The Academy Gates (Continued)
I gripped my schedule tighter, the paper crinkling in my fist. It wasn't just the new school that had my nerves on edge; it was the conversation I'd had with my father before the sun even rose.
"It's settled, Drayan," he had said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "The debt is too high. The only way we keep a roof over our heads is through an alliance. You'll be married by the end of the year. It's an old contract, signed when your mother was still alive."
I hadn't even asked for her name. I didn't care. To me, she was just a ghost, a stranger who was going to steal whatever was left of my freedom. I hated her. I hated the idea of her.
And yet, standing here under the stone archway of the Academy, my eyes kept drifting back to the girl in the crooked glasses.
"You're doing it again," Wolfie said, her voice snapping me back to reality. She was standing just a foot away now. Up close, she smelled like rain and cedarwood—a scent that made the vampire in me want to lean in and the lonely boy in me want to run away. "The 'brooding city boy' stare. Is the map that offensive, or are you just naturally grumpy?"
"My life is offensive," I muttered, finally looking her in the eyes.
Wolfie tilted her head, her honey-amber eyes searching mine. For a second, her playful smile faltered, replaced by something softer. "Hey. I get it. Redpaveley is... a lot. And being the new guy is worse. But you've got at least one person here who doesn't think you're a monster." She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Even if you are a vampire who looks like he hasn't slept since the turn of the century."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked. It came out harsher than I meant, but I couldn't help it. I didn't understand why someone like her—someone so full of light—would waste time on a shadow like me.
Wolfie shrugged, her short hair shifting against her collar. "Maybe I just like a challenge. Or maybe I know what it's like to feel like you don't fit the mold." She reached out and grabbed the edge of my sleeve, tugging me toward the massive oak doors of the main building. "Come on, Drayan. If we're late for the Assembly, the Headmaster will have both our heads. And trust me, you don't want to see a warlock lose his temper before breakfast."
As she pulled me along, her hand briefly touched my wrist. The heat was there again—that strange, grounding warmth. I looked at the back of her head, at the way she moved with such confidence. I felt a pang of guilt. Here I was, let down by my father and promised to a stranger, while my heart was stubbornly trying to pull me toward a girl I barely knew.
I wondered what Wolfie would think if she knew I was already "taken." I wondered if she'd still be smiling.