A Life Earthbound (11 page)

The classroom was at full capacity now and required that all three adult Muses teach. Dividing the students by age, Serendipity continued to teach the older students, while Clarity taught the younger Fates and Trinity taught the younger Muses.

Rhiannon still sat in the front of the room at her single desk and kept to herself. Though she maintained a polite friendship with Liam she didn’t spend time with him. His time was generally monopolized by Blythe, who was a regular hell raiser.

The two of them were constantly getting into trouble. Whether it was camping out in the woods at night or stealing sweets from the kitchens, they were both frequently being reprimanded and given chores to do as punishment, although that didn’t stop them. Lucian was at his wit’s end, but he was either wise enough or foolish enough to chock it up to kids being kids.

Rhiannon couldn’t understand why they enjoyed getting into trouble all the time. She always followed the rules and disobeying her parents had never even occurred to her. Why go through the stress of breaking rules when it was so much easier to just follow them?

She returned to her note taking, her neatly manicured fingers pressing her mechanical pencil against the lined paper with precise, neat cursive.

“Rhiannon,” her mother said, approaching her. Rhiannon looked up with a polite expression.

Brogan was standing beside Serendipity, looking awkward and shy.

“Brogan needs help with an algebra problem. I need you to show him how to do it. I’m just too busy at the moment,” Serendipity ordered, motioning Brogan to drag a chair over to Rhiannon’s desk and to sit with her.

Rhiannon nodded as her mother walked away, and then turned to smile politely at Brogan.

“What problem is it?” she asked, watching as he sat beside her, his black curled hair hiding his face as he flipped open his book and searched for the page he needed.

When he found it, he nudged the book toward her, chancing a look up to meet her eyes. She studied him for a moment, realizing she’d never really spoken to him before.

He had a youthful and poetically handsome face, with dark brown eyes and pale skin over hollowed cheekbones and full lips that were always set in a firm, serious line. He rarely spoke, and then it was only when he was spoken to. Brogan had always been overshadowed by his fellow Fury, Rian, and was hardly noticed by anyone. Rhiannon had noticed him, though, and wondered if she was the only one, other than Rian, who ever had.

She looked at problem, which he had circled in the book. The fact that he’d written in the book irritated her for a brief moment, but she knew it wasn’t worth mentioning.

Taking out a piece of paper, she neatly wrote out the equation. “What you need to do is simplify the equation,” she told him, looking up to make sure he was paying attention. He was leaning over, his eyes glued to the paper attentively. Pleased, she continued, “The first thing you do is see if you have any like terms. 5x², -2x², and x² are all alike, so we can combine those to equal 4x².”

She wrote down the new term beneath the full equation. “Now 3x is the only term of its type, so we leave that one alone. And then we add the constants, which equal 6, and put it all together.”

Completing the simplified equation, she smiled at him, meeting his eyes. He smiled in response.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, his voice surprisingly deep, yet soft as she had expected. He gathered up his book and the paper and started to stand, only to turn back around and look at her with hopeful eyes. “Actually, can you help me with this other problem, too?”

Although she had her own work to do, she decided to help him, realizing she enjoyed it more than she’d expected. He seemed nice and his presence was strangely calming.

“Okay.”

He sat beside her and they continued to work together. She did most of the talking even though the conversation didn’t stray from algebra. But she found herself relaxing in his company and the end of class came faster than normal.

“Thanks again.” He brushed back his hair as he stood, awkwardly grabbing his book and papers.

“You’re welcome,” Rhiannon replied, smiling at him. He hesitated a moment before jerking around and heading back to his desk so he could gather the rest of his books.

She let out a sigh and began to put away her own books, slipping them into her bag as she rose to her feet.

She turned to leave and saw Blythe and Liam play wrestling with each other, both laughing and grinning like fools. Jealousy shot through her but she pushed it aside, instead choosing to feel annoyance over their childishness. Rhiannon watched them leave, making sure to follow several steps behind. She’d learned long ago that it was easier to avoid the two of them when they were together.

She followed them to the dining hall for lunch and took her usual seat. The fairies were just finishing up setting out the food and she thanked them before they left.

Reaching for a tuna sandwich on rye, she diligently laid her napkin in her lap and took a small nibble of the sandwich, careful not to get mayonnaise or tuna on her lips.

She heard a noise and glanced over her shoulder and saw Brogan pulling out the chair next to her. He smiled shyly.

“Can I sit here?” he hesitated, looking hopeful and nervous all at once.

She almost said no since she preferred to eat lunch alone. But something in his eyes reminded her of herself so she nodded and motioned for him to sit.

He reached for a sandwich and took a big bite, earning a look from her. He wasn’t even using his napkin, she noted with dismay, pondering if she should suggest it to him. But before she could, he tilted his head and looked at her, his dark curls falling over his forehead.

“You’re really good at everything, huh?” he said, his dark eyes watching her with admiration. She’d never had anyone look at her that way.

“Not really.” She pursed her lips, not wanting to sound conceited. “I’m sure I’m not any better than you or the others.”

He chuckled, shaking his head and turning back to his sandwich. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, then gulped and turned back to her. “No, I think you’re the smartest one out of all of us.”

