Page 32 of In Between Darkness

“Thanks, Jemima.”

“Do you believe in karma?” A small smile forms on her lips as she struts away.

Maybe it was karma. Alex has been a dick to everyone at this school. It doesn’t make sense, though. Why would he say that it was me? I haven’t even got my Gifts yet, but my handwasglowing. I’m sure of it.

“Hey, are you alright?” a husky voice calls from behind me. “I saw the crowd. How did I know you would be involved somehow?” His lips curl upwards, and River places his hands on my cheeks as if assessing for damages.

“I’m fine, really, just a little shocked,” I say, still confused by what just took place.

“What happened?” Concern rewrites his features.

“I’m not too sure… Alex was giving me grief about combat yesterday and then he just went up in flames.” My eyebrows furrow with confusion. Nothing about it makes sense.

“Alex ought to stay away from you. You might just be his bad luck charm,” he jokes.

“It seems that way,” I laugh, but my head pounds. That fall did not do my hangover any good. I grip my forehead, and River guides me to sit in the courtyard with him.

“I’m kidding. It happens to a light worker here almost every year. They get their powers, and they just can’t control them.”

Could that really be why? It’s got to be. There’s no other explanation.‘You’re different’.I push Ryder’s voice to the back of my mind for the third time today, deeper into the abyss and out of my thoughts. “Where were you on your way to anyway? Want me to walk you there?” River asks, displacing me from my thoughts.

“Funnily enough, I was coming to see you.”

His eyebrows lift, and he runs his fingers through his hair.

“Oh well, to what do I owe this pleasure?” He does a weird posh accent, which makes me laugh, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head.

“I wanted to thank you for getting me home safe last night. I don’t really remember much.”

“That’s okay; you were pretty out of it. I found you in the courtyard and walked you back to your dorm.”

“So, we didn’t go back to the party?” I question thinking about the newspaper I assumed was from the archives.

“No, you said you felt sick and wanted your bed.”

I nod. Where did I get the article, then?

“Did I say anything strange at all?”

“You mean besides talking my ears off about Enchantra?” he smiles. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wanted to make sure I didn’t embarrass myself too much.” I laugh, disguising my real worry. Talking about Ryder.

“Definitely did not embarrass yourself.” He smiles at me and looks into my eyes, then down to my lips. He’s so sweet. I’m annoyed that I feel nothing for him. Why couldn’t I fall for a nice guy like him?

I distract him from pulling me into a kiss by reaching for my forehead again.

“I don’t feel too good,” I confess, not entirely lying.

“You must have hit your head when you fell. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room, and we’ll stop and see Miss Aloe on the way. Some grium jelly wouldn’t go amiss on that hand of yours.”

He stretches his arm around my shoulder and presses me close to him like he is trying to protect me from the outside world. He leads me slowly, making small talk about his friends and life at Sun Sovereign, I feign engagement and nod my head every few minutes, tossing in a few ‘hmmms’and ‘ahhhhs’.I know I should be listening, but between the splitting headacheand the unanswered questions running through my mind, there really isn’t enough room to squeeze in another thought.

We finally reach the healing quarters, and River’s arm is still cocooned around me. I gently shuffle out of his grasp and give him a small smile.

“Thanks for walking me here, second bell has just rung, and I know you’re probably hungry. I’ll be fine from here,” I send him a reassuring nod.

“Are you sure?” River still looks concerned.