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Kolfinna gingerly took the cup from his hand while Eyfura shifted on her feet, shooting Kolfinna a knowing look. “Well,” Eyfura started. “Guess—”

“Have you ever met one?” he asked Kolfinna, brows raised as he glanced around the room. “I heard she’s pretty powerful too.”

“Err, yes, I’ve met a few,” Kolfinna trailed.

Had he not noticed?

His head whipped in her direction, his eyes wide. “You’ve met afew? Wow, really? How? Are the Royal Guards really invested in catching fae?” He stuck his hand out to her. “I’m Nollar, by the way.”

He didn’t wear a Royal Guard uniform like the rest of everyone. Instead, his attire consisted of a dark blue military style uniform with charcoal buttons and dark boots. Nollar and Kolfinna were the only ones dressed differently in the sea of white uniforms and red capes.

She slipped her hand into his and he shook it gently. “You’re pretty young,” he noted, tilting his head to the side. “That’s crazy that you’re a Royal Guard while being, like, young. Don’t you usually have to be eighteen to join? I mean, unless you’rereallygood?”

Eyfura chuckled. “Don’t bombard her with a million questions.”

“I’m actually not a Royal Guard. I’m eighteen, by the way,” Kolfinna said. “My name is Kolfinna. I’m the fae you’re talking about.”

His mouth hung ajar for five seconds, and Kolfinna’s chest weighed heavily with those words—she had never openly said she was a fae to anyone.

He leaned in closer and stared into her eyes, just like Eyfura had done, and gasped. “Gosh, youreyes!”

“Err … yes, they’re pink. I know.”

“I didn’t even notice,” he started. “My vision isn’t that great up close … But wow, I can’t believe I didn’t notice something so obvious. So you’re really a fae?”

Kolfinna didn’t sense hostility, only curiosity, so she nodded.

“Is it true you can shoot at stones from your hands?”

“No?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Or that you can control someone’s brain?”

“Uh, no.”

“Do you have wings?”

The question made all the pores on her back prickle like rose thorns. The two scars on her back stabbed into her flesh like phantom limbs; every fae child had their wings sawed off to stave suspicion. She had never felt the weight of her wings before they were ripped away from her.

Kolfinna found herself smiling tightly, the lie leaving her lips naturally. “Of course not.”

“Is it true you’re immortal?”

Kolfinna shook her head. Katla had told her that at one time, the fae were immortal, but that wasn’t the case anymore. Not since the fae king from two thousand years ago traded their immortality to save the world. Or so the stories went.

“What about that you can grow plants really tall?”

“I can do that.”

He breathed out quickly and didn’t take his eyes off her. “So you could raise up a forest if you wanted to?”

“I don’t see why not, but it would take a lot of time and mana to do it.”

“That’s crazy.” Nollar held up his hand and bluish-white lightning glinted at his fingertips in static waves. His jade eyes illuminated with the sparks. “I’m an elemental, so my power is pretty basic. I heard the fae can do a lot more than just one type of magic.”

Eyfura rested a hand on his shoulder. “By the way, Kolfinna, Nollar is my younger brother. You both are around the same age.”

“I’m two years younger.” He held out two fingers. “I’ll be graduating from the academy at the end of this summer and hopefully will join the Royal Guard after that.”