Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Thirty-One

There were three rows of wooden desks, and another, larger metal desk for Raffy in the far-right corner, just beside the whiteboard. Shelves of books lined across the back wall. No posters. No plants. No windows but for the square in the door. Like any other classroom, and like no other classroom I had ever seen before. Its walls, filled with Heaven's Glory, shone so bright that lights were irrelevant to its functionality.

"Alyssa."

"What? You just introduced me. I don't see any point in redundancy, Raffy."

"Brother," he said. His voice was firm and unkind, and nowhere near that of the boy who had been my friend.

"Huh?" I looked back to Raffy.

"Students call me Brother."

"Um, okay? Raffy." I rolled my eyes. "That's archaic, and I've seen you tossing your cookies. No way am I calling you guys Brother."

"The rules—"

"Are your rules," I said, sobering. A peek at the window on the door showed Gabe was still watching. "Those rules are set up for your kind, but not mine. We are new and that is different from what you are used to, but it is nowhere near being the same. Can you help us acclimate? Sure. But we benefit you more. So, until we decide what our rules will be, teach us what you know so that our choices are at least informed."

I looked back to the door just in time to catch Gabe grin before he left.

Turning to Raffy, I smiled. He didn't like it, I could tell. Judging from the grins my response had elicited from the students, he'd be stupid to keep the argument going. Not with knowing how stubborn I was, and that I didn't accept defeat. Every set-back was an opportunity to learn how to win.

Shifting, I pointed to an empty desk and raised my eyebrows at Raffy. He hesitated but then nodded, relenting. I bent my head against the scrutiny that followed me to my seat but couldn't help the smile lifting the corner of my mouth. Either I could let myself come across as pliable—a pushover—or start with the attitude one would expect from a leader. I raised my head and held Raffy's gaze.

It wasn't a choice I had to think about before making and felt justified when Raffy was the first to look away.

He took a deep breath, blinked, and the lecture resumed, though most eyes lingered on me. I felt discomfort from the attention but concentrated on what Raffy was saying. Did I accept the new Raffy? No. Did I take direction well? Definitely not. But I wasn't stupid. You can't live as long as the Brothers had without having learned something along the way. Didn't mean that Raffy would be able to feel at ease with his superiority in my presence.

Did the rest of the class believe I was stupid enough to think he'd let my defiance go so easily?

"Alyssa?" Raffy called when class ended. "Stick around for a few minutes, okay?"

Pasting a too-bright smile on my face until the room was empty and the door was closed, I said, "What do you want?" My smile dropped, and my tone became freezing with pricks of sharp ice. "I won't stick around listening to you admonish me."

He laughed. "Oh, I know." His gaze narrowed. "You're changing."

"I look the same as yesterday, Raffy."

"Not how you look, Aly. Your attitude."

"After all the crap I've seen and been through, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner," I said, taking him by surprise a second later when I smacked my forehead. He jumped and I said, "Wait. That's right. How could something effect change if I'm not able to remember it until after even more trauma has been dealt?"