didn’t matter that everyone spoke the same language. What they said was what confused me.
I had no idea how someone could throw shade, and harshing someone’s mellow? What on earth did that even mean?
It wasn’t that people went out of their way to confuse me either. But references to movies went over my head, I had no idea who Sheldon Cooper was, and when it boiled down to it, I got sick of asking why He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named couldn’t be named so I’d read the full series to catch up.
Of course, I read the books, watched the shows, and sat back with the boys and viewed the movies, but I only had so much time in a day.
Despite housing all these souls within me, they didn’t extend time and make it easier to multi-task.
“You’re not concentrating.”
I blinked at Merinda. “I am.”
“Thought it was a sin to lie,” she grumbled.
“Well, it was back at the compound, but I’m no longer there, am I?” I retorted, satisfied with my answer when she muttered at me.
“Look, concentrate. I have places to be.”
“You say that often. Why are you teaching me if you want to be elsewhere?”
“Because I like you, kid, and yeah, that stuns the shit out of me too.” She looked me up and down. “When are you going to stop borrowing your little friends’ shirts?”
I frowned. “When I can buy clothes of my own that don’t—”
“Don’t, what?” She cocked a brow, eying the T-shirt that was far too large and all the more comfortable for it. “Fit?”
“I’ve never worn anything so revealing in my life as the clothes in my closet.”
She shrugged. “You have money. Buy your own shit.”
“Buy my own shit?” I scowled at her. “Why would I buy that?”
“God help me, you’re so literal,” she growled. “I meant you can buy whatever you want. Most kids don’t have allowances as large as yours.”
“I don’t want to be a burden, and Nestor, Eren, and Stefan don’t mind me wearing their shirts.” Goodness, I wished I could wear their shorts as well. These things called yoga pants went all the way up to the apex of my thighs. Sometimes, they even dug between my most private area!
It was beyond bewildering why females wore them.
“If you want to get laid this century, wear some of the clothes in your closet. Let the guys see your assets. Once you get your freak on, you’ll calm down some. Might be less uptight.”
Considering I understood about seventy percent of that sentence, I just murmured, “If you say so.”
“Meaning you’re going to ignore me?”
I shot her a smile. “I didn’t say that, did I?”
“Diplomacy, I like it. Not.” She shot me a dirty look. “What was I saying about Loreleis?”
Merry was here to tutor me in things that I should have learned four years ago upon arriving at Caelum. Since I was late to receiving any kind of information about my species, I had to catch up.
It wasn’t fun.
Nicholas, the principal, Damon, the man who stood sentinel over the front doors, and Merry, each held classes on the different souls and how they worked. Thankfully, that was the only time I spoke with Nicholas. One class was more than enough with him.
I quite enjoyed the theory. It was the active sessions I
didn’t like.
As anticipated, I was a lot rounder than most women in the school. They could do things called dropkicks and uppercuts without looking like a tomato and getting their yoga pants stuck up their buttocks.
I was certain that was the devil’s work, but for all I’d learned about another kind of world within this world, there was no such thing as that. Or magic. More’s the pity.
When Merry stared at me expectantly, I rummaged around my brain for what she might have been talking about. Mostly it was about the voice and how a Lorelei used it to engage, bewilder, or entrap humans and creatures alike.
“You were trying to show me how we lulled the compound to sleep,” I replied after a few moments of heavy thought.
She pursed her lips. “Do you remember the song?”
I frowned. “No. I don’t really remember joining in with you if I’m being honest.”
“Is it a blackout in your mind?”
Her concern had me hesitating. Which answer wouldn’t get me into trouble?
She waved a hand, almost as though she’d heard my silent question. “Never mind. What can you remember?”
“That everyone fell asleep. That’s it.”
That had her lips firming into a line before she began to sing. The notes had every hair on my body rising to attention, and a quiver shot down my spine in response to the beautiful song. There was a faint warbling to it that reminded me of birdsong, but equally, there were words that I remembered hearing from before. Even if that wasn’t active memory, it was like I’d heard the song when that was a sheer impossibility.
Stefan had introduced me to YouTube and the millions of songs that were out there now. Having endured hymns all my life, Chet Faker and Sam Smith were a definite improvement.
Still, before now, I’d only ever heard religious songs, and this was definitely not that. It was in tongues. I’d never heard that before I’d crossed through the portal into Caelum.
On edge because my memory was playing tricks on me, I noticed I had her attention. One hundred percent.
She broke off, fracturing the beautiful song. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Should I be?”
“Can’t you ever answer a question?”
“Can’t you?”
Merry grunted, then turned her back on me to stare out of one of the windows.
The room we were in was considered small for Caelum. It consisted of a round table that was almost as large as the room itself. Odd chairs surrounded it, and I liked the one with the wide back that had wings where I could rest my head while I listened to whatever my tutors were teaching me.
There were paintings of all varieties on the wall. Some in colorful frames with others in ornate gilt. They depicted anything from battle scenes to portraits of beautiful young ladies. Not an ounce of space was free save for where there was a chalkboard. Caelum seemed to have hoarding issues, which I was up-to-date with considering Nestor had insisted we watch something called Hoarding: Buried Alive the other day while Eren was working out.
On the side wall, there was a view of the ocean that I had to fight every time I came in here. Concentrating on work was hard when all I wanted to do was look beyond the glass.
Watching Merry stare out at the view, I was hesitant to break her train of thought. I knew I was unusual. Not just because of the whole ‘eight souls’ thing, but because I said things that surprised them all.
Not just Nicholas, Damon, and Merry, but Nestor, Eren, and Stefan too.
