“This isn’t exactly the easiest spell in the world to cast,” I snapped as Trubble bent down and touched his fingers to the silver ash, readjusting one of my runes. He sat back on his haunches and stared at the layout for a while. “As far as I know, it’s never been cast before.”
“The gods would’ve cast it,” he corrected me, “before sending the spell down to the world. They always do.” He rose to his feet again, moved another quarter of the way around, and did the same thing to another rune. “There, try that,” he announced, getting back up and swiping his hands down the front of those silky pj’s. As he did that, a bit of the dust rose up in the air and he sneezed.
As soon as he did that, I felt it, a surge of magic that whipped right out of me and into the shadow boy … turning him right back into a fox.
“This is an outrage,” Trubble said, sitting on the edge of the fancy windowsill and flicking his tails in irritation. The morning sunshine reflected off his purple fur while the white runes on his forehead gleamed with magic … and irritation. “I want my other form back.”
“Well, I want my wing color back!” I said, flexing my snow-white wings and wondering how in Hellim’s too tight leather pants that I was supposed to explain this to all of my professors—particularly Professor Tiukka, who I was supposed to meet with today.
I shrugged into my white Royal College jacket and buttoned it up over the tight camisole underneath it. I was wearing pants today because, really, with the wing issue, the last thing I wanted to worry about was a teeny little skirt. I’d tripped six times this week and skinned both of my knees to scabby lumps. Now, I was prepared for my clumsiness in black breeches with dark brown leather patches at the knees. Practical was the name of the game today.
“Surely, there’s some way to change me back,” Trubble pleaded, snarling at his brother when the spirit of poor Dyre of Ha stepped into the room. He seemed to be aware of the Amerin issue with bedrooms; this part of the house was our sacred place and we didn’t like strangers in it. “What do you want?”
“For you to stop acting like a fool and embarrassing me and yourself,” Dyre hissed, tapping his katana on the wood floor and giving the tiny purple fox a look. “You had more time in that form now than you’ve ever had before; be grateful for it and stop whining.”
“Stop being a virgin for fuck’s sake!” Trubble snarled at him, raising his butt in the air and lowering his front half. He looked fierce as Hellim like that, with all those razor-sharp teeth. “You’re virgin-ness is starting to drive me insane!”
“Your self-centered rudeness is driving me insane!” Dyre yelled right back, copper eyes blazing. For a moment there, I could see the color in his irises, the anger and frustration toward his brother making his body corporeal for a brief time. When he stepped back and slicked his fingers through his not-quite-as-lavender-as-it-should-be hair, he was just a blue-white shimmer again. “Get out of Brynn’s bedroom and come downstairs.”
“I’ll do as I please,” Trubble said, sitting back down and narrowing his eyes at his brother. “You are no longer my keeper.” Both boys fluff and flick their silly tails around in irritation at the same time they flatten their fuzzy ears against their skulls. “If you weren’t such a virgin all the time, you’d be nicer to me.”
“Stop wielding my virginity like a weapon,” Dyre snapped back, turning and storming … right through the wall of my bedroom. New ghosts. I sighed and stuffed my feet into boots, tapping the toes against the floor to readjust them.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a virgin,” I said as Trubble rolled his eyes and followed me out the door and down the stairs. Even though he was back in fox form, I couldn’t stop thinking about sitting on his lap in class yesterday. None of the guys had mentioned it, but they knew. And now, tonight, when I was supposed to be having dinner with Vex, I’d have to tell him all about it.
Ugh.
And this is why I’d never been big on having a harem.
The embarrassment was going to end up killing me.
“If there’s nothing wrong with being a virgin, then why aren’t you one?” Trubble asked, just as we hit the bottom of the stairs and I found Airmienan standing there waiting for me. His sea green eyes bored into mine as the word virgin settled in the air around us.
Why wasn’t I a virgin?
Because of Air. Because I loved him. Because I’d have done anything to get closer to him and sex just seemed like the perfect way to do that.
“I want to speak to my mother this weekend,” he said, his voice low and sad. He must’ve felt this gap growing between us. I felt it, too, and I didn’t like it, but there was always this natural barrier between the living and the dead. This is exactly what I’d been so afraid of. It didn’t help that Air had to stay hidden all day either. He couldn’t stand beside me in the lunch line like Professor Cross or help me out in class like Elijah. “On Sunday, we need to go see her.”
“Okay,” I told him and then paused. Before I could overthink, I curled my arms around his waist and pulled him close. At first, he was ice-cold, but the longer I held him, the tighter I held him, the warmer he became. When he put his palm on the back of my head, I almost died. “I love you,” I whispered, just because I couldn’t say it enough. No matter what happened, that would never change.
Airmienan of Hekkett, he had my love forever.
We pulled apart and I rose up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss.
It was meant to be sensual, but soft, loving, affectionate … and instead, I smacked my face into Air’s and made us both grunt.
“Ship,” I cursed as I rubbed my knuckles along my bloody lip. Figures. I’d be the one to hurt myself on an incorporeal spirit. Air just laughed and flashed that big, sharp, shark grin with all those slightly pointed teeth of his. He had that handsome, princely Air about him in that moment that I hadn’t been seeing a lot of lately.
“We need to get going,” Jas said, her footsteps sounding across the floor as she made her way over from the spell circle to stand beside us. As soon as Air glanced away, she raised her dark brows at me and winked with a horrible amount of exaggeration.
I ignored her and grabbed a few fresh rolls from the kitchen, heading out for our hour one class with Professor Cross. He always seemed happiest at this time of day, like sharing knowledge was a serious turn-on for him. I was still dying to know how he …well, how he died, but I guess he’d tell me in his own time.
Jasinda opened the door and ushered us all out, Elijah’s sapphire eyes catching on mine as he slipped past. I stepped out behind him with the little fox trotting after my heels, ridiculously self-conscious of my white wings. Nobody stared or leered like I was imagining in my head, but that’s only because they didn’t know me. As soon as I stumbled on someone who—
“Oh, flub.”
“What in Haversey’s Heaven have you done to yourself?” Felixa asked, waiting for me around the corner with her handler in tow. She spread her butter-yellow wings wide and gaped at me as I folded my own close and continued walking, breezing right past her. I hadn’t done anything illegal or immoral or against Royal college, and frankly, it wasn’t any of her business anyway. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re up to something weird in that house,” she growled out at me, her perfect little pleated skirt folded and wrinkle free, her red second-year jacket pressed and polished.
“I’m not in the mood today,” I told her, moving across the cobblestones as quickly as I could. Since Spicer was the teacher for my hour one class, and he was attached to me on an eighty foot tether, I couldn’t exactly be late, now could I?