Chapter 257

But my ferocious snarling into Luca’s face only lasts a second, because I instantly shift back into my human form, shrieking my delight and throwing my hands in the air as I sit on Luca’s chest, my legs sloppily straddled to either side. “I did it!” I shout, laughing with joy. “I hit you and I knocked you down!”

Luca coughs a couple of times but still grins up at me, shaking his head, his hands going to my hips. “That was awesome – how did you shift so fast?”

“What?” I ask, leaning forward and putting my hands on his shoulders.

“Your shift,” he says, drawing in a ragged breath, and I gasp a little – guilty – and move myself backwards so I’m sitting more properly on his stomach. Luca obligingly draws a deep breath and continues, still grinning at me, shaking his head a little in awe or delight – I’m really not sure. “Seriously, that was like lightning – how did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” I say, grinning, still pinning him down with no intention of giving up my victorious spot. “Maybe because I’m smaller, it takes less time?”

“Well, it was awesome,” he says, still laughing a little and reaching up a hand to cup my cheek. “You should do that to Blaze tomorrow – even just to see the look on his face when you knock him on his ass.” I burst out laughing and down the bond I can feel Luca’s joy in making me laugh like that.

“Blaze would never allow it,” I sigh, leaning forward more so that my chest and stomach lay out along Luca’s. He grumbles a territorial little growl, wrapping his arms loosely around me. “Besides, we both broke the rules – you weren’t supposed to try to land any blows, and I probably wasn’t supposed to shift. Or at least, the not shifting was implied.”

“Yeah, but there are no rules on the battlefield,” Luca sighs happily, holding me close. “If it comes down to it, I hope you do shift. To protect yourself. And you really are fast – faster than anyone I’ve seen before – just a flash of pink and blonde and wham, I’m on the ground.”

“Magical goddess speed, baby,” I sigh, winking before I happily rest my head on his chest.

We lay like that for a long moment before Luca gives my butt a satisfying smack. “Come on, let’s go eat dinner,” he says, sitting up and taking me with him.

“Nooo, I was so comfortable,” I whine, clinging to him and trying to push him back down. “Let’s just take a nap –“

“Ariel, if we lay here any longer with you on top of me, a nap is going to be the last thing on my mind,” he murmurs, a little wicked, tracing a hand slowly along my back.

Shivers run through me and my wolf gives an eager yip. “Oh yeah?”

“Out!” Blaze’s voice rings from the door, making us both spin our heads towards him in shock – because I honestly didn’t even realize he was still on the other side of it.

Honestly, what on earth is on the other side of that door?

“No funny business in my gym!” Blaze says, his face serious as he waves his hands at us.

Luca bursts out laughing and starts to stand up as I skitter up and away from him, blushing beet read. “Blaze, I –“

“No explanations, either,” Blaze says, glaring at us good-heartedly, a smirk on his lips. “But go elsewhere, you loud creatures – go and eat! Rest, get your strength back! And tomorrow, I want to see this little wolf trick.”

I blush again, realizing that the walls of the gym must be thin and Blaze must hear every word that Luca and I say together. But Blaze just laughs at me and turns away, going back through his door, waving over his shoulder.

“Come on,” Luca says, that hungry little growl still deep in his voice as he puts a hand around my waist and pulls me flush to his side. “Let’s go to dinner. Daphne’s coming up tonight, right?”

“Oh yeah!” I say, my face breaking out in a smile – because I’ve seen less of my friend than I wanted to in this past week and a half. She’s been as busy as the rest of us, after all. And then, smiling eagerly, I grab Luca’s hand and haul him with me towards the door, grabbing our bookbags on the way.

I burst into a delighted smile the moment I step into our suite, dropping Luca’s hand and dashing immediately for Daphne with a smile around at Ben, Rafe, or Jesse, who are also here. “Hi, hi!” I say, laughing as I wrap her up in a big hug even though she’s barely had time to stand up from her place on the couch. “It’s so good to see you Daph! How have you been!?”

“Um!” she says, laughing and pulling away from me a bit so she can smile into my face. “I’ve had…more breath, in other moments!” Laughing, I loosen my arms around her and murmur an apology, but she very quickly hugs me back. “It’s so good to see you too, Ari. It’s been lonely without you!”

My heart sinks to hear that my friend has been lonely but there’s not much time to dwell on it as Luca comes over to say hello, obliging me to give her up so he can give Daphne his own hug. I step away, taking a moment to wave to the other three in the room, who all wave back. Jackson, I know, will be here soon – he’s meeting with Hank tonight, with whom he’s apparently making some exciting progress regarding the Community. I make a mental note to ask him about it tonight in the dream state.

