Page 6 of Daughter of the Ninth Line: Part Two

I cleared my throat. “That sounds nice.”

Viana laughed. “I’m glad you think so, because I’ve decided to honorarily make you one of us, Avalon. The idea of you rattling around your dorm by yourself just breaks my heart.” She raised a perfect eyebrow. “Unless being seen with the Twelfth is too embarrassing for you?”

There was a challenge in her tone, but honestly, there was very little magic in the Ninth Line. It wasn’t like I was out here predicting horse races or visions of legendary battles. I wasn’t being invited to Upper Line soirées either, and I wasn’t here to make politically advantageous connections.

“Not to me. Have you seen me swing a sword?That’sembarrassing.”

The guy beneath Viana laughed, and got a whack on the chest for his effort. They fell back into conversation about people andthings I was clueless about, but they filled me in like I was going to get a pop quiz on who was getting laid, who was going to need to work more with Acacia to get their battle knowledge up, whose grandmother made the best rock cakes, and why it was Viana’s grandmother and no other answer was acceptable.

It was… nice. This feeling of family that flowed so easily up and down the table, regardless of who came and went. Theybelonged, and it was such a foreign concept to me that I sat in awe long after my food was done.

Once Ephily and her cronies from the Fifth Line left, Acacia got up and got us two bowls of the ice cream. If I thought chocolate was a luxury, this frozen dessert was beyond my imagination. I knew the kitchen here had a magicked box to keep things fresh, but wasting magic to keep something cold enough to be frozen seemed like an insane misuse of power.

I spooned some into my mouth and moaned.Holy Goddess.“Oh my,” I breathed, spooning in another mouthful. “This is…” It was smooth, cold, and creamy, sweetened by vanilla beans and sugar, neither of which were in abundant supply in our territory by the mountains.

Acacia was already on her fourth bite. “Fucking amazing.”

I laughed, but I was already putting another spoonful in my mouth. It was starting to melt a little, and I ate faster. Then I got a shooting pain in my forehead. I clenched my fingers on my temples, wincing against the ache. It was like a terrible headache, but as suddenly as it came, it disappeared.

Viana was laughing. “I heard the Upper Lines call it an iced headache; it happens when you eat it too fast.”

I frowned down at my bowl, betrayed by this deliciousness. Narrowing my eyes at it, I knew it was too good to throw out. So I ate slowly, giving it no chance to attack me again.

When I was done, I took my tray and Acacia’s over to the table where it would be collected by the kitchen staff. I slipped asmall, foil-wrapped square of chocolate into my pocket as well. I was getting quite a sweet tooth.

Several of the Twelfth Line had stood by the time I returned to the table, including Viana and Acacia. “Why is Vox Vylan looking at you like he wants to split open your insides and see what makes you tick?” Acacia whispered, and I looked over at Vox. He was watching me and raised an eyebrow as our eyes met.

I whipped back around to the girls. “No idea.”

I definitely didn’t say I’d thought he was going to kiss me earlier. I didn’t tell them that I’d really wanted him to, which was so, so wrong. He was not for me. He was not for anyone, except one of the beautiful girls in the First Line.

“More to the point, why is Hayle Taeme looking at you like he wants to make the beast with two backs with you?”

The beast with two ba… Oh.

Oh.

Shaking my head, I didn’t turn to look at those forest-green eyes that sent panic and pain spiraling through my veins. “No idea. I’ve never even spoken to him. Maybe he doesn’t like my Line?” I wouldn’t put it past my father to have short-changed them out of something important.

“A man doesn’t look like that at a person he hates, Avalon.” Viana shook her head, throwing her arm around my shoulders. “You’re an interesting one. I don’t think being your friend will ever be boring.”

Was that what I was doing? Making friends? I hadn’t had any of those before.

It felt kinda nice.

Five

Hayle

For the last three nights, she’d haunted my dreams. I dreamed about kissing her, tasting her, the way she would moan my name beneath me. It felt so real that I would wake up in a sweat, hard and aching, and have to head to the showers to cool off.

I didn’t understand why she plagued me, and it was driving me crazy.

What was also driving me mad was the fact that if she saw me in the halls, she’d run the other way. The scent of her fear in my nose was like a knife to the heart. Lots of people smelled of fear when they were near me, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.

But not her.

I needed to know more, and I found myself sneaking into Svenna’s office after the dinner service, when I knew she’d be down in town, getting the cream for the scars on her arm. Easily unlocking the door, I made Braxus keep watch. The hounds had also been slightly poutier than normal since this last round of conscripts, and although they couldn’t express to me why, I had a feeling it had something to do with the girl from the Ninth.

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