Elf Heart (Immortal Souls: Book 1)

Alliance

Amatus was quiet as he returned to his room that night. He wasn't sure what to say to his roommate, who was studying at her desk. She didn't acknowledge his entrance, which just made things worse. He sat at his own desk, but couldn't focus on his work.

After several minutes of silence, Theo said, "That's quite an expression you're wearing. Shall I assume you spoke to Morganite?"

"Yes," he answered honestly.

"And she told you everything?"

"She told me as much as she knows."

"How are you feeling about it?"

He considered the question for a moment. "Honestly, I'm pretty shocked."

"That's to be expected, I suppose." She leaned back in her chair, but still didn't face him.

"I guess. It's just...after everything..." He scratched his head. "I was shocked by how dull the story was."

She looked at him then. "Dull?"

"To tell the truth, I was expecting something more like you killed someone's cat in a dark ritual, but all you're accused of doing is throwing clothes on the floor and feeding iron to a fairy," he said. "It couldn't have been much iron, either, if she recovered so easily. Drugging someone's food as a power play isn't even extraordinary. Morganite won't get far as a queen if she gets mad every time it happens."

Theo stared at him. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before asking, "You're not scared of me, then?"

"Well, I wouldn't appreciate it if you messed with my food," he admitted. "Honestly, that would be pretty rude. Throwing my dresses on the floor would be annoying, too. Those aren't things that scare me, though."

"But Alea could have died from that iron."

"If she was going to die from the amount she was fed, she would have done it before getting to the nurse. Fairy reactions to the stuff are severe, as you obviously know. Ingesting it is really risky."

Theo furrowed her brow. "So you believe her life was never in danger."

"Probably not. It would have hurt, but they generally recover quickly if it's non-lethal." He looked at his roommate. "You would have known that, too. It would have taken some determination for you to cook iron in like that. Honestly, I'm somewhat impressed."

Theo folded her hands in her lap and stared at them. After a moment, she started laughing. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but couldn't seem to stop.

"Are you okay?" Amatus walked over to check on her. "I don't think anything I said was funny."

"It's not." She gradually got her laughter under control. "It's just...everyone else freaks out when they hear the story. You're the first person who just didn't care."

"I'd still like to hear your side of things," he told her. "I'm sure there's more to the story than I know."

"Right." She looked up at him. "Well, the first thing you should know is that I didn't do it."

"Alright."

"You're not going to doubt me?"

"I don't have much of a reason to." He returned to his seat and faced her.

"No one else believed me, so I stopped trying to argue," she explained. "Everyone else here just accepts that I'm guilty."

"I know the feeling."

"Do you?" She tilted her head. "Care to elaborate?"

He shifted in the seat. "Not really."

"I won't push it, then," she assured him. "You tell me when you're ready."