Thornhill Academy. Chapter 57

Tessa is still giving me that knowing grin when she suddenly claps her hands together, eyes lighting up like she’s just had the best idea of her life. “Alright,” she says, springing up from the couch, “you and I are going into town. Brunch, caffeine, and then...” she spins dramatically toward me “, Moonlight Festival dress shopping!”

I blink. “Brunch?”

“*And dresses!*” she adds firmly, like it’s the law. “You’re not getting out of this, Rivers. It’s only a couple of weeks away, and I refuse to let you show up in anything less than perfect.”

Before I can even protest, she glances over my shoulder toward Evander, who’s still hovering a few feet away, looking far too composed for someone who’d nearly been caught half-naked in a girl’s dorm room. Her grin turns wicked.

“You’re welcome to come and take ‘notes,’ if you like,” she teases, drawing out the word.

Evander laughs, deep, warm, and a little shy and shakes his head. “Nope, I’m good,” he says with a smile that does terrible things to my insides. “My father told me once that going shopping with women is a death sentence. Something about time slowing down and ‘finding a man chair’ being impossible. So… I’ll pass.”

Tessa snorts, satisfied with herself, already gathering her bag. “Your loss, Dragon Boy.”

I try to hide my smile as I look back at him, my heart doing that fluttery, traitorous thing again. The bond tugs softly between us, that invisible thread pulling tight—*come closer, stay close, don’t leave yet.* He hesitates, clearly feeling it too. For a second, it looks like he might close the distance between us, say something, *do* something… but instead, he just gives me that crooked half-smile that makes my knees feel unreliable.

“Have fun,” he says quietly, lingering a heartbeat too long. “I’ll see you around, Ally.”

And then he turns and leaves, the door closing softly behind him, leaving me with a grin I can’t quite shake and Tessa already squealing about mimosas and sparkly dresses.

“Okay, *what the hell was that?*” Tessa demands the second we slide into her van, the doors barely closing before she’s whipping around to face me.

“What?” I ask, trying to be innocent, even though the heat already creeps up my neck.

She scoffs, loud, dramatic, *Tessa-style* and gives me a look that could melt steel. “Don’t even try it, Rivers. I walk into your room and there’s *Evander Drayke*, shirtless, hair all rumpled, standing behind you like he just crawled out of your bed! So, again, what. the hell. was that?”

I groan, covering my face with both hands. “Ugh.”

Her gasp is so sharp it sounds painful. “*Ugh*? That’s all you have to say?”

I peek at her through my fingers and sigh. “Okay, fine,” I mumble, sitting back in the seat. “If he got to tell his best friend, then I get to tell mine.”

Her eyes go wide, and she grips the steering wheel like she’s bracing for impact. “Oh, this is going to be *good*.”

So I tell her...well, most of it. About the forest, the fight, the shift, the dragon, the bond. The words spill out faster than I mean them to, but it’s a relief to say it out loud finally.

When I finish, she stares at me for a long, stunned moment. Her mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. “Yep,” she says finally, nodding with firm resolve. “Okay. We’re getting *mimosas* first on the list today.”

I laugh, half from nerves, half from disbelief. “Mimosas?”

She starts the van and grins, wicked and wild. “Yeah, babe. You just found your *fate-bonded dragon mate.* You’re going to need a *lot* more than coffee for this conversation.”

Tessa drives us through streets I don’t recognise, past the café strip, past the markets, past anywhere that looks remotely student-friendly, until the pavement starts to crack and the neon signs flicker like they’re tired of their own glow. When she finally parks, I stare out the window and blink. The place looks… rough. Not *terrifying*, but definitely the kind of spot where you keep one hand on your drink and the other on your soul. The cobblestones are slick with mist, and a faint hum of magic thrums under the air like a warning.

I glance at her, raising a brow. “You sure this is the right place?”

She grins, unbothered as always, and unclips her seatbelt. “Relax, it’s not as bad as it looks. The pub’s called *The Serpent’s Veil.*”

Even the name sounds like trouble and maybe a little bit of enchantment.

“They serve the best drinks in town,” she promises, already out the door. “Yeah, the crowd’s a little more… apex predator than student sorority, but one of my friends, *Rynor*, he’s a demon, brought me here last year. I loved it. I think you will too.”

I exhale slowly, stepping out of the van, the scent of smoke, magic, and citrus hitting me all at once.

“Okay,” I finally say, side-eyeing her, “how the hell do you know a demon? Don’t they usually stick to, I don’t know, the shadows?”

Tessa grins like she’s been waiting for the question. “They do. A few go to the Academy, though you’ll rarely see them unless they *want* to be seen. Rynor and I got partnered on a potions project last year.”

I blink at her. “And he didn’t, what, try to sacrifice you or something?”

She rolls her eyes and laughs, the sound bouncing off the stone walls. “Please. Rynor’s actually really sweet.”

That makes me bark a laugh. “A *sweet demon?*”

“Mmhm.” She bumps my shoulder with hers, still smiling. “You’d be surprised, Ally. Some of them have the biggest hearts.”

I raise a brow, not buying it, but her grin is infectious. Maybe she’s right. Maybe even demons have their soft spots, though I have a hard time imagining one sitting through a potions lesson without trying to eat someone. The heavy oak doors of *The Serpent’s Veil* come into view, carved with twisting serpents and inlaid with faintly glowing runes. The bass hum of music seeps through the cracks, and I feel it in my ribs. Whatever’s waiting inside, it’s definitely not going to be boring.

The moment we step inside, the world changes. The air is thick and warm with magic and music that vibrates through the floorboards. Lanterns hang low from the ceiling, their flames a deep violet, casting shifting shadows that move like they’re alive. The crowd is a mix of species; shifters with glowing eyes, witches with charm-laced jewellery, and, yes, a few demons whose horns glint under the light like obsidian. A band plays in the corner, the singer’s voice smoky and haunting. The bar stretches across one wall, carved from blackened oak and etched with runes that pulse faintly with every poured drink. Bottles line the shelves behind it, each one glowing a different shade of dangerous. Tessa waves to someone near the back, and I follow, my nerves sparking. The place is chaos and beauty all at once and somehow, it feels like it’s *watching me back.*