The Steel Fairy ‖ Fate : The Winx Saga

08 ‖ The Seventh

"If you're here to tell her I told you so, don't even start." June spits as Riven appears in our floor's lounge.

"I was actually going to ask her if she was okay?" The Specialist replies.

"She's been luckier than Damian. He's still unconscious!" My friend bites back. "Your girlfriend is crazy, you know that?"

"June," I said. "Beatrix is not the only one responsible..."

"Bullshit, Gus! She never should have pushed you like that." June says.

"Well, now we know about the Air magic..." I whisper.

Riven swings from one foot to the other, hesitating between staying and getting lectured by June or just leaving the stubborn fairies deal with their shit. At least, it's what I'm sensing.

"Gus, can I talk to you?" Riven finally asks, taking me off guard.

He inclines his head towards the staircase, and I reluctantly escape from the comfort of the sofa to follow him. He leads me into the courtyard and down the path, away from the students who are sunbathing on the lawns.

"Did Beatrix tell you what happened?" I ask shamefully.

"Yeah, she did." He admits. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be what she had in mind..."

"It's okay. I didn't either." I brace my arms around my torso to shield myself from the chilly wind now that we're under the shadows of the trees. "What did you want to talk about?"

His face is so uncharacteristically Riven's, it's heartbreaking. His usually cheeky smile and piercing, flirty eyes are gone. The corners of his mouth are down, and in his bright blue eyes, clouds are passing by. It doesn't match with the idea of him.

"I know that you don't care about the intricacy of my life, but... with Sky gone... I have no one to talk to about this." I wait for him to continue. "Things about my posting changed..."

"How?" I don't even let him finish. I'm so surprised.

"With Damian being injured, and our departure being tomorrow, I'm back on the Polaris list."

What the hell?

"No! Why?" I yell, kicking a tree root.

"I thought maybe you would be happy about it."

"You surely can talk to Silva! If you can avoid going back there..."

"He did his best with the little human resources he had left."

Riven seems to have resigned himself to his fate. I wonder if it's because he knew that being a Specialist meant following orders, whether you liked them or not. But I still think it's cruel to be only considered a 'resource'' and not a living being with a past and feelings.

"I'm sorry, Riven." Thinking of a way to escape an uncomfortable situation is sadly one of my favourite activities, so I put my brain cells to work: "What about Dane? Can't he switch with you? He hasn't departed yet, right?"

Riven shakes his head. "He doesn't understand why I refused the job the first time around..."

"You haven't told him about your parents?!"

"Things between us were not... that kind of thing."

At least, this thought gets a smile out of him, and I roll my eyes, suppressing a grin too. He takes a cigarette out of the packet and lights it up, even though we're still on Alfea's compound. I guess he would rather get caught smoking inside than cross the barriers and open a breach into the school security perimeter.