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While he wasn’t lying about only friendship existing between them, part of him didn’t balk at the idea of something more, even if short-lived. He wanted a lasting relationship. He wanted his Korrena—his other half. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t have a meaningful relationship in the meantime. Both his friends and little sister had found their pair, so now he felt like the odd man out.
“About that…” He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he disliked about himself.
“He wants her all to himself,” Riley said with a sharp nod. She added in singsong, “Someone has a crush.”
He chuckled at her taunt. “It’s not like that.”
“Hey, we’re not judging,” Seth said, pulling Riley into his lap. She sat sideways, leaning against him, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. “I don’t see the big deal if you do. Personally, I think the clan should allow her to know. She’s been involved in our lives but kept in the dark since Blaire joined the academy.”
“I didn’t know you felt that way,” Blaire said, looking up from typing on her phone. “I wish she could know. It would make things easier. I miss her.”
“Yeah, well, I saw the way she acted at Tybee Island when we went,” Seth said. “Whenever something slipped, or we stopped talking about things when she came into the room, I could see it on her face. She seemed unhappy.”
Leave it to Seth to notice things before the rest of them. The quiet observers always did.
“What?” Riley twisted to look up at his face. “Why would she be unhappy?”
“Wouldn’t you be if your best friend suddenly became part of a clique that you weren’t really a part of?”
“She is part of our group!”
Seth arched an eyebrow at Riley’s outburst. “Baby, think about it. We have to keep her at arm’s length. No matter how much we try to include her, there’s always gonna be a wall.”
“I don’t like that.” Riley’s shoulders slumped. She stared at her lap, picking at the sparkly black polish on her nails.
“Me either,” he said, tightening his arm around Riley’s waist. “I know she means a lot to you and Blaire, which is why I think it’s stupid for her to not know.”
“She’s human,” Mera said at the same time Blaire said, “But it’s against the rules.”
“And there lies the problem. With her getting closer to everyone in the group, I think reevaluating the rules or making exceptions should happen, but I doubt they’ll give a shit. She’s one human and we’re a bunch of students.”
Mera’s lips pressed into a tight line, the only sign she felt anything about the situation. Maybe she agreed with the rules. Maybe not. She wasn’t as familiar with Charlotte as the others, but she didn’t have a problem with Blaire, so Aiden doubted her expression was anything less than a support for change.
Lukas sucked his teeth. “Blaire isn’t just any student, though.”
Maybe the Blackthorn Clan might extend an exception to someone meant to save their kind from certain destruction. One little human not descended from the magical bloodline only Blaire belonged to couldn’t upset the balance that much, right?
“Yeah, well, as much as I agree, I doubt anything will change,” Aiden said with a sigh, moving to stand when someone knocked on his door.
“I got it,” Lukas said. He strode to the door and opened it. “How’d you know where we were?”
“Blaire told me,” Dominic said, holding up his phone.
In the short time after Dominic joined the academy as the eyes on the ground for King Adrian Blackthorn, he found a comfortable place with their small group.
Aiden glanced over at his little sister, cuddled in Seth’s arms.
It surprised him how much Seth accepted Dominic, considering the circumstances of his arrival.
Dominic had wanted to date Riley; he’d asked her to become compatible pairs, since neither had yet found their Korrena. Aiden found it disrespectful to both Seth and Riley when he discovered Dominic knew of Riley’s feelings for Seth and still pursued her.
Once he discovered Riley's effort to distance herself and move on with her life, it all made more sense. She remained clueless to Seth’s feelings for her, despite numerous attempts to make her aware of them.
He also didn’t fault Dominic; once Riley said she couldn’t commit to him, he accepted the rejection with grace and expressed genuine happiness for them when he learned Riley and Seth were Korrena pairs.
Dominic entered the room and squinted. “Why’s it so dark in here?”
“Aiden has a headache,” Riley said.
