Chapter Four
Rhiannon stared sullenly at the locket.
Devlin?
It remained silent. Rhiannon wondered whether it was because Devlin was refusing to talk to her or she just wasn't getting through at the moment.
Whichever one it was, it made her anxious. He hadn't spoken to her once in the last week. He hadn't left the confines of the locket even when she'd screamed with her mind. Something was terribly wrong and she needed to figure out what.
She took her usual seat at the back of the English room. Rhiannon fell into her seat with an audible thump, the sound echoing in the near empty room. A few heads turned but gratefully they all turned back to their work.
Some of the students waved at her from above their books, she smiled warmly. They eventually returned to their reading, leaving her to her thoughts.
Devlin was in dire need of help.
That much she could understand from what little information had given her. Some silly poem. What was she supposed to make of that? She didn't even know where the hell it came from.
Maybe it was a riddle?
But if it wasn't then she would've wasted precious time that could've been used in helping Devlin. She couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Rhiannon pulled a hand through her hair, before placing the locket into her pocket as more students began to arrive.
There were a few more people who found it within themselves to smile at her before they sat down for some early study. She appreciated how this small group of people accepted her, no matter who the Queen Bee was outside of the room. They treated each other as equals, because in the end they all shared the same passion.
Advanced English was a lesson to relax and to surround herself with something she actually loved.
At first she'd chosen Advanced English because it was an excuse to get away from the crowds of ditsy bimbos and dumb jocks that graced the halls of Newford High. But as she started getting a feel for it, Rhiannon had been surprised to learn, she actually enjoyed English in all its forms.
Not only that she could actually think and talk to people who had enough brains to have a decent conversation. These people didn't particularly care about the social hierarchy or even social lives.
No cheerleaders had made it into Advanced English. There were no prizes for guessing why. But she was sure she would've bitten some bitch's head off if they had.
Rhiannon rested her forehead on the table, breathing deeply.
Riddle.
Poem.
Sonnet.
Love letter.
A curse? A woman forever to waste away? Why would Devlin mention something like this? She pounded her fist against the desk, weakly. No one batted an eyelash and she was grateful for that.
She wanted to help Devlin but he wasn't letting her in. It was frustrating, being completely helpless. She just sat there thinking as the other students quietly worked away their lives, letting time leave them behind.
Perhaps Devlin had been in love with the beautiful woman of the poem, and at her deathbed he had promised her that he would remain in her locket until the day he found her again in another life. Or maybe their love had been forbidden and he had been cursed into the locket by a jealous suitor.
Rhiannon found she didn't like either possibility at all.
She felt something dark in her, unfurl and choke her heart. She couldn't give it a name, but Rhiannon definitely didn't like that feeling one bit.
It was tempting, powerful and ancient. Rhiannon felt like something inside her was going to devour her heart, soul and mind. Ever since she'd met Devlin, shadows had invaded her and she couldn't seem to control it.
Do you even want to control it? A dark voice echoed in her mind. She recognised it as her own but she couldn't bring herself to trust it. She couldn't bring herself to answer the question either.
The sound of a chair screeching across the floor, made her drop her train of thought.
She looked up to see Kian seating his tall frame next to her. Rhiannon had forgotten how graceful he was for someone so tall. It was almost unnatural. She narrowed her eyes at him. There was something off about him, something familiar and wrong.
She hadn't seen him all week either, but that was probably because she'd been too distracted with thoughts of Devlin to look for Kian. Everyone seemed to be disappearing on her, her genie was stuck in Devastation, her best friend had escaped to Fiji with her eccentric mother and then Kian had gone to gods know where. She shrugged it off.
Why was he sitting next to her anyway?
She looked around. There were heaps of seats available.
But then again there aren't any cheerleaders to sit next to in this class, Rhiannon thought bitterly. She shot Kian a sarcastic smile. She knew she was being unfair since she'd been the one to push him in that direction but Rhiannon wasn't in the mood for pretending she didn't care.
He sat down silently.
Kian didn't even feel the need to say a word of welcome, barely even looked in her general direction. He stared into the air right in front of him and to be honest, it unnerved her. But that was fine. It wasn't like Rhiannon wanted to talk to him. She needed to help Devlin. And Kian only served as a pointless distraction.
Rhiannon looked straight ahead, wondering where Mrs. Everson had disappeared to. The one day that Rhiannon wanted her to come early and she had to be late. There had to be some cosmic joke written over her head.
The silence between them was deafening.
Rhiannon fidgeted in her seat. She stared out the window in an attempt to alleviate some of the awkwardness but every time she did, she felt Kian's eyes burn into the back of her head.
Finally someone did come in and Rhiannon breathed out a sigh of relief but that relief was short lived. It was quickly replaced with severe apprehension.
