The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis

Chapter Eight

“I’ve never been so tired.” Christa slumped over the bar counter and laid her head down beside her plate of eggs and bread. Her short, coarse black hair nipped the side of her place. “But I suppose this will be the new normal for the upcoming few months.”

Dawn was just beginning to peek through the rafters. Christa may have been tired, but I’d had such a good night that I hardly felt tired at all. I tried to stay in the moment, now in the empty barn with only Kat, Christa, and Sammy, but like the little dust bits dancing through the new sunlight, my thoughts wanted to drift away. Back to Cass and the most exciting card game of my life.

“Give it a week,” Sammy said. “It’ll calm down.”

“I don’t want a damn thing to change.” Kat perched on the edge of the counter, swinging her bare feet. Where her boots had gone, I had no idea. “Do you know how much coin I made tonight? Almost six gold pieces’ worth!”

“Is that before or after you subtract Jen’s cut?” Sammy raised an eyebrow at her.

Kat glanced down the hallway behind the bar, then flipped her hair. “Did I say six gold pieces? I meant four.”

We snickered. Four gold pieces was indeed a lot of money. Under normal circumstances, that might have taken an entire week to earn. But my new friend Cass had more than that tucked away on his person and had thrown it away without hesitation. What sort of profession was he in?

“Who knew officers were so generous with their coins.” Kat beamed, plopping a grape into her mouth.

I clutched my cup of milk, my thoughts ripping back to my first interaction with Jasper unexpectedly. “Some more than others.”

Sammy frowned. “You didn’t have any trouble with any of them last night, did you, Evie?”

I shook my head. “Nothing serious.”

“I agree with Evie.” Christa stretched her arms over the counter. A light redness looped her brown wrists, but she didn’t seem to feel it. “A lot of my beaus were unnecessarily rough last night.”

“Probably because you were attracting the wrong johns. The petty officers are always more brutish than their higher-ranking companions and have less coin to spend. You should take a lesson from me and seek out the more worthwhile officers tomorrow night.”

“What exactly differentiates a worthwhile patron from a petty officer, Katalin?” Sammy asked. “Do share your knowledge so that we all may benefit.”

“Nothing on the surface, really.” Kat tapped her chin. “But if you pay attention to how each man walks and keeps his uniform, you can just tell.” She took a crunchy bite out of a strawberry. “Or you can ask a current patron if other men of their rank or higher have also come to the barn and work from there.”

“There it is.” Christa grinned. “The truth behind the ruse. If you really want to know where the rich men are, just ask.”

Kat ran her fingers through the end of her hair. “Whatever my methods, I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t able to secure my true prize last night.”

“And who was that?” I snapped as if I were just getting it. “Let me guess, the general of the Ryland army himself?”

She bit back a smile. “Even better.” Kat leaned towards us. “One patron mentioned to me last night that he saw the prince himself dawdling about the barn.”

Sammy tensed, as did I.

“The prince?” Christa scoffed. “As in, of Ryland?”

“What other prince would he be referring to?” Kat said.

“Did you see him?” Christa asked. “What did he look like?”

“I didn’t actually see him myself, though I spent half the night searching between johns. The patron told me he’s abnormally fair with ink-black hair and bright green eyes. I couldn’t find anyone who looked exactly like what I was looking for.”

I froze. There was no way.

Kat was winning Christa over. She sat up a little. “Prince Cassian? In here? Who would’ve thought?”

Prince Cassian.

My entire body tensed, down to my bones. I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to. I think my heart stopped beating for an instant. Everything was stuck in time.

Kat was right; no one really talked about the prince. It was easy to forget he existed sometimes. Even in the rebellion, everything was always about King Dreux and the next thing he was planning. But last night, I hadn’t remembered any of that. I got carried away in what I thought could become a new friendship. I was blind...and I was wrong. It was impossible for someone like him to befriend someone like me.

“Do you think he’ll be back tonight?” Sammy twisted her wrists in her lap. I couldn’t fault her hesitation. The prince’s father hated our class. The idea of having him in the barn again made me uneasy. Almost as much as remembering how much time I’d spent with him last night.

“I hope so.” Kat hummed to herself. “Can you imagine what it would be like to be the prince’s mistress? To live in the palace and have servants and gowns and go to parties? It would be heaven.”

“You honestly think you have a shot?” Christa looked at her like she was delusional.

“I don’t see why not. If he’s here and he’s looking, then let me be found.”

My hands tightened around my cup. Was that why Cassian was really here last night? Was that why he asked to see me again? Was the prince scouting for a mistress?

No, he didn’t seem like he was looking for that sort of thing. That’s the only reason I agreed to see him again in two nights.

God, he’s coming back to see me.

What was I supposed to say to him? Could I say anything to him? Was I allowed to say nothing to him?

Dammit. Why didn’t I just stay in the apartment? All I had to do was put up with Kat’s moaning and let him go search for his own damn cards.

My head was spinning. This was too much to think about, and Kat’s enthusiasm for the topic wasn’t helping.

I turned and stepped back from the counter. I needed to sleep—to get out of this room. Something.

“Are you alright, Evie?” Christa asked.

“I’m fine, just tired. I’m going to bed.” Without another word, I drew my arms in and strode into the hallway.

I just needed to sleep. To wake up in a new night. There was one person I knew who was great at solving problems.

Jace.