Faith Heights

Chapter 23

"Drink. Dance. Have fun. Be human. You don't know when that might be taken away from you," Theo replied, softly enough just so I heard.

"Is that what happened to you?" I asked Theo. "When you became a wolf?"

Theo laughed, surprising me. "No, you matchstick. I was born this way. I was talking about you- once your soulmate comes, it's possible that your supernatural abilities from your first life will also awaken. You don't know how long you'll have left to just enjoy the simple things." 

And by simple things, he meant cheap booze and fire-lit dance competitions. Looking around, I thought I could probably learn to love his way of life.

"What kind of supernatural abilities?" I asked eagerly.

Theo just rolled his eyes. "I have no idea, and I doubt anyone here does. Your last lifetime was eons ago. But I didn't drag you out here for a history lesson."

Before I could ask anything else, Theo disappeared amongst the fire's shadows, tussling his ragged blonde hair about as he joined the dancing mass. 

I'd already lost Rhea and Jackson to the crowd somewhere, and spent the next hour with Lisa, Alanah and two other scholarship boys. The girls still seemed a little shaken up about their staged kidnapping- understandably. But, if nothing else, it gave us our first chance to have the other students gaze at us as actual people. Not sewer monsters, or royalty. Simply teenagers laughing and dancing together at a high school party.

After a while longer, Theo and Dylan were aiming their stumbling attempts at trying to get me to dance when Jackson found me again, beer can in hand as he staggered a little.

"Where's Rhea?" I asked.

He shrugged a little too innocently, pursing his lips. "I have no idea. Haven't seen her all night."

I raised an eyebrow at him, but let his obvious fib slide. We watched the largest fire at the centre of the clearing flicker for a minute before Jackson spoke.

"Most of the students here wanted to leave you in your bed, given...your soon-to-be status. But I said, 'No, she's just like every other easily-terrified scholarship student that's come through Faith Heights'. Plus, I figured you could use a good fright."

I scoffed. "I haven't already had enough of those this year?"

"Yeah, but you're always so tightly wound. I figured it'd be good for you."

"I'm not tightly wound." I folded my arms.

He laughed. "Yeah, you are. And weirdly defensive. But that's ok. I mean, there's nothing like being forced to believe in werewolves and angels and trolls to force your guard down."

"Trolls?"

He nodded roguishly. "Yeah, they're real. But we'll get into that another time." He slung an arm around my shoulder. "For now, just enjoy the party. Relax. It might be the last chance you get for a while."

His words were eerily reminiscent of Theo's, but I chalked them up to the alcohol's affect. Jackson soon stumbled back off to another crowd, and I immersed myself in the unexpectedly exultant atmosphere of the gathering.

When soft rays of dawn began to slither through the thick branches above us, the crowd began to thin. People started the trek back to the school grounds to chase an hour's sleep before classes. I was about to head back, too- once I found Rhea. I hadn't seen her all night, but the drinks I'd downed hadn't allowed for any real worry until now.

It didn't take me long to find her. She was partially hidden behind a cluster of trees at a bend in the river. Her long coat was shrugged loosely around her shoulders, and her black hair had fallen from its short ponytail. I moved toward her- but stopped myself from calling out when I saw why her back was turned.