It wasn't the elderly Mrs. Everson with her strict bun and droll clothes. Instead, a graceful, tall brunette boasting a pair of vogue glasses, floated in. That was the only way to describe the way she moved, weightless and unburdened. Behind her glasses, her eyes were the deep blue of corn flowers.
"I'm so sorry for my tardiness. I didn't know I had this class till five minutes ago. I suppose, I should introduce myself. My name is Miss Détourné but I insist that you all call me Monique. I'll need some help getting around so if any of you see me wandering the halls, I'd appreciate it if you give me some directions."
Rhiannon rolled her eyes.
Of course, 'Monique' would have a breathy, sweet voice with a hint of a French accent. Miss D – Rhiannon couldn't find it within herself to call her Monique, and Miss Détourné was too bloody long – couldn't have been more than twenty-five. Miss D was barely out of college, bushy-tailed and unbelievably radiant, where Rhiannon was run down and tired from worry.
Rhiannon found she instantly disliked the woman.
Of course, it had nothing to do with the way all the guys in the room seemed to go all gooey eyed. Or the fact, that she was too scared to look at how Kian was reacting to her. The looks the other guys were sending Miss D were enough to make her sick.
She knew she was lying to herself but Rhiannon thought she deserved at least one grace during this gods awful day. She rolled her eyes to the heavens and screamed in her mind.
WHY ME!
"Perhaps I should nominate someone to show me around? It would be better to rely on one person than expect a whole class to worry after little old me. I'd be ever so grateful for anyone who'd care to volunteer." Miss D gasped breathily as if on the verge of her greatest idea yet. And every guy just seemed to go along with it. It was the stuff nightmares were made of.
Rhiannon wanted the day to be over already.
It was no surprise to Rhiannon or any of the other grim faced girls in the room when every single guy- maybe even a couple in a relationship stretched their arms up high.
Rhiannon was drowning from the smell of desperation in the air. She would've opened a window if she didn't have to lean across Kian to do so. She isn't that good looking. I mean, she's pretty, if you like the long legged, big eyed, flawless skin type of thing. She sniffed.
Rhiannon snuck a peek at Kian, she had to and was shocked to see his hand rested comfortably on the table. He didn't show the least bit of interest in the woman. He seemed almost bored. Rhiannon didn't understand it.
"You there. You seem awfully quiet. Who might you be?" She pointed directly at Kian and he seemed to darken by her attention. Rhiannon had never met anyone with such chilling anger, she shuddered in her seat. She definitely hoped that Kian never got that angry with her.
"'Better to remain quiet and to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.' My name is Kian Hunter. As you and I both know Miss Détourné." Kian growled in whispered menace.
Rhiannon felt shivers run down her spine.
She never wanted to be on the receiving end of his anger that was for sure. It was like he was ready to gnaw her throat open with his bare teeth. He sounded savage.
A few guys turned around to glower at Kian, at being an asshole to the pretty teacher and Rhiannon glared back at them. Kian had a right to his own opinion against this teacher and she, for one respected his decision.
She smirked humourlessly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You must be getting faces mixed up, I'm said to have a very common face." Miss D was completely emotionless, the smile gone.
Rhiannon rolled her eyes.
More than half of the guys would care to disagree with the latter. This lesson was turning out to be just one giant eye roll. She felt like throwing some ice water around the place. Maybe that would cool them down a bit.
It was completely disgraceful.
"I suppose."
"Now, to choose a guide – she slid an elegant finger down the roll and every guy seemed to be on the edge of their seats, Miss D's eyes never left Kian as she stopped at a name– Rhiannon Louisa Graceling. Rhiannon Graceling it is. Who's Rhiannon Graceling?"
Rhiannon jumped like she had been shocked. Kian simply glared at Miss D as if she'd chosen her on purpose. But there was a calculating glint behind the teacher's smile that made Rhiannon pause.
It didn't occur to her that no one outside her family knew her middle name except Deidre. Her grandmother hadn't even mentioned it when she enrolled Rhiannon into the high school.
Rhiannon watched as Miss D's eyes slid from Kian's to hers and held it. She could've sworn she felt a ticklish feeling in her brain but it disappeared as Miss D surveyed the room, looking for something.
A chorus of disappointment sounded as the guys slumped in their seats. The excitement in the room notably lost its lustre and Rhiannon couldn't have been more relieved. But this obviously meant that Rhiannon was going to get a whole lot of glares after class because of this.
Guys could be so immature sometimes.
"That would be me." Rhiannon raised her hand confidently. There was no way she was showing fear in front of the woman.
"Miss Graceling, I'd very much like it if you showed me around. If you wouldn't mind."
She minded. She minded a lot. Rhiannon nodded begrudgingly.
"Thank you, sweetheart when I need your help I'll simply ask so you're not too hassled by this added burden."