“All right, Shrimp,” Luca says the moment he finishes greeting Daphne and lets her go. “Give ‘em back.”

“What?” Daphne asks, looking between the two of us in confusion.

I grimace a little, and then hold out the little card of needles that I slipped out of her pocket during our hug. “Sorry,” I say, giving a shrug. “I was never going to keep them – homework and all.”

“Ariel!” she gasps, laughing as she snatches them out of my hand. “How did you do that!?”

“She’s getting good, isn’t she?” Rafe says, smiling at all of us from his place in his armchair. Simultaneously, the dumbwaiter bell rings and Jesse pats me on the back in greeting as he moves over to it to grab our dinner. We’ve arranged for them to come a little later now that I have lessons with Blaze – something which I know makes him a little grumpy, even if he is a good sport about it and hasn’t said anything.

“You’re getting too good, sneaky cat,” Daphne murmurs, giving me a little glare as she tucks the needles back into her pocket. Then, laughing, she sinks back down on the couch next to Ben. “What else are you learning?”

“Oh, you know, all sorts of useful things,” I sigh, sitting down on the floor, where Luca settles next to me. I tick my lessons off on my hand. “How to kill people with a big shiny gun, how to kill people with a variety of wild mushrooms, how to kill people by stealing their prized possessions and leaving them so desolate that they no longer have the will to live. You know,” I shrug, “girl stuff.”

Daphne laughs and leans against the arm of the couch, beaming at me, as Jesse comes back with the big tray of all of our dinners and places it on the coffee table. Ben springs up, helping him take the lid off and sort out the plates.

“This is all very exciting, Ari,” Daphne says. “I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah well, don’t go thinking it’s too exciting,” I sigh, reaching for my bookbag and hauling it closer to me, starting to take out my books. “I hope you won’t mind that tonight will be a little boring, Daphne, I have a great deal of homework to do. And I know I’m not alone in that.” When I look around the room for confirmation, all of the boys nod, looking a bit drawn.

Secretly, quietly, I wish that they all had my secret weapon of Jackson’s energy supply, a bit of which he passes to me every morning after our run. Honestly, it’s the only thing keeping me going – I don’t know how the rest of them are doing it.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Daphne says, bending down and picking up a little basket full of fabric and thread tucked by the side of the couch that I didn’t see before. “I brought my own homework. Academy really keeps us on our toes, doesn’t it?”

I nod my agreement as Jesse hands me my plate – some sort of mystery meat sandwiches tonight, I can’t really tell what – but before I can reply to Daphne more completely the door opens and my wolf gives a series of yips, pouncing around in my soul, when Jackson slips into the room.

He looks at me instantly, sensing my wolf’s reaction, his own working hard to play it cool but completely failing as a possessive growl slips from between his teeth. Jackson likewise works hard not to burst into a wild grin, just pushing the door shut behind him and waving to everyone in the room.

“Hey, Jacks!” Jesse calls, amongst other greetings from everyone else in the room as he holds out a plate. “Come and get it while it’s hot.”

“What is it?” Jackson asks, a little suspicious as he moves closer to Jesse, taking the plate and raising it to eye-level so that he can inspect the sandwich.

“It’s Sloppy Joes,” Ben says, a little baffled, looking around at us. Luca and Daphne nod eagerly, digging in and apparently relishing the taste.

I look down at mine, grimacing a little at the way the meat slops out the side of the bun, wondering if it can actually be as good as their eager eating implies.

“Wait,” Ben says, laughing a little and looking around at us as Jackson settles down on the floor on my other side. “Don’t tell me that the Foundling and the Royals have this in common and only us working-class folks know what Sloppy Joes are.”

“Hey, our mothers - ” Jesse begins, lifting up his sandwich experimentally.

“Oh, don’t give me your my-mother-was-an-orphan line,” Ben says, waving a hand at Jesse. “She’s a duchess, a doctor, and a sorceress now. Just…try it. You’ll love it.”

We each dig in and I can feel Jackson’s pleasure down the bond when he, like me, realizes that Ben was right – that it’s as delicious as prescribed. We fall into a happy rhythm then, each of us scarfing down our tasty meal before picking up our homework, chatting idly until one by one we fall quiet, concentrating our studies and our sewing.

I’m really falling into my chemistry homework when suddenly next to me Luca’s book drops to the floor. I turn in surprise to see him staring at it, his jaw clenched, looking like he wishes he could light it on fire with his mind.

“Luca,” I say quietly, reaching out a hand and putting it on his knee. “What’s wrong?”