I didn’t mean to bewilder them, but whenever I asked a question, I seemed to. Sometimes I didn’t even have to open my mouth to perplex them as was the case now.
“What do the boys make you feel?”
The question came out of nowhere, and I shifted uneasily in my seat. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m curious. I’m not like Nicholas and Damon, Eve. I won’t just talk to you about theory but about life. About being a woman in this world. A world that isn’t bound by the ties of religion or a man’s whim.”
I frowned at that and then thought about what she was saying. “They confuse me,” I admitted eventually, settling on those three words because while they weren’t the whole truth, some of it was.
“In a good way or a bad way?”
I was surprised that I understood what she meant. “Sometimes, it’s bad.” I licked my lips and pressed a hand to my belly. “When I watch them hitting each other, I get confused. There’s warmth here when I see them fight, watch them try to best each other, but then there’s fear they’ll hurt one another.”
She hummed under her breath. “Any news on Alexandre?”
I shook my head. “No. He’s still sleeping.”
Merry pulled a face. “Damn Hell Hounds punch hard. What is that now, two weeks? Happened the day you arrived, didn’t it?”
“Yes. They’re worried.”
“Understandable. We’re not often ill this long. We heal quickly. That Alexandre hasn’t, doesn’t bode well.”
My eyes flared wide. “You think he might die?”
Merry shrugged. “We live long lives, but we’re not impossible to kill, and Hell Hounds? They’re the strongest of us all.”
“Because their anger shields them,” I quoted what Nicholas had told me earlier that week.
“Yes. We’re all tied to something, Eve.”
“I know. That’s where the basis of the seven deadly sins comes from, isn’t it? Lust for the Incubi and Succubi. Sin Eaters are the gluttons. Gargoyles are sloths, and Vampires are greedy. Hell Hounds are wrathful, with Weres being prideful.”
“And Loreleis are envious.” She smirked. “Or should I say we covet what we cannot have.”
I gnawed my lip as I stared at her smirk. “Are we evil, Merry?”
“Just because our traits were misinterpreted along the way and used as a guideline for humans doesn’t make us true sinners, Eve. Anyway, you know religion doesn’t belong here.”
I did, and though I preferred it to my past life, that didn’t make it easy to break the habit.
My earliest memories involved the Church. We attended twice a day, three times during the festivities. Even as a child, we’d worked hard, had many chores, and going from such an active day to a relatively slow one was surprising.
Though most of the other students complained about the load the Academy placed on them, I didn’t because it wasn’t.
I didn’t have to help make dinner for hundreds, didn’t have to serve men who leered at me when my Lorelei was in full force. There were these marvelous machines called dishwashers that didn’t necessitate my rubbing my hands raw as I cleaned hundreds of plates. I didn’t have to teach the children, didn’t have to read the Bible out loud. And, most importantly, I was never punished physically.
That was the most joyful difference between the compound and here.
Even if I made a mistake, even if I did something wrong or even refused to do something, they never used brute force against me.
It was deliciously liberating, and to a certain extent, intoxicating.
“Do you know what that heat in your belly means?”
Merry seemed intent on driving a point home, but I didn’t know where she was going with this.
I’d been at Caelum for fifteen days now, and most things confused me but being with Nestor, Stefan, and Eren didn’t. They were the only things that made me feel grounded, and I didn’t appreciate Merry stirring things up and making me question their friendship.
I scowled at her. “Why are you trying to make things harder for me?”
“I’m not. I’m trying to teach you something.”
Her bland expression didn’t appease me at all. “Okay, what are you trying to teach me exactly?”
“How relationships between men and women work.”
“I don’t want to know. Not yet.”
“They’re creatures, Eve. That’s what they want. And if you hadn’t been raised where you were, you’d want that too. I’m trying to spare you
any confusion.”
“I’d prefer to stay confused,” I argued. “I’ve seen lust, Merry. Trust me. I know what it looks like, and it’s nothing like how the boys look at me.”
She sighed and pressed her back against the panes of glass so she could stare at me and shake her head at the same time. “What you saw was a perverted lust.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Yes. It was.” The Brothers waited for an eighteenth birthday to wed a girl, but it didn’t stop them from drooling over the Sisters.
“It isn’t always like that, Eve,” she argued.
“I should hope not.” I smiled at her. “Are we finished for today?”
“Not really,” Merry stated grimly. “But we can pick things up tomorrow. You’re reading those books Nicholas gave you?”
Was I ever. I’d never had access to such reading material in my life. I was in heaven.
Literally.
Caelum was the word for heaven, after all. I’d learned that after Nestor had shown me how to use Google Translate.
The Internet was beyond wonderful. A true gift that most disrespected by wasting it on cat memes and taking pictures of their morning coffees. As magnificent as coffee was, I didn’t understand why people took so many photos of it.
“I’m almost through them all,” I assured her, and that had her cocking a brow at me.
“Really? That was some heavy reading material. You understand everything?”
“Yes. If anything, I understand those books more than I understand any of you.”
“That’s because they were written right about your era—seventeen eighty-nine.”
I grinned at her, amused and surprised by that amusement.
Clambering to my feet after I pushed the chair away, I murmured, “If that’s everything?”
She sighed again—she did that a lot—and wafted a hand at me in dismissal.
I took no offense. I don’t think she particularly liked me, but equally, there was something that tied her here. She’d indicated that she was leaving the second she could, and yet here Merry was. Still on campus, still willing to teach me about things I was only beginning to understand.
Leaving the room, I headed down the corridor to the Garland Room where Stefan said they’d be waiting on me to finish up.
Seven Wishes: The Caelum Academy Trilogy: Part ONE Page 10