She was definitely not this woman's "sweet heart". If she could be this woman's anything she'd want to be her death wish. Miss D shot Rhiannon one of those 'you can trust me' smiles but she didn't buy it for one minute.
"You're welcome." Rhiannon said, through gritted teeth. Miss D either didn't hear or ignored the bitterness in her voice because she simply spun around and begun the lesson. The tension of earlier was gone and the ticklish feeling in her brain had worn off.
"I can't believe she'd do that." Kian hissed under his breath. Rhiannon didn't think he'd meant for her to hear him but she had.
"Do what?"
Kian looked surprised for a second. He recovered himself quickly, giving her a heart-stopping smile. "I thought you weren't talking to me anymore."
"I didn't say I wouldn't talk to you and you weren't exactly Mr. Talkative when you walked in." She moved her body slightly to see him better, before folding her arms across her chest and sitting back.
"I'm sorry about that. I had something on my mind. At least I'm talking to you now, right?" He smiled brightly and Rhiannon couldn't help but smile back. Kian hid his anger well but she could still see it in the frozen depths of his eyes. It was there but he was covering it with as much heat as he could.
It made her wonder why he hated that teacher so much. How long had they known each other for him to hate her that much? How had they met? Why was she pretending not to recognise him? Did this somehow have something to do with Devlin?
"Yeah, and I guess I could forgive you." Rhiannon wanted to be annoyed that he was avoiding her question. That all her questions were never getting answered but she'd get her answers, it was just an added bonus that she liked talking to Kian.
She loved the sound of his voice, but somehow it made her feel disloyal to Devlin whenever she talked to Kian. There wasn't even anything going on between Devlin and her, she just wanted to help him and that was it. At least, that's what Rhiannon kept telling herself.
"I'm glad to hear it." He shot her another one of his crooked smiles. There was a comfortable silence as they both studied each other. Rhiannon was the first to look away, heat dying her cheeks a bright red.
"Look, after I thought about it, I understand that whole thing you did in front of Allegra. It was the stupidest thing I've ever seen someone do and I didn't like it one bit, but I understand. But you have to understand that I don't need –"
"Stop. You haven't been here that long. In case you haven't noticed I'm an outsider, a social pariah. I've had time to get used to it, hell even Deidre has had time to get used to it but you – you have time to escape from me. Someday you'll thank me for keeping my distance." Rhiannon interrupted passionately, she didn't like the path his thoughts had taken. It was probably best she stopped him before he made a massive mistake.
"Thank you? For degrading yourself in front of my bitch of a step-sister? I don't think so. I think you're worth a million Allegra Harts and I can't believe you'd think any differently. Maybe there's something in the water but these people don't seem to see you the way I do, the way you should be seen."
Kian had this intense look in his eyes, like he wanted to stand up and shout about everything and everyone that'd ever been wronged. He seemed to radiate righteous anger. He looked very much like a vengeful angel.
She felt so small, so insignificant with him this way.
"I hardly know you. I don't get why you'd care whether I believe in my self-worth or not. I don't get why you'd pick me over you're step sister. I don't get a lot of things and I have the feeling that if I don't start to put the pieces together my head will split in half. But I do know I made sure that you would have friends and fit in like the rest of them." She felt stronger after reassuring herself of her reasons, reminding herself that there were reasons.
She needed to get her thoughts in order.
"I'm sorry that none of this makes sense to you but I can't help that. And did you even stop to consider that maybe I don't want to fit in?"
Rhiannon sat back stumped. Not want to fit in? She'd never even thought of that. She'd spent her whole life on the outside looking in. She'd always wanted what she couldn't have. She'd never noticed how some people on the inside wanted to get out.
It was so foreign to her.
"I thought not. Sometimes you have to let people make their own decisions, for good or for bad at least it was their own choice, their own mistake to make. How else are you supposed to find out what you really want from life if you don't take a few wrong turns along the way?"
"I hadn't looked at it in that way. I was just so determined to make you not hate me. I led you to the path I would've taken if I'd had the chance. You just seem to... fit in with them." She waved her arms about, trying to get her meaning across. Kian just looked wounded.
She sighed in defeat.
Rhiannon pulled a hand through her hair. She'd never had a problem speaking her mind. Her grandmother had made sure of that but with Kian it was like her tongue had turned to mush. She couldn't make her thoughts and her words match up properly.
"I'm not like them, Rhiannon. I can promise you that. I can promise that with every fibre of what I am. And as for them? They don't even deserve to share the air you breathe, don't change to suit them." She'd forgotten the funny way her stomach did back flips in her stomach whenever he said her name.
Rhiannon had to admit that knowing someone cared was like being wrapped in warmth, she didn't even understand why he would care. It just didn't make any sense, nothing did anymore.
