The Fae World: The Fae School: Quentin: Watching Tamara

[k_a_webb]

There was something about the human girl, but Quentin couldn’t work out what it was. He found himself staring at the back of her head, again, wishing he knew, because then, maybe, he might be able to stop himself from watching her so much of the time. It could have been her confidence. She never once let the way some of the fae treated her affect her as she truly believed she was meant to be at the school and he knew that, technically, as she’d found the doorway, she was. Finding the door meant she had enough magic to be regarded as one of them, if she managed to finish her time at the school.

Neither of his sisters believed she would. Quentin wasn’t sure he agreed with them, although he did make sure to when he was with them. He didn’t want them to know that he was beginning to think that the human girl was meant to be one of them. He didn’t want her to know he was beginning to think that either, because he was meant to hate her, due to her mixed blood, the same way he was meant to hate Naida… and then there was Adrian. Before starting at the school Quentin hadn’t stopped to think what it meant to his family that Adrian quite obviously had shifter parts, even though he should have done.

It meant their bloodline wasn’t pure. None of them were pure blood fae, even though their father didn’t want to accept that. Quentin, biting his lip as he pretended to focus on whatever it was River was talking about, knew he needed to ask the right people the right questions if he was ever going to get the answers he needed, and that might mean having a conversation with their magic teacher. Even though their father had been pleased they had been accepted to the best of the fae schools he’d warned them to keep their distance from some of the teachers there, like River, because of what they believed, and yet Quentin knew they were the only people who would tell him the truth about who they were.

Of course that meant hiding yet more of his doubts from his sisters. Quentin was beginning to wish neither of them were still at the school, but they were and that was something he was going to have to deal with. They weren’t going to be pleased if they found out that he was talking to River, or even Adrian, and that would soon get back to their father, which would mean dealing with another lecture about how he couldn’t let down the family by beginning to get soft on the mixed bloods. Mixed bloods should not exist… but Quentin was beginning to wonder if that was more of a prejudice passed down from generation to generation that actual logic, because surely if they shouldn’t exist then they wouldn’t. It would simply be impossible for one of the fae to have a child with a human, or one the mer people, or a shifter.

Unfortunately logic and prejudice didn’t mix, most of the time. It was hard for him to accept that he was pushing aside everything he’d been taught because of one human girl, and the dragon, but she had more magic than both of his sisters put together. Two girls who were apparently pure blood fae. Quentin glanced at Tamara again, shaking his head, wishing he knew more about her. Like everyone else he’d heard rumours about who the fae in her bloodline might be and most of them were hard to accept, and yet the magic she had was beginning to make him think that the one he thought was least likely might be true. Especially as she was more skilled at glamours than most.

He couldn’t stop himself from breathing a sigh of relief when the bell rang, signalling that it was time for the class to end, but that was brought to an abrupt end by River’s voice. “Quentin, can you stay behind for a few minutes?”

Being asked to stay behind was unusual, but Quentin couldn’t help thinking River had noticed that his mind was wandering. Unfortunately River was the sort of teacher who noticed things like that. Quentin stayed in his seat until everyone else had left, trying to seem nonchalant, even though that was harder than it had been before. It meant he could ask the questions he needed to ask without anyone suspecting anything, but he didn’t know if he was ready for the answers, no matter how much he wanted them, and yet it might be his only chance.

“What was up today?” River asked, as Quentin made his way over to the desk. “You seemed distracted… and it’s something that’s happened before.”

“It’s Tamara,” Quentin replied without thinking. “It’s all of the mixed bloods.” He ran a hand through his hair as he attempted to find the right words to explain. “They’re different.” He shook his head. “This isn’t coming out right, River, and I don’t know how to put what I’m thinking into words, but at least I am thinking now.”

For several seconds, Quentin counted each one of them as he tried to assess what might be going through River’s mind, River just stared at him. “Often you find that mixing blood brings out certain qualities that are lost when you try to keep your family’s blood pure. It’s something we’re beginning to notice more now, although it was beginning to happen when we first arrived here, because there’s been more mixing than we thought there would be at the beginning.” Their eyes met. “Meeting Silmarcus changed things, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it did, but I didn’t realise how much until recently.”

“Until you found yourself wanting to get to know Tamara, rather than just viewing her as a mongrel, and just going over to talk to you isn’t easy for you.”

Quentin shook his head. “I have to think of my family first.” He sighed. “They would not be pleased if they found out that I was fraternising with someone like Tamara and that makes things harder than I wish they were. Honestly, they wouldn’t be pleased if they found out I was talking to Adrian, but being here changes things, more than I ever thought it could.”

“I know.” River studied him and Quentin knew he didn’t deserve the chance that River was giving him, not after everything he’d done, but he was grateful for it. “Give me some time to work out how I can get you and Tamara together without it appearing suspicious. Then you can ask her your questions, but be aware that you’ve made more than a couple of missteps and she isn’t going to open up to you straight away.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.