my ground in the doorway. ‘You gave those humans hope when you knew I couldn’t save that man!’
‘I was just trying to help,’ he countered.
‘You made me look awful. School has been hell!’
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, but didn’t really sound it.
I shrugged and went out to prepare the café for opening. Even though seeing the man’s dead body had been an all too horrible reminder of the death of my grandmother, it wasn’t the death that bothered me, or even the appearance of the Extermino. It was Nathan’s reaction … it hadn’t been him that day, and it hadn’t been him in the kitchen just now. He was too callous, and not the light-hearted person he usually was.
But when I went back to the kitchen he had recovered.
‘C’mon, enlighten me then,’ he said, leaning on the edge of the sink. ‘What was so important on Thursday that you ditched us all?’
‘There is a new guy at school—’
‘Oh, there’s a new guy, is there?’ He brushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes, and I saw they were full of mischief.
‘A new Sagean guy I had to tutor.’
The sheen on his eyes faded and he faltered. I wasn’t surprised. One Sagean teenager around here was more than enough for the human population to cope with. ‘Anyone we’ve heard of?’ He glanced towards Sophie, who had stopped shifting plates around to listen.
I didn’t answer, feeling my teeth close around the tip of my tongue.
Nathan noticed. ‘You Sage and your privacy. Seriously, who am I going to tell? I’m a computer geek who dropped out of uni. I have no friends. And you won’t tell, will you, Soph?’
Sophie blushed and shook her head, but when I caught her eye, she returned to the crockery.
I sighed. ‘He is of a higher status than me.’
His mouth fell open, comprehension dawning, and then he promptly swore. I didn’t need to give further explanation. Nathan was the only human outside of my family who had known about my title – he had ‘accidentally’ found my supposedly deleted Wikipedia page – and more importantly, he knew where it put me in the ranks. He waited until Sophie had left the kitchen before he spoke again. ‘What the hell? Here? Which one?’
‘No. I’ve said too much already.’
He fell back against the counter, gripping its edge very tightly. ‘Aren’t you pleased? They’re supposed to be heartthrobs, aren’t they?’
I laughed dryly, gathering up the baskets of salt and vinegar to put on the tables. ‘I think every other girl at school is pleased. I’m not.’ He smiled in confusion. I continued, lowering my voice. ‘If the press find out about this, and they will eventually, then I will be dragged in too. Can you imagine what a field day Arn Etas would have if they found out that I work in a café?’ It was only part of the truth, but I certainly wasn’t telling him what I knew the Athenea were hiding about my grandmother.
His smile faded. ‘What’s so wrong with that?’
He followed me out as I organized the tables and flipped the sign over to Open. He continued to trail after me as I scooted past Sophie back into the kitchen, waiting for an answer.
‘I’m a duchess, Nathan, not a maid,’ I muttered, then stopped. ‘I don’t particularly like this life; it’s near impossible for a Sage to live around here, but I am content with it as long as I am out of the spotlight.’
He shook his head, making his muddy blond fringe bounce as he screwed up his nose. ‘I swear you should’ve been born human. But anyway, what are you so down about? Just don’t have anything to do with him. And if he gives you any trouble, just tell him you’ve got a friend who is a purple belt in karate who will beat him up.’
I looked his wiry build up and down and raised an eyebrow. ‘Or I could just hex him.’
‘Or you could do that. And anyway, cheer up, Valerie just came in,’ he said, peering out of the kitchen.
I groaned. What a way to round off the week.
I succeeded in following Nathan’s advice, partly by skipping school, until Thursday. I couldn’t completely avoid the prince, of course, and still greeted him each morning in tutorial and in history and worked – silently – next to him in English literature. But he didn’t press for my company and I began to think that I had made my stance on him clearer than I had thought when he had driven me home.
I woke up Thursday morning with the prospect of after-school textiles period, and therefore a whole room of gossiping girls. The hype around the prince had still not died down and even I had to admit he had incredible patience considering how he was effectively stalked by half the student population. The paparazzi seemed like a better bet compared to that.
We were let out late from the lesson before lunch and coming out, I found that most people had already eaten. Thankfully, the canteen had finally got their act together now that there were two Sagean vegans in the school and there were plenty of sandwiches left. I grabbed one, paid, stuffed it into my bag and made the walk of shame through the seating area to the exit. From one of the circular tables inhabited by the football and rugby teams, the prince caught my eye and raised his hand, as though to motion me over. I quickly looked away and sped up.
Tammy and the others were on the field, making the most of the reappearance of the sun, and that was where I was headed. I easily made my way through the mingling students – they had always parted for me before, but now they stumbled and moved with a kind of disbelief, as though I couldn’t be who the prince said I was.
‘Freak! Oi, freak!’
The call came from the other side of the quad. I told myself to keep walking.
‘Fur-reak!’
I closed my eyes briefly. Valerie Danvers. I was surprised she hadn’t approached me earlier, considering the new material the revelation concerning my title must have brought her.
‘Hey, useless! You let that man die on purpose, didn’t you? You basically killed a man! Just like the last guardian killed Kurt!’
Keep going. Ignore her.
‘Oi, duchess! You too much of a snob to talk to me now? Duchess, where’s your granny? Go on, tell us where your granny is.’
Keep walking. She will get tired of it eventually if you ignore her.
‘C’mon, don’t be a spoilsport, I only asked a question.’
I bounded up the steps to the field, walking as fast as I could.
‘Is