She was just starting to realise, maybe it didn't have to.
"Thank you."
"For what?" Kian shot her a strange look.
"Don't worry about it, just know I'm grateful."
"Anytime you need me I'm here for you, Rhiannon."
"Yeah, I know." She felt her lips curl into an unintentional smile, and he seemed to be taken aback. Kian blinked a few times before moving closer to her. She wondered how long it'd been since she'd smiled because she was truly happy. She was astonished to find she couldn't remember.
She felt guilty for this slice of happiness when Devlin was probably being drained of his powers right at this very moment. The thought of Devlin in pain made her jolt upright in her seat and away from Kian. She'd completely forgotten him in those short few moments and she felt horrible.
The happiness drained out of her like she'd sprung a leak. As if guessing the direction of her thoughts, Kian shot out his hand and enveloped hers. He was so warm and welcoming, Rhiannon wished she could lean into him and get lost. It was like he was a drug that could make all the bad things go away for a little while.
"Rhiannon, who was that boy you were with on the bus?" Kian asked hesitantly, but there was crisp determination in his beautiful blue eyes. He oozed care and worry but it felt like it was suffocating her.
It was too much, too soon. It was dangerous.
Instantly Rhiannon felt apprehension slice through her happy mood. She had to lie, she didn't know why but she just knew that it would be dangerous to tell Kian anything about Devlin. Kian was hiding something.
There was definitely something up.
"Why do you need to know?" She gazed at him, her eyes in slits. If he dared to hurt Devlin there would be hell to pay. Rhiannon didn't want to hurt Kian but she would if she had to.
"I didn't like the look of him. There's something about him that makes my blood boil, don't ask me why. He's got a lot of darkness, beneath those pretty boy looks of his. You've changed from a single day in his presence. It scares me." Kian said seriously, his eyes intense and burning like blue flames.
The need to protect Devlin bubbled to the surface.
"I think that boiling would be jealousy. You should really learn how to deal with it and if I've changed so much why the hell are you still talking to me? Just piss off if I'm not good enough for you after all." Rhiannon retorted. Darkness seemed to fill her soul and all she could feel was anger. Tendrils of shadow wrapped around her heart. Her pulse raced, like she'd been running a marathon.
Gods, where was all this anger coming from? What was happening to her? Why did she even care? All these mortals were playthings, to be thrown away at will. They didn't understand her pain or her power.
"I'm sorry, alright. I didn't know he was such a sore spot for you. You just met the guy and you're already getting all defensive over him. That's what's scaring me, Rhiannon." He placed a soothing hand on hers.
She wanted to snatch her hand away from him. He didn't deserve her the way Devlin did. That thought made her freeze. Where had that come from? She felt her heart rate go down. She wondered at how he was doing that.
Her anger slowly lapped away leaving her vaguely confused and with a bit of a headache.
"I guess I was a bit jealous. He just looks like the type to break a girl's heart, with all those pretty boy looks. All the Scorpions were going on non-stop about him." He jerked his hand away as if she'd burned him and placed his hand casually on the desk.
Rhiannon would've rolled her eyes if she didn't feel like a jackhammer was going off in her head. To think, she'd thought that Kian was actually dangerous to Devlin, the all-powerful genie. He'd just been assessing the competition for his precious cheerleaders.
She smiled through the pain developing in her head.
She gasped as it increased and spread within her skull. It seemed to grow and pulse like a living entity. Rhiannon felt like a million tiny insects were eating her brain. She almost would've preferred the abnormal anger.
She shuddered at remembering the blood rage she'd felt a moment earlier. And how easily Kian had healed her of it. It would seem Kian was hiding something but at that very moment she didn't particularly care, her head seemed ready to split.
"He's a foreign exchange student, from England. He's shiny, mysterious and gorgeous. Of course, the cheerleaders are in a huff about him. No need to be jealous, Kian. He won't steal your precious cheerleaders. He's not interested in any one of them." Rhiannon pretended to chuckle, her head pounding to an unnaturally loud rhythm. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
He glanced down at her hand on his shoulder and didn't make a move to take it off. Rhiannon's nail dug into his shoulder as the room began to swim. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep out the nausea.
"I said I was a bit jealous and who cares about the darn cheerleaders? No one knows anything about him, don't even know his name. I just noticed you hanging out with him that first day and I was wondering if you two were... you know, together?" Kian slid his eyes away from her eyes and onto the table.
"No we're not 'you know, together'. Does that make you happy? He kind of disappeared before the day ended anyway. So you can rest easy, Kian." She held her hands to her head, the pounded getting more powerful. Nausea built up deep in her stomach, the room swimming around her.
"I didn't mean – Rhiannon, are you alright?" She felt someone shake her, but her eyes couldn't stay open. They fluttered closed, as voices called her name.