Scarlett's grin lingered for one last, dangerous second.
Then, to Aliyah's immense disappointment and absolute relief, she pushed away from the fountain and said, "I'll see you in class, princess."
Princess.
Aliyah opened her mouth to object, but Scarlett had already turned and walked off across the courtyard, boots hitting stone with that same lazy confidence that made her look like she was always leaving a small fire behind her.
Aliyah watched her go until Kaelith stepped in front of her line of sight on purpose.
"No," Kaelith said.
Aliyah blinked. "She was leaving."
"You were watching her like a widow in a war ballad."
"She called me princess."
Kaelith stared at her. "And somehow you say that like it's helping your case."
Neris adjusted the books in his arms and began walking toward the west path that led away from the academic towers. "Well, what are we eating tonight?"
That, at least, was a topic Aliyah could survive.
Probably.
The three of them usually ate together unless one of them had training, tutoring, or a moral failing to attend to.
They lived in a townhouse just off campus, close enough to reach the university in under ten minutes, far enough that they could avoid dormitory nonsense, drunken spell accidents, and the smell of burnt socks that permanently haunted student housing.
It was, as Kaelith liked to say, an investment in peace.
It was also, as Aliyah privately suspected, an investment in keeping Kaelith alive.
Because if Kaelith had lived under Malvoria and Elysia's roof full time while dating half the university and offending basic monogamy on principle, her mothers would have eventually sat her down and strangled her with love.
Kaelith fell into step beside Aliyah, coat shifting with the movement. "I'm not cooking."
"No one asked you to," Aliyah said.
"That sounded pointed."
"It was pointed."
Neris did not look up from the small notebook he had somehow pulled from one of his books while walking. "We still have those spice dumplings."
Aliyah made a face. "You always say that like dumplings can be dinner on their own."
"They can."
"They absolutely cannot."
Kaelith sighed. "We could order food."
"Again?" Aliyah asked.
Kaelith lifted one shoulder. "I'm busy."
Aliyah snorted. "Doing what? Breaking hearts? Scheduling your next victim?"
Kaelith gave her a wounded look. "That is a disgusting oversimplification of my lifestyle."
"It's actually generous," Neris said.
They crossed through one of the shaded side paths that curved behind the library gardens. The late afternoon light filtered through silverleaf trees, throwing moving patterns over the stone.
Students drifted around them in clusters. Somewhere nearby, someone was playing violin badly enough to be considered a public threat.
Aliyah was still annoyed. Not about Kaelith. Not about dinner. Not even about Neris, which was rare.
She was annoyed because Scarlett had left.
And worse, she had left while smiling like that.
Kaelith noticed the expression on her face immediately. Of course she did. Kaelith had the instincts of a predator and the morals of one too, depending on the day.
"You're still thinking about her," she said.
Aliyah folded her arms. "I'm thinking about dinner."
"You're thinking about the dragon woman calling you princess."
Aliyah said nothing.
Ahead of them, a figure stepped out from the archway beside the library annex.
Aliyah saw a flash of pale gold first. Then pointed ears, long elegant limbs, and the kind of beauty that made lesser people forget to breathe.
The woman was an elf, tall and graceful, with smooth bronze-gold skin, dark green eyes, and long silver-blond hair braided over one shoulder.
Her uniform had been altered just enough to fit too well, and her mouth was painted in a soft dark shade that somehow made her look even more expensive.
She walked straight toward Neris.
Not toward the group.
Toward Neris.
Aliyah saw it instantly. The little shift in her posture. The slight brightening in her eyes. The way Neris, without even changing expression much, slowed half a step.
Interesting.
"Good afternoon," the elf woman said, voice smooth as silk over sharpened steel.
Neris inclined his head. "Liora."
Aliyah nearly turned to Kaelith on reflex, because oh, so they knew names already.
Liora held out a neat bundle of papers tied with black ribbon. "You left your notes in the study room yesterday."
Neris took them with one hand. "I wondered where they were."
"Did you?" Liora asked.
It was an innocent sentence. Completely harmless.
It also sounded like foreplay.
Aliyah stood very still.
Kaelith, beside her, had gone silent in a way that meant she was enjoying herself enormously.
Liora's fingers lingered a fraction too long against Neris's when he took the notes. Neris did not pull away quickly either.
He just looked at her, calm as ever, red eyes unreadable and yet somehow not unreadable at all. The air between them had changed texture. It felt warmer. Tighter.
Aliyah had seen fire mages less combustible.
"I also wanted to ask," Liora continued, eyes staying on Neris's face, "if I could still have private classes this week."
Private classes.
Aliyah nearly choked on absolutely nothing.
Neris, bastard that he was, answered in his usual composed tone. "Yes. No problem."
Liora smiled then, small and elegant and definitely not the smile of a woman discussing purely educational matters.
Aliyah looked between them, deeply offended by how much chemistry was occurring in front of her on a public path.
Unbelievable.
Liora dipped her head politely to the others, though her attention never fully left Neris. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Neris said.
Then she was gone, gliding away along the path with the calm confidence of someone who knew exactly what effect she had left behind.
The second she was out of earshot, Kaelith turned slowly toward Neris.
Her face was completely blank.
Which was worse than her smiling.
"Did you fuck her?" Kaelith asked.
Aliyah slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the laugh, but it burst out anyway.
Neris did not even look mildly ashamed. He tucked Liora's notes under his arm with perfect composure. "That is an invasive question."
Kaelith's brows rose. "That is not a no."
Aliyah stared at him. "You little hypocrite."
Neris sighed the sigh of a man burdened by idiots. "Nothing you need to concern yourselves with."
"That means yes," Kaelith said.
"That means mind your business."
Aliyah pointed at him. "You stand there judging us all day with your workaholic face, and meanwhile you have private classes with a woman who looked like she wanted to bite your throat."
Neris resumed walking. "Liora is an excellent student."
Kaelith barked a laugh. "And you are so full of shit."
Aliyah hurried to keep up, scandalized and fascinated now. "Wait. Since when?"
Neris kept his eyes ahead. "Since none of your business."
Kaelith looked at Aliyah, triumphant. "He definitely fucked her."
Neris exhaled through his nose. "I'm beginning to understand why some scholars choose exile."
Aliyah grinned despite herself. "No, no. Come back here, mister I-refuse-women-for-a-living."
"I never said that."
"You implied it. Repeatedly."
Kaelith draped an arm over Aliyah's shoulders and called ahead, "So what I'm hearing is that our cold, terrifying genius has secret study sex."
Neris stopped walking so abruptly that both of them nearly walked into him.
He turned.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
"I can set both of you on fire," he said. "Academically."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Aliyah started laughing. Real laughing. Helpless laughing. Kaelith joined in a second later, loud and delighted, and even Neris, traitor that he was, looked like he was fighting the edge of a smile.
They started walking again, still not knwowing what they were going to eat tonight.