Compared to yesterday, today was turning out to be rather boring. I was happy about that, though. I didn’t think I could take much more excitement this week. Priscilla caught up with me after class. Her eyebrows arched upwards as she saw Jasper, lingering beside me.
“You seem to be collecting bodyguards,” she told me and elbowed me in the side. This was probably doing nothing for my reputation. Some of my classmates seemed aggravated by the proximity I was allowed with the Council boys, especially when they could tell I was different.
Not a late-shifter anymore though.
“I’m not trying to.” I shoved my textbook into my backpack. She tucked her binder beneath her arm and smiled.
“I know. With that Dragon Fist, soon you won’t need a bodyguard.”
We chuckled and Jasper trailed along after us. I leaned in towards Priscilla. “I almost had a run-in with Angela today on the way back from the library, but Jasper rescued me.”
She pressed her lips together as her eyes widened. “I haven’t seen her since…well, that incident.”
“You’re welcome,” Jasper said from behind in a light voice. I didn’t need to tell Priscilla about how hard my heart was racing from our interaction or that he’d essentially pressed me against a wall. In fact…I hadn’t told Priscilla about kissing Enrique or even about the mysterious Mr. X. It seemed too dangerous. I bit my lip as we walked to our next class. Thankfully, Jasper was in this class, so I didn’t feel as bad for his company.
Theo showed up to our second class, surprisingly. He was a minute late, but he lumbered over with pink cheeks. He must’ve run here. He settled down beside Jasper and waved at me silently with a big grin. I waved back. Maybe he hadn’t heard about my interaction with Enrique. For some reason, Theo could be oddly protective. I wondered why he wasn’t assigned to protect me.
Professor Sahni lifted a hand to call the class to order. “Today,” she announced with a flourish, “We’ll cover an important topic in the history of shifters. The other day, we discussed the troubles and challenges that shifters faced with humankind.” Her eyes swept over us. They didn’t settle on anyone in particular. I’d spotted Sam in the top corner of the room, but he looked away when we made eye contact. Not surprising. The air for the lecture seemed lighter today.
“I want to go over the more amorous alliances that shifters have had with humans,” Sahni finished.
As she said the last word, it was as if a wave of fire shot up from my feet all the way to the top of my head. Jasper stifled a chortle that nobody else caught. The professor continued: “It’s an incredibly important subject for our kind. While we’ve certainly had our fair share of violent interactions with humans, there have also been just as many incidents involving romance, companionship, and loyalty through marriage contracts. In medieval times, in areas where shifters were well-established, it wasn’t unusual for a human lord to send a daughter to marry one of the shifters from among the tribe. This guaranteed protection for the human group, and in turn, the shifters were granted greater security from military raids depending on the country. Humans, historically, have developed technologies far different from shifters. This has contributed greatly to the advancement of our own technology, which combines modern ideas with old magic.”
I wanted to sink into the ground. Professor Sahni’s lecture was already fantastic. She had the most compelling lectures in the entire Academy. Given yesterday’s events, though…I was about to be as red as my notebook cover. The amusement brimming off of Jasper was obvious, at least to me. Theo seemed happy enough, taking notes and doodling. Priscilla was studiously bent over her notebook as usual. She probably knew everything in the lecture before coming.
You’re not a late-shifter.
Enrique’s words rung through my mind. His breath feathering against my ear had been an extra touch of excitement. I wasn’t a late-shifter. I was human, for sure. I chewed the inside of my cheek as I mechanically took notes. Sahni walked across the stage, gesturing animatedly at us and excitedly at her chalkboard.
“Attraction between shifters, rare beings among shifters, and humans are quite natural,” she insisted. “From the beginning, shifters were less wary of humans. There seemed to be an understanding, perhaps from our primal urges, that attraction would occur naturally between the groups.”
A chuckle spread through the class. Jasper’s arm bumped into mine. I doubted by accident—the annoying fox.
“History is filled with examples of powerful relationships between shifters and humans. In fact, human women often found greater opportunities for leadership among shifter clans. Shifter societies have historically treated each sex similarly, even if different duties were being performed. A woman shifter could own property easily thousands of years ago. The records from this time indicated that human women find shifter culture to often be a liberating experience.”
“Liberating,” Jasper echoed as though fascinated. He tapped his chin with his pencil. Theo sent him a quizzical look. I bent myself further over my notebook to hide my burning face. Nope!
The rest of the lecture passed without incident besides my frequent thoughts back to my tantalizing adventure yesterday. Dracus, Jasper, Ren, and Enrique. Everyone but Theo knew. I glanced at him from underneath my lashes. He was drawing a robot in his notebook when class ended. No wonder he needed extra tutoring. He was in class today though. That was something.
“I’m going to eat lunch at the manor,” I told Priscilla.
“Works for me. I’ve got club stuff.” She waved with a sly smile. “Have fun with your bodyguards.”
I knew she was teasing, but I did realize that I looked strange with two Council boys flanking me on either side. Theo walked with us back to the manor, jabbering on about how unfair Sahni was with his grades.
“You don’t go to class,” I pointed out. He waved his arms around dramatically.
“Yes, Fiona! But I have good reasons.” He shut his mouth and then muttered, “Secret good reasons that I can’t tell anyone.”
I smirked and glanced at Jasper, who was walking along with us as quiet as a mouse. “Keeping secrets is hard.” I didn’t realize what I said until his crafty half-smile transformed his face.
“Yes, Fiona,” he said with a flickering look towards Theo, who didn’t notice, “Keeping secrets is tough on everybody. It would be hard to keep secrets from one another. Wouldn’t it?”
I snapped my mouth shut and marched forward with them without another word. We let Theo keep ranting until we go to the manor.
“Damn,” Theo muttered with a frantic look at his watch. “I’ve got to meet with Dracus. I’ll see you guys later.” He clapped a large hand onto my back. “Fiona, we’ve got to hang out this week, ok? I know I’ve been busy.” He took off down the hall. My stomach knotted. I hoped that the lunch meeting wasn’t about what happened.
The dining room was empty. Suspicious if you asked me, but nobody was. I sat down to the spread of roasted chicken, rice, and vegetables. Every meal that Moony cooked was relatively healthy.
“Where do you think everyone is?” I asked. Maybe I could pry some info from Jasper.
Alas, the fox-shifter shrugged his shoulders as he made a plate. “Who knows?”
“You’re almost worse than Ren,” I informed him. “At least I can tell what Ren is thinking.”
“I’ve spent my entire life training for that. I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Out of the Council boys, the pasts of Jasper and Enrique were actually the most mysterious. What kind of families did they have? Enrique’s family might be linked to organized crime if you believed rumors. I wondered if Jasper’s family—
His voice broke through my thoughts. “You know, you have a very specific look on your face when you’re thinking about things. I can tell when you’re trying to figure us all out.” He pulled an expression: slightly furrowed brow, lips softly turned down, eyes sparkling with an inquiry. I swatted him and he smirked. “I’m being honest.”
I sunk into my seat. Well, that was thoroughly embarrassing. I wondered if the others had noticed, but not everyone was as perceptive as Jasper. I considered that he might make a good detective and said as much.
A funny energy came to him.
“I’m sure it would be an interesting job, but I have no interest in it.” His actor’s mask came back in its place—a coy, impassable wall. I sighed. Well, that was as much as I was getting out of the fox today.
I’d be happy for the brief connection that we had.
If any.