Chapter 42 Fake It

Chapter 42 Fake It
Chapter 42: Fake It

ARIA SILVERMOON

The door swung open ahead of us without either of us touching it. His telekinesis. It clicked shut behind us the same way. The guard that had been posted outside was gone, probably dismissed when Darius arrived.

I held myself rigid in his arms, painfully aware of every point of contact.

You are a woman, I reminded myself. He does not know that. This is deeply complicated.

"Darius," I said carefully. "You know I'm a guy, right?"

He looked down at me with genuine confusion, then laughed. "What kind of question is that? Yes, Lucian. I'm aware."

"I'm just saying—"

"You think I forgot?" He raised an eyebrow. "You think I think you're a woman?"

"No! I just meant—" I stopped. There was no way to finish that sentence without making it worse. "Never mind."

"Relax," he said. "I can't carry you on my back, that would put pressure on the leg. This is just practical. Almost no one is around. Stop being stiff, you're making yourself harder to carry."

I exhaled.

And then, against every instinct I had, I stopped fighting it. I leaned back. Let my head rest against his shoulder.

Well, I thought, staring up at the darkening sky. This isn't terrible.

It wasn't terrible at all, actually. He was warm and steady and he carried me like it cost him nothing. Effortlessly.

Again, this wasn't bad at all.

We reached the car park. His car gave a soft ping before we even got close, telekinesis again, and the door swung open. He settled me into the passenger seat carefully, leaned across to do my seatbelt, and for approximately three seconds his face was close enough that I completely forgot what breathing was for.

Then he pulled back, closed the door, got into the driver seat, tossed my bag onto the back seat, and started the engine like absolutely none of that had happened.

The drive back to the dorm was quiet.

Not so bad, I admitted to myself. Not bad at all.

See? Not so bad after all. a small, smug voice said somewhere in the back of my mind. The one that would one day be my wolf, whenever she shows up. Open your heart and let him in, Aria.

I had a feeling she was going to be an absolute menace.

Sassy, shameless, and completely unhelpful.

I could hardly wait.

_______

The limp was exhausting.

Not because my leg hurt, it didn't, not anymore. I'd woken up that morning completely healed, which was the problem. A full night of deep sleep and my body had quietly fixed itself while I wasn't paying attention, the same way it always did. No wolf yet, no instant daytime healing, but give me one good night's rest and I'd wake up brand new.

Which should have been great news.

Except that yesterday, in front of half the school, I'd taken a hit bad enough that the nurse had wrapped my leg and sent me off with medication and strict instructions to stay off it for two days minimum. One night of sleep was not two days. Not even close.

So now I was dragging my foot down the corridor like it was made of cement, manufacturing a wince every few steps, and praying nobody was paying close enough attention to notice that my "injury" had a suspiciously good range of motion.

This is fine, I told myself. This is totally fine.

Darius had offered his office as a rest stop this morning, watching me with that calm, unreadable expression while I got ready. I'd said no. I would keep saying no. That was not a habit I was willing to start.

I spotted Nathan at my locker before he saw me, head down, scrolling his phone. Then he looked up and his whole face changed.

"Lucian!" He pushed off the locker and his eyes immediately dropped to my leg. "That looks rough."

"It's getting better," I said, spinning my combination. "Slowly."

"We barely have classes today anyway. Just one, then you're free." He leaned against the neighboring locker. "Though didn't you have that group meeting too?"

I grabbed my books and pointed at him. "Yes. Ryder and Cade. Group assignment."

He sighed through his nose. "Right. That." He watched me with the look he always got when he was deciding whether to argue. "You could take a leave, you know. With the leg."

"It'll be healed by tomorrow. We only have one class. I can manage." The same thing I'd told Darius that morning when he'd made the same suggestion with slightly more authority behind it. He was clingy in the most composed, difficult-to-argue-with way possible.

"Anything you need from your locker?" I asked Nathan.

"Already got it. Was waiting for you." He fell into step beside me, adjusting automatically to my slower pace without commenting on it. That was the thing about Nathan. He just did things like that.

\---

We filed into class and I slid into my seat, still mentally rehearsing the limp for the walk out later.

The door opened.

Professor Rivera walked in.

I sat up slightly. Right. I'd known this and then completely forgotten it in the chaos of yesterday. Rivera. One class. The one lecturer in this building who already looked at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe.

"Rivera's our lecturer today?" I said to Nathan under my breath.

"You didn't know?"

I hadn't let myself think about it. And now here we were.

She reached the front of the class, set her things down, and looked up. Her eyes swept the room and landed on me with the kind of precision that suggested the sweep was just for appearances.

The look she gave me could have curdled milk.

"Okay," Nathan whispered beside me. "Why is she looking at you like that?"

"The Darius thing," I murmured back. "I told you about it."

"Oh, I completely forgot." He paused. "Lucian. You've made an enemy."

"I know—"

"Lucian." Rivera's voice cut clean across the room. "Would you like to stop talking in my class?"

Every head turned. I pressed my lips together and met her gaze.

"If I hear you again," she said, each word deliberate, "there will be consequences."

I nodded once. Slowly.

She held the look a second longer than necessary, then turned to the board.

Nathan said nothing. He had the wisdom, for once, to say absolutely nothing.

I stared at the back of her head and thought, not for the first time, that none of this was my fault. I hadn't asked Darius to do a single thing he'd done. I hadn't encouraged any of it. Whatever she thought was happening, she had the wrong idea entirely.

Not that I could say any of that out loud.

The class crawled forward.

\---

When it finally ended I was already mentally mapping the route to the library.

Nathan shoved his notebook into his bag and stood. "Should I wait and walk you over?"

"No, go eat. You're always miserable when you're hungry."

"I'm never miserable."

I gave him a look.

"I'm occasionally irritable," he corrected. "Which is different." He hesitated, bag over one shoulder. "Lucian, you're hurt. If those two decide to—"

"It's a group assignment, Nathan. In the library. In school." I kept my voice patient. "They're not going to do anything."

"They'd better not." He pointed at me. "If anything happens, beep me immediately."

I thought of Darius saying almost the exact same thing, with the addition of beep me, not Nathan. I'd nodded and said nothing.

"I'll be fine," I told him.

He gave me one last long look then surrendered. "I'm starving. Message me when you're done." He turned, then turned back. "Ryder especially. Watch him."

"Goodbye, Nathan."

He left, and approximately ten seconds later Ryder and Cade appeared at the end of the corridor, heading toward me with the easy, unhurried energy of people who had never once questioned whether they belonged somewhere.

Ryder spotted Nathan's retreating back and grinned. "Lucian. You didn't forget the meeting?"

"Would I?" I said.

He looked at Nathan. "Hey Nathan! How did defeat taste yesterday?"

Nathan stopped walking. Turned around. And very calmly raised his middle finger before continuing down the corridor without breaking stride.

Ryder looked delighted. Cade shook his head.

"He never learns," Ryder said cheerfully.

"Library?" I asked.

"Library," he confirmed.

We headed off down the corridor, and I remembered, just in time, to drag my foot.