Page 16 of Monster's Past

“I was out of bed already,” he reminds me. “I just happened to come across you.”

“Let’s just hope we don’t get caught at all,” I say.

There’s a hissing noise as he fills the mugs and brings them over to me. “Here you go.”

I take it from him, my fingers brushing against his as I take it. “Thanks.”

“It’s peppermint, it should help with any lingering effects of your dream.” He shuffles uncomfortably, as if worried that he’s been caught caring for me. “Anyway, we should sit.” He gestures to a small table.

“How did you even know this was here?” I ask as I take a seat.

“One of my friends takes the Culinary Delights class here,” he responds.

“Oh, I didn’t know.” I wrap my hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth of the tea within.

“I thought you said you wanted to be a food scientist,” he says.

I frown. “Did I tell you that?”

“You’ve muttered about it a few times when making potions,” he responds. “I’d have thought you’d have been all over this class.”

“I wanted to take it, but Mum and Dad encouraged me to take others instead.”

He raises an eyebrow and takes a sip of his tea before answering. “Don’t they want you to follow your dreams?”

“I think they’re more interested in me discovering what I am.”

Surprise flits over his face.

“I guess I haven’t been muttering aboutthatin Charms and Potions.” I blow across the top of my tea and take a sip. Even before it hits my stomach, I know he’s right about the soothingness of it.

“No, you haven’t. You don’t know what you are?”

“Nope. Not a clue. Actually, I guess that’s not true. I’m here at Blackthorn, so I’m guessing I’m not human.”

“What are your parents?” he asks.

“Witches.”

“Shouldn’t you also be a witch?”

“I’m adopted.”

Surprise, then horror flits over his face. “I’m...”

“Don’t say sorry,” I cut him off. “I’ve heard it my entire life. What’s there to be sorry for? It’s a reasonable question. My parents are witches, and I’m not one. Or if I am, I’m a really late bloomer.”

“Could you be a necromancer?” he asks.

“Unlikely, I tried to reanimate a hamster once just to try it out.”

“What happened?”

“It got up and ran away.” I take a sip of my tea.

“That sounds like successful necromancy to me.”

“Yeah, but that’s because the hamster wasn’t dead yet. I just thought it was. I still don’t know why. I just woke up one day and thought my pet was dead. That’s when I decided to try the necromancy, but it turned out that it was just sleeping.”