behind him, to a couple of boys in the distance. They waved, and I had to suppress a scowl. The last thing I felt like doing was hanging with a bunch of randos.
“Um… I’m sorry, I’m not really in the mood,” I began.
“Come on. Just one game.” The redhead flashed a smile at me, and the kindly look his mate gave in response made me want to cave.
“Lay off the poor lass. If she doesn’t want to play, we’ll smoke you outnumbered.”
Another voice caught my attention. An auburn haired wolven boy towered beside me. He had brawny shoulders, and a trimmed beard peppering his chin. The way he held himself was noble, and… dare I say it… sexy.
His accent was Scottish. Another foreigner— like me, I supposed. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only student who transferred into Arcanea University from another country.
When the stranger gave me a wink, my mood uplifted, and I said, “Sure. What are we playing?”
“Fae ball.” The redhead conjured a glowing yellow light in his palm. “It’s like volleyball, but more fun. I’m Arthur. My mate is Vara, and Scottie McHots over here is Finlay.”
“You wish you could be as sexy as me,” Finlay purred, and my insides fluttered.
“Emma,” I said. “But I bet you knew that already.” Everyone knew who I was, due to my connection to Ethan.
“We don’t pay much attention to the papers,” Vara said. Her voice was full of light, and mature. It soothed me to listen to her talk. “We just thought you looked like an athlete.”
“Well, I am one.” I followed Arthur to the nearby court. There was a net set up at the edge of the gardens. On the court were two boys— a dragon shifter, who was smaller than I was, and a tall alicorn. They stood on opposite sides of the net and bounced a glowing ball of light back and forth, like they would a volleyball. The alicorn looked a little familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.
“I’m gonna get it, Jasper!” The little dragon jumped up and did a spike, but the alicorn hit it back, and the dragon shifter went scrambling to catch it.
“You’re going to fall on your face, Ozzie.” Jasper laughed as he watched Ozzie rush to the other side of the court, and trip. The ball of light fizzled out once it hit the ground, and Ozzie let out a sad groan.
Ozzie and Jasper sounded Malovian through and through. They’d grown up here. Arthur and Vara took Jasper’s side, and Arthur pointed at me.
“Emma, you’re with Ozzie and Finlay,” he said. “The rules of the game are just like volleyball, with a little fae magic. You’ll figure it out as you go.”
Finlay wiggled his eyebrows at me and gave a devilish smile. Butterflies zoomed in my gut, and I forced my gaze forward. Okay, so I was on a team with the guy who’d look cute as all hell in a kilt. I hoped I could keep my eyes on the ball.
Arthur tossed the ball of light into the air, and hit it. It soared directly to me. I brought my arm back to return it, but unexpectedly, the ball whizzed to the side. My jaw dropped open as the ball flew in front of Finlay, and he hit it back.
Finlay let out a deep laugh. “You can use your magic to manipulate the ball,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun.”
A smile spread across my face. “You thought it’d be funny to steal the ball away from me?”
“I thought it’d be funny to see your reaction,” he teased. He nudged my side, and a small jolt went through me at his touch.
Arthur hit the ball back with his telepathy powers. Ozzie scrambled to get it, but he wasn’t very good at sports, apparently, because he tripped again and let it drop. The other side cheered, a point scored for them.
“Okay, let’s show them what we’re made of.” I wiped my hands on my shorts and conjured a blue ball of light. I used it to hit the ball with all my might, where it sailed to the other side. Vara manipulated the ball with her magic so Arthur could hit it back, but the spike was weak, and the ball slammed against the net and rebounded. Ozzie, Finlay and I cheered.
“Good one, Emma!” Finlay gave me a high-five. When our hands connected, my skin tingled again. Finlay smacked the ball back as