Gothicana

“Ethan asked me if I’d go with him,” Jade told her, still looking at her nails. “Not romantically or anything. We both just loved Troy, and he thought it’d be a good idea for us to go together.”

Corvina felt her eyebrows go up slightly before she schooled her expression. She was pretty sure Ethan liked Jade, but like the good friend he was, he’d never looked at her twice while Troy had been there. “I think it’s a good idea,” Corvina agreed, hoping it would bring her friends some joy.

Jade picked up her discarded pen and began to doodle. “Who are you going with?”

The silver-eyed devil of Verenmore. Secretly. But of course, she couldn’t say that.

“No one,” she shrugged. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“I think Jax wants to ask you.”

“I hope he doesn’t,” Corvina bit her lip. Vad was not a fan of Jax trying to get under Corvina’s skirts as he said, and if the roles were reversed, she probably wouldn’t have been either.

“It’s a gorgeous day outside,” Jade stood up, grabbing Corvina’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s get you some sun. You spend too much time in this dungeon anyways.”

Most of it screwing her hot teacher, but again, Jade didn’t need to know that.

They went up and exited into the back lawn gardens, the sun shining beautifully over the entire mountain, the heart refreshing after weeks of cold. Students were sitting on the grass everywhere, soaking the sun in groups. Jade led them to the side of the Main Hall where the cobblestoned path to the Faculty Wing ran, and sat down in an empty spot.

Corvina put her bag there, spying a bush of red roses next to the Main Hall window. She went and plucked two, careful of the thorns, and brought one to her friend, loving the smile that lit up her face. “This castle is such a beauty during the day.”

Corvina leaned back on her hands, tilting her neck up to the blue sky dotted with clouds, a smile on her face.

“What the hell is that?”   

Immediately looking down at the distress in her friend’s tone, Corvina found her green eyes on her shoulder where her sweater had drooped to the side. The perpetual hickey, that’s what Jade was looking at. Vad loved having that mark on her in a place usually covered, just for the two of them to know, a mark of ownership and tenderness so deep it felt bottomless.

Was it messed up? Probably. Did she care? Not really.

She loved it, thrilled in it, knowing that she was so utterly and completely his.

But she hadn’t wanted anyone else to see it.

Playing it off, she rubbed the spot on her shoulder and shrugged. “Oh this? I just knocked myself into a shelf the other day.”

Jade gave her a look that screamed ‘really?’

“Girl, I know a hickey when I see one, and that, Cor, is the boss of hickeys. If hickeys could be sport, this one would qualify for the Olympics. Are you seeing someone?”

Corvina bit her lip, not wanting to lie to her friend but not wanting to share it either.

“Look,” Jade went on. “I know I haven’t been in the best headspace lately and you probably felt like you couldn’t tell me, but I’m here for you okay? And I want to know when you’re seeing a guy seriously enough to let him leave that kind of a mark on you.”

God, she felt like such a bad friend when Jade put it like that. But she knew she couldn’t share about Vad, not given the complexity of the situation. So she settled in the middle ground.

“It’s recent,” Corvina confirmed. “But we’re keeping it low-key until we’re sure it’s serious.”

Which was a lie because she already knew how serious they were. 

“Oh god, he’s a senior, isn’t he?” Jade gri

Corvina just smiled and Jade whistled. “He must be a god to put that kind of smile on your face. Damn girl. I’m happy for you.”

Corvina took her friend's hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you, Jade.”

Jade looked at her bag. “You have your cards with you?”

Corvina looked at her puzzled. “Yes, why?”

“I’m confused if I should go with Ethan,” she picked on some grass. “Do a reading for me please.”

Corvina chuckled, opening her bag and taking the deck out. She made some space in the grass between them, took some water from her bottle, and sprinkled it around the deck like her mother had taught her. Taking the cards out, she began to shuffle them into her hands, feeling the familiar weight settle her mind and thoughts.

“Should you go with Ethan to the Ball?” she asked as one card fell down.

Corvina stopped shuffling, turned the card, and gri

“Dude, you read tarot?” Erica came from the side, plopping down by Jade, looking excited. “Will you pull a card for me please?”

Corvina laughed. “Sure. Ask me a question.”

Erica thought for a second, before gri

Corvina’s stomach tightened, the urge to punch Erica’s smile acute. She schooled her face, surprised by her own violent reaction to a girl coming on to him, surprised at the intensity of her possessiveness.

Jade gasped. “He’s a teacher!” she hissed.

“So?” Erica wiggled her brows. “A one-time thing. No one will know. He’s hot, okay?”

Corvina shuffled her cards harder, biting the inside of her cheek, lest she truly did something. A card fell out. Three of Swords. Satisfaction zinged through her.

“That would be a no, I’m afraid, Erica.” Gleeful. She was gleeful. The universe had her back.

A few other students wandered to them, asking Corvina to pull a card, and Corvina was happy for the distraction, especially with something she loved and missed doing. Within an hour, a small crowd had gathered around her as clouds covered the sky, all of them either wanting to get a question answered or seeing the readings for others, including a few teachers.

It was such an odd moment for her – the odd girl from the woods with the odd eyes and the odd mother – to have people accept her in her natural form, just as she was. She realized she had actually stopped caring so much for social acceptance as of late, feeling less lonely and more whole, and it probably had to do with the way Vad accepted her. He was empowering her through their co

The Corvina from a few months ago who had shied even telling her roommate about her love for tarot was so vastly different from the Corvina right then, sitting in a garden surrounded by people, doing what she loved without feeling an iota of discomfort.

It made the warmth in her heart expand tenfold and put a smile on her lips.

And as though she’d summoned him, the crowd parted and he strode into the circle, his silver eyes on her, watching her do her thing. The pride in his eyes at seeing her in her element made something inside her burst with joy, straightening her spine a little more, tilting her chin a little higher, making her smile a little brighter.

She wanted him to be proud of her as she was of him, wanted him to look at her and see a talented, passionate girl and not the hot mess she mostly was. She shuffled with an extra flair, admittedly showing off a little for him, and from the little twitch on his lips, he knew.

A card fell down, and she looked at Dr. Kari, who was waiting worriedly for her answer. It was almost comical. She turned his card. Nine of Cups.