Thornhill Academy. Chapter 43

Allison moved around her kitchen like she’d built it with her own hands, which, for all I knew, she had. The smell of bread and something spicy filled the air, soft and warm, a thousand times better than the food hall. She set things out with quick, efficient motions; Tessa hovered nearby, handing her jars and utensils without a word, the kind of teamwork that comes from real friendship. Kael had taken a seat at the edge of the counter, long legs sprawled, acting like he owned the place. I stood where I was for a moment, watching the two girls, the way Allison’s hair fell forward when she leaned over the counter, the way she brushed it back without thinking. The dragon in me hummed, pleased just to be here, to see her alive and moving. When she started stacking sandwiches on a plate, I found my voice.

“So…” I said, leaning my elbows on the counter, “Scorched is making Cage tutor you?”

The noise she made wasn’t a word; it was a sound of pure disgust, like she’d just bitten into something rotten.

Kael smirked, chin propped on his palm. “Want me to tear his throat out?” he asked, mock-serious, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

Allison barked a laugh before she could stop herself. The sound was quick, bright, and it cut through the tension like sunlight. It did something to me, lit up a space in my chest I hadn’t realised was dark.

“Thanks but no thanks,” she said, still grinning, wiping her hands on a towel. “I can handle him. I just don’t want to.”

Kael gave her an exaggerated shrug. “Offers on the table,” he said.

I tried not to stare at her too openly as she moved back to the counter. The dragon in me rumbled low, echoing the same quiet thought: *her laugh is addictive.*

She gathered the plates in her arms, careful not to drop them, and carried them toward the table tucked under the wide stained-glass window. The light poured down in fractured colours across her dark hair, painting her in gold and crimson. Without a word, the rest of us followed, Kael trailing with that lazy grin, Tessa bouncing along with barely contained energy, me staying close enough to catch a plate if Allison stumbled. We sat. Kael sprawled into a chair opposite, Tessa tucked herself beside him, and I took the seat at Allison’s side before I even thought about it. She set the plate in front of me, then slid one toward Kael and another toward Tessa. Simple sandwiches, nothing fancy. But when she handed mine over, her fingers brushed mine, and my dragon roared softly inside my chest, smug and possessive. From anyone else, it would’ve been food. From her? It was something else entirely. I picked it up, grounding myself in the ordinary motion, and bit back the strange swell of heat that threatened to give me away.

The first few minutes were quiet. The sound of bread tearing, of cups clinking against the wood. Then Tessa, predictably, filled the silence.

“So,” she said brightly, eyes darting between us all, “the Moonlight Festival! Only a few weeks away. Can you believe it?” She pressed her hands together like she was about to pray. “I swear, if I don’t find my mate this year, I’ll just die.”

Kael snorted into his food. “Dramatic, rabbit.”

Tessa ignored him, leaning toward Allison. “I already know what dress I’m getting. Midnight blue, with gold threads through the skirt, like stars.” She sighed dreamily. “What about you, Ally?”

Allison stiffened beside me, the faintest hesitation in her breath. I saw it even if Tessa didn’t. My dragon pressed against me, restless, wanting to hear her answer.

But she didn’t get the chance. Kael leaned forward, grinning sharply. “Doesn’t matter what she wears, whoever she ends up with won’t be able to take their eyes off her.”

Tessa squealed, smacking his arm. “Kael!”

Allison rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath, but I couldn’t stop the flicker of satisfaction that curled low in my chest, imagining her all dressed up when the bond is revealed between us.

Tessa’s words still hung in the air when her wide eyes landed on Allison. "Do you think you’ll find yours?"

The girl stiffened beside me, so quick and subtle most would miss it. But I didn’t. My dragon didn’t.

She forced a laugh, dismissive, waving her hand as if she were brushing cobwebs off the ceiling. “Please. Me? Find a mate? Not a chance. I’ll be the one spiking the punch and hiding under the tables while everyone else swoons.”

Tessa squeaked, half-scandalised, half-delighted. “Allison Rivers, you would not!”

“Oh, I would,” she said, dry as bone, lifting her cup for a slow drink. “The Moonlight Festival sounds like a headache dressed up in fairy lights.”

Kael leaned forward with that grin of his, sharp as always. “You’re just scared someone might actually want you, Rivers.”

She shot him a glare sharp enough to cut glass. “Or I just don’t believe in fairy tales.”

Tessa giggled. Kael groaned theatrically. The table shifted back into easy banter. But I couldn’t laugh. I sat still, silent, watching the defiance in her posture. The way she held herself like armour, shoulders squared, chin tilted. She wanted us to believe she didn’t care. That she didn’t *want*. But I could hear it in her breath, see it in the flicker of her eyes. the lie.

My dragon rumbled low, deep in my chest, restless. *She lies because she is afraid.*

Maybe. Or maybe she just didn’t know yet. Either way, when she pushed another bite of food into her mouth like it was some shield, I wanted to tear it away and demand the truth. Demand she look me in the eye and admit she felt it too, that same pull burning holes through me. Instead, I stayed quiet. Watching her pretend, and wanting her all the more for it.