Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,30
I leaving with you guys?”
The others glanced at each other. “No one told you what was going to happen?” Zoe asked.
“Everyone was making plans to smuggle Alex out of town,” Tala said. “But no one said anything about me or my family.”
Zoe rubbed at the side of her nose. “I think that would depend on your parents. You’re free to accompany us, of course, but you’re also free to stay behind. I don’t think any Avalonian king has ever told a Makiling what they could or couldn’t do.”
“I really don’t want to stay here,” Tala muttered, “but my mum seems to think I should at least graduate high school before they bring me anywhere else.”
“You always have the option of joining us afterward,” Ken offered. “Your dad’s situation makes things a little difficult, but the Cheshire doesn’t think the same way that other people do—”
He stopped short when Zoe kicked him under the table.
“Wait,” Tala interrupted. “What’s that about my dad?”
“Nothing much,” West said. “It’s an impressive-sounding title, though, the S—”
“What?” Tala asked.
“What?” West asked, wincing, clearly another victim of Zoe’s kick.
“Your dad was something of a troublemaker,” Zoe said delicately. “He hasn’t always agreed with Avalonian policy, and things were a little tense between him and Alex’s family for a while.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I suppose it’s not something your parents would talk about,” the girl said quickly. “Maybe you can ask them. And speaking of problems, Nottingham was here. Did any of you know?”
Loki shook their head. “Maybe Nottingham’s here for some other reason.”
“Other reason, my foot. He strolled into class with that smug, insufferable look on his face, knowing full well I’d be there. He said the Cheshire sent him.”
Ken snickered. “What was it this time? Heart of Darkness? Pride and Prejudice? The Unbearable Lightness of Eating?”
“It’s called The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Ken.”
“Ken’s makes more sense, though,” West opined.
“And not that it’s important, but it was Dante’s Divine Comedy.”
Ken rolled his eyes. “You do remember you’re only posing as a student, and that you’re not actually one in this school, right?”
Zoe snorted, unladylike. “I like school.”
“The only time he ever speaks up is to bug you, so maybe you ought to resist the temptation next time.”
“Maybe he likes you,” West suggested.
“Or he’s trying to annoy Locksley through you,” Loki pointed out.
“What’s a Locksley?” Tala asked, lost once more.
“Not a what. A who. Tristan Locksley,” Ken explained, “is Zoe’s fiancé.”
“He’s not my fiancé,” Zoe said, exasperated. “We’ve only been dating a few months.”
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘dating’ in Avalon,” Loki noted. “I’ve seen people marry after knowing each other three days.”
“The Nottinghams and the Locksleys have been rivals ever since fish could swim,” Ken continued. “If anyone could find a way to sneak into town, it’s Nottingham. And if there’s anyone Nottingham enjoys riling as much as Tristan Locksley, it’s his fian—uh, girlfriend.”
Zoe sighed.
“Warnock!”
Chris Hughes, the school quarterback, stomped into view. A small hush settled over that part of the cafeteria. “Where’s Smith?” he all but snarled.
Tala blinked. Hughes didn’t rank high on her list of friendly people, but last time she checked, he and Alex were on good terms. Did his sister, Lynn, say something? The girl had always seemed nice, if a bit clueless at Alex’s attempts to let her down gently, and far too good to have Hughes for a brother. “I don’t know.”
“Stop hiding that little punk from me!” he snapped, taking a threatening step toward her. “My bike’s missing, and I know he took it! That dickhead better show himself soon, and if you’re not gonna tell me where he is, I’ve got half a mind to make you.”
Ken stood, blocking Hughes’s arm with his hand. Her new friend was taller than Chris, and much more sturdily built. The leer wavered for a moment on Chris’s face, but remained in place with some effort.
“I don’t think so.” Ken’s face was friendly enough, but his happy-go-lucky manner was gone, his voice taking on a sudden steely edge.
“You think you can take me on?” But Hughes’s sneer wobbled again when Loki stood beside Ken, sticking the toothpick between their lips. They raised an empty soda can, lifting it with only their thumb and index finger, and then crushed it easily in between the two digits.
“With all due respect,” Ken said with false cheer, “sod off.”
The two stared at each other; Hughes glaring, Ken calm. It was Chris who backed away first. “You can’t hide him forever, Warnock.” It wasn’t a very