suddenly developed a crush on him. That’s crazy. And please stop clapping. Everyone’s looking.”
“Yes, but—” Loni began, but Emma gave a firm shake of her head.
“Seriously, there’s no crush.”
“Oh.” Loni’s face fell. “So you’re not going to invite him down to the practice range? I heard there are some new demons there and I bet Kessler would let you count the practice on your Alternative Slaying assignment.”
“What? No, of course I’m not.” Emma rolled her eyes. The practice range was down behind the second oval, and it was where the school kept a few captive elementals for training purposes. It was heavily warded and guarded except for three back stalls where students often went to make out. Not that Emma had ever been in them, and more to the point, she didn’t intend on going there anytime soon.
“It was just a suggestion,” Loni protested, but Emma ignored her.
“Well, it’s one I can do without. Besides, I have more to worry about right now than that. I still can’t believe I told Kessler that my dragon was an invisible fairy called a darkhel. What was I thinking? Especially since when Curtis and I went to the library yesterday we couldn’t find a single mention of it. It’s like it doesn’t even exist.”
“So the fairies made it up.” Loni shrugged. “I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve tricked you. Remember on your first patrol what they did with the melted ice cream?”
“Thanks for reminding me.” Emma shuddered as she recalled just how long it had taken to get the ice cream out of her hair. “But I don’t think they were tricking me. They actually seemed pretty annoyed that we found out about it. Ask Curtis, he saw it all.”
“What?” Loni wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Didn’t you tell me that Curtis got hit with some glamour powder? Because I know that when they got me with that stuff, it was like being a sight-blind civilian.”
“Oh, right. I guess I forgot to tell you that he has glasses to fight Unseen dragons. Can you believe it?” For a moment Emma dwelled on the injustice of it all before realizing that Loni was still waiting for an answer. “Anyway, the glasses worked on the fairies as well.”
“What did they look like?” Loni was instantly curious as her violet eyes widened in a geeky way that Emma would never understand.
“They looked like some very ugly, white sunglasses that should’ve been destroyed along with leg warmers and Wham T-shirts back in the eighties. Why? What does it matter what they looked like?”
“I guess it doesn’t.” Loni rubbed her chin. “It’s just I would be curious to see them. I’ve heard of Unseen glasses before, but I didn’t know that their refracting lenses would work on glamour powder as well. It’s intriguing.”
“If you say so.” Emma shrugged as she looked at her watch and reluctantly got to her feet. “Anyway, I better go and face the music with Kessler. I’m already in enough trouble without being late too.”
Loni’s violet eyes filled with worry. “Okay, well, good luck, and remember not to say anything to piss him off. Promise?”
“Don’t piss off the principal. That’s definitely my new motto,” Emma assured her as she hurried toward the door while at the same time trying to smooth down her uniform. She’d had another bad night’s sleep and hadn’t really drifted off until just after her alarm clock started to buzz, which meant she’d been forced to get ready in a hurry, and now her hair was pulled up into a practical ponytail and her tie was more haphazardly knotted than ever.
As she went, she caught sight of Curtis glancing up at her from across the cafeteria. He raised his hand and beckoned for her to wait for him. For a moment she paused and considered it, but as she watched him get to his feet she realized that unlike her own bedraggled appearance, Curtis looked as if he’d slept like a king. His blond curls were gleaming as they lay in a scatter across his forehead, perfectly framing his vivid brown eyes, while his navy blazer fell across his shoulders like it had been fitted by one of the designers from Loni’s fashion magazines.
Suddenly Emma felt self-conscious and scruffy in her own hastily thrown-on uniform, and while half of her knew it was completely ridiculous to even worry about what she looked like, she did. So instead of waiting, she held up her arm and tapped her