The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis
Chapter Eighteen
Iwas practically falling over as Cass and I stumbled through the trail at the edge of the forest. The walk from the stables back to the barn had never felt so long. Aside from Cass swinging my hand in his, the only thing keeping me awake was the splendor of the morning springing to life around us. It was that beautiful time when night still clung to one side of the sky while orange sunlight spread itself over the other. Soft hints of daylight spread out over the city to at our side, tickling our faces and lighting our way. The brush of wind was like a silky blanket. I wished the walk had been longer, but the barn just ahead, barely jutting into the forest, would soon bring our journey to an end.
“I’ve never been so tired yet wanted so desperately to stay awake,” I said, basking in the newborn dawn light.
“I thought you were up every night.” Cass grazed his thumb across the back of my hand.
I melted, feeling even warmer.
“That would make this my bedtime. Why aren’t you tired? Don’t you have things to do during the day?”
“All I’ve been doing for the past couple of days is sleep. You’ve sort of been keeping me up all night.”
I flushed. “No one notices when Prince Cass sleeps entire days away?”
“Not so long as he makes it to at least one meal a day, then nothing seems out of the ordinary.”
“What if someone comes looking for you?”
“In the case of an emergency, I’ve tasked Donnie with borrowing my clothes and impersonating me.”
Cass managed to keep his composure despite the ridiculousness he just said. I had to laugh, imaging Donnie with his dark brown skin and dreads trying to convince anyone he was his fair-skinned, green-eyed friend.
“It’s a solid plan,” Cass said, as serious as ever. “It hasn’t failed before.”
“Right.” The barn was just ahead now. I laughed for a good long while until a familiar set of figures lingering outside the barn doors took shape. Speak of the devil, but Cass didn’t seem to notice them.
I gestured toward the barn with a wave of my hand. “Look, Cass. Your twin is here.”
His demeanor faded immediately. His hand tensed in mine, and my joy quickly dissipated as well.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hopefully, nothing.” Cass hastened our pace toward the barn door, and Donnie, along with Jasper’s, gaze found us. They both strode towards us, meeting us just at the edge of the barn.
“I should have guessed this was how he was spending his time.” Jasper sneered as our pairs met, seemingly talking to Donnie but loud enough for me to hear. His deep blue eyes bored into me.
“Long time no see, boys,” I said.
Jasper’s face didn’t move a muscle, but Donnie gave me a half-hearted smile.
“Why are you here?” Cass pulled his hand from mine. My hand felt empty without his.
Donnie was quick to answer. “Your father’s looking for you.”
The color drained from Cass’s face. “How long does he think I’ve been gone?”
“Long enough for us to hear about it,” Jasper said.
“He called a late dinner last night,” Donnie said. “I covered for you, but I think he’s been trying to find you since then.”
“Since last night?” Cass asked, his voice a touch frantic.
“You should get back now before you miss breakfast too.” Donnie motioned back to a carriage I hadn’t noticed before, waiting at the edge of the dirt street.
“Of course.” Cass ran a hand through his hair. “Evie, I’ll see you tomorrow. Or tomorrow night. I’m not sure, but soon, I promise.”
“Alright,” I murmured. “But is everything well?” Why was Cass so deconstructed suddenly? Did it have to do with something important? It dawned on me that perhaps this was the type of something Gilow would want to know.
“Everything’s fine, Lovely.” He kissed my cheek. “I just have to go.” Giving me one last smile, he strode off with Donnie at his side. Jasper stayed back, and we glared at each other.
“Sorry, Lovely,” he said, “important things come first.”
“Is that why they’re leaving you behind too?”
Jasper took a threatening step towards me. But I didn’t budge. He wasn’t going to do a damn thing to me. Not with Cass only a few paces away.
“Have fun while you can because you won’t last forever. You girls never do.” I bit my lip and forced my hands to stay down and not rip out every piece of scraggly blonde hair framing that disgusting face. “Here.” He pulled something out of his pocket. A silver coin clattered at my feet. “In case he forgot to pay.”
I wanted so desperately to move, to scream something back, but I stayed still. Jasper ran and caught up with Donnie and Cass, disappearing into the carriage behind them, and they started away into the city and back to the castle.
As they disappeared into the distant street ahead, I finally let my eyes drop to the coin at my feet. A burning tear slipped from my face and dotted the dirt next to it. I wiped my cheek and pressed my boot over the coin, beating it and my lone tear into the ground.
I took a deep breath and went inside.