Page 55 of Spark of Sorcery

“So nothing you want to tell me about? No details you want to share?”

He peers at me through narrowed eyes. “You never want to share details with me!”

“But I always do in the end,” I point out. “Also, something tells me you’re dying to spill the beans.”

He smiles. “As I said, I had a very pleasant evening with the redhead from group three.”

“So I saw. And what did that pleasant evening involve?!” I witnessed them sucking each other’s faces off but I assume there is more.

But I’m forced to wait for my answer because twin one blows his whistle and we have to start star-jumping.

“We enjoyed each other’s company,” he says, bouncing on the spot.

“I saw that in the hall and then you disappeared.”

“He took me back to his room.”

I squeal which draws a warning growl from twin two. I don’t speak again until we’re rotating to the next set of exercises.

“So what happened back in his room?”

“We talked, we drank, we listened to some music … we…enjoyed each other’s bodies,” he says in a lowered voice. “And then it was morning.”

“So are you a thing now?” I say with a little less enthusiasm. It’s hypocritical and unfair of me, but I don’t love the idea of Fly getting a boyfriend. I’ve seen how that goes. Byebye to all the friends. “Are you going to see each other again?”

“Stars, no,” Fly says in obvious outrage. “That was a strictly onetime-only thing. I am not ready to be tied down.”

I place my hands on my hips and stare at him. “And yet I should be tied down to the Princes?”

“You're different, Cupcake,” he says, bopping me on the nose, “you can’t handle sleeping around.”

“Who says I can’t?”

“I’m getting to understand how that little brain of yours works. Even though bond brothers share their mates, I bet you’ve still been stewing over sleeping with more than one of the Princes.”

Mate?

That word again.

“What do you mean–” I start to ask, but the whistle blows again.

If I hope to quiz Fly and Clare about it at lunch time, I’m sorely disappointed. Both skip lunch and use the break to catch up on some sleep. In fact, the commoner’s canteen is three-quarters empty and I sit on my own in a corner, enjoying a very large helping of lunch.

Despite how ill she was looking this morning, Odessa and her posse make it to lunch too. They sit in the center of the canteen being unnecessarily loud, clearly trying to attract everyone’s attention.

I try my best to drown them out – I don’t want to listen to Odessa’s annoying drawl – but it’s almost impossible to.

“Kratos says he’s going to buy me a totally new wardrobe.”

“Really?” one of her adoring fans says, staring at her like she is the sun and moon combined.

“He’s already been more than generous.”She flutters her fingers in front of the circle of onlookers’ faces, three rings sparkling under the lights.

“Is that a–”

“Diamond?” Odessa asks. “Yes.”

I guess my eyes have strayed that way, because she glances over at me and for the briefest of seconds our eyes lock, before I snap my gaze back down to my food.