“Surely there’s–”

“No.” He shook his head again, this time fervently enough so that his hair shook with him. “You’re brilliant.”

She stared at him, startled by his assertive tone. She wasn’t that smart…

“Well, I got an A- on my essay on the benefits of organic farming and using weed suppressive cover crops versus typical herbicides…but really I think the low grade was because I went over the ten page limit and wrote twenty one pages, though I would think that a longer, more solid essay would be better than a shorter one that was missing key information. Oh, and I’m pretty sure I forgot to number one of the pages, so that was also probably another reason points were docked. So, you see, I’m not that smart.”

He just smiled, slow and knowing, and she shook her head at him. “What?”

“I like the way you talk,” he told her, blushing a little around his neck, as if he hadn’t meant to say the words aloud. She bit her lip, wondering what to say in return.

Just then, she felt someone watching her. Turning her head she saw Liam staring, his brows creased in both confusion and irritation. She glanced around, wondering if he was really staring at her, but when she met his eyes she felt an uneasiness rise within her. What was his problem?

Then she realized that he wasn’t just staring at her, he was glaring at Brogan, too. Was Liam jealous or something?

Annoyed, she bristled in her chair and pursed her lips. She was perfectly allowed to have a friend, if that’s what Brogan was going to be.

Deciding to ignore Liam, she turned back to Brogan and smiled.

“So, what’s it like being a Fury?” she asked, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, purposefully turning away from Liam.

Brogan had also noticed Liam staring, and he looked uncomfortable. “Um…it’s alright, I guess,” he answered, focusing on what was left of his sandwich.

“What kinds of things are you learning?” she pressed, curious and eager to know him better.

“All kinds of stuff…how to detect demons, how to use different kinds of weapons…”

“Do you enjoy it?”

He chewed his bottom lip anxiously before speaking. “It’s okay. I don’t have a choice though, you know? My father’s counting on me to learn all of it.” He glanced up to meet her eyes and smiled sadly. “Rian’s better than me and I know I’m disappointing my father, but I just don’t think I’m cut out for being a Fury.”

“You still have time,” she assured him, smiling sympathetically. “I’m sure Rian will help you if you ask him.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He shrugged, but his lips curved slightly. “I don’t know why I’ve never talked to you before. It’s…nice.”

“Yes, it is nice,” she agreed with a smile. Then she glanced at her watch and sighed. “I have to go. My father’s waiting for me.”

“Okay. Bye.” He watched her stand up and pull her bag over her shoulder.

“Goodbye,” she replied as she left, walking swiftly. She was already a few minutes behind schedule, which made her ridiculously anxious. Punctuality was almost as important to her as breathing.

She started down the corridor, but stopped when she heard someone following her. Whirling around, she spotted Liam, purposefully charging toward her.

She stared at him warily.

“Rhia, was he bothering you?” Liam asked, motioning to the dining hall, his eyes fierce.

“What? No, of course not,” she replied, tilting her head up haughtily. “We were just having a nice conversation.”

“Are you sure? Because you can tell me,” he insisted, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. She eyed him apprehensively, wondering if he really would go to blows with someone over her. “I’ll tell him off for you, Rhia. And if he bothers you again, I’ll protect you.”

Insult warred with the dark, primal delight she felt at his words. Choosing indignation, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and stared him down.

“I don’t need a hero, Liam, I can take care of myself. And I will speak with whomever I please. I’m allowed to have a friend too, you know.”

He looked ashamed and seeing this gave her pleasure. She was glad he understood her.

“Okay,” he replied, brushing a hand through his tangled mass of black curls and hanging his head. When he glanced at her a few seconds later, he had a goofy grin and his eyes lit up with their usual cheerfulness. “I was just worried about you. We hardly ever hang out or talk anymore. I guess I just wanted to remind you that I’m still here.”

“I’ve been busy,” she replied, annoyed at the strange feelings she felt when he grinned at her that way.

“You’re too serious and smart for your own good, Rhia,” he teased, casually stuffing his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. “You need to get out more, have some fun.”

“I don’t have time.” She glanced down at her watch again and nearly had a heart attack. “Oh, no! I’m two minutes late, I have to go.”

Without glancing back, she raced away. Liam watched her go, amused and confused at why seeing her with the Fury had bothered him so much.

Pushing the thought away, he began to whistle and casually strolled back to the dining hall, content in the knowledge that everything worked itself out in time.

That night at dinner, two very strange things happened.

Rhiannon sat beside her father as always and quietly ate her dinner while those around her bustled with conversation. Over the years, she’d taken to observing and listening instead of talking, which gave her the advantage of knowing almost everything that was going on.

She knew Blythe had been caught trying to sneak away from Euphora again and she was being punished by having to scrub the floors in the corridor. She also knew that Roarke had narrowly escaped with his life in a recent tussle with some uncooperative demons in New York City and he had a fresh scar on his face to prove it. She heard Clynn complaining to Lucian about a storm system they were working on and how Liam had accidentally added too much water, causing flash floods that would have to be corrected before entire towns were washed away.

But the most intriguing thing she noticed was that she was getting a lot more attention than she used to.

Liam kept glancing at her, trying to meet her eyes. When he managed to catch her attention, he made a funny face that made her smile involuntarily before looking away.