Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy #1)(17)

“I love him as much as I loved each one of you…but he didn’t leave me. Quinton stayed…” I snap back, my voice trailing off with more emotion than I wanted to admit to.

“Our parents are on the Masters’ council. Our grandparents were before them, and my parents had to come back because of the war. We didn’t have a choice in the decision,” he tells me, and I finally look down at him. Noah isn’t looking at me, his head bowed down, staring at the floor. “I wanted to stay.”

“I missed you,” I whisper in response, because that is what this all comes down to. I miss them all more than I ever thought I could miss someone. It seems messed up that I finally have them back in my life, only to lose Quinton because of it. I guess I never imagined a future where we would all be together, but I damn well hoped for it.

“We fucking missed you more, Sleepy. Everything went to shit the moment we left you,” he whispers, rubbing his jaw with his hand and stepping closer.

“Since when do you and Tobias fight?” I ask.

“Tobias has issues. I—no, we all—were trying to stop him from messing up again,” he explains. “The stuff he has gotten himself into will kill him or get him kicked off the island.”

“What kind of things?” I ask quietly.

“Stuff I’m not worrying you with. Not when we just got you back,” he says, stretching his arms above his head. I follow the movement with my eyes, eating up every muscle on his arms and how his golden skin is so smooth, it almost has a shine to it. I decide to leave what is going on with Tobias for now…I can ask him later. Or stalk him around the academy to find out. Someone will know, if the Tale brothers are as popular as Tavvy suggests they are.

“I did bring you here for another reason than to just skip class. I have to do a favour for some classmates,” he says, offering me a hand. I don’t pause as I slide my hand into his, enjoying how warm his hand is and letting him lead me around the fountain. We walk right to the back of the greenhouse where there is a row of plants in wooden plant pots. I look down to see all of them are growing well except for three of them. I watch as Noah lets go of my hand and walks to one of the dying plants. He places his hand just above it, and his hand glows lightly. Warmly. The plant slowly gets back its colour and grows gradually until it is bigger than the other plants, and it has little blue flowers blossoming from the edges.

“You can heal plants?” I ask him in wonder.

“Yep,” he replies with a grin. “I can heal people and myself as well, it just hurts like a bitch.” I laugh as he picks up some garden cutters off the side and cuts off one of the flowers. Noah walks over to me, and I freeze as he stops right in front of me.

“A late birthday present,” he says, stroking the flower down my cheek slowly and making my mouth part a little. I reach for the flower, and he closes his hand around mine before leaning in and gently kissing my cheek. “It’s good to have you back with us. You were always meant to be here because you’re far more special than you know…but we all knew it the moment we met you.”





Chapter 10





Noah keeps his arm around my shoulders as we walk into the dining room for lunch, and we must be late to get here because everyone is sitting down with their food. Every pair of eyes seems to turn our way as we walk through the gap in the middle of the tables, towards the front of the room. Knox, Sin and Tobias all sit at one table, and the one next to it is where Ella is sat with her group of friends. I don't spot Tavvy anywhere in the room, not at the table we sat at from breakfast either, so I'm assuming she has skipped lunch today.

"Sit down, I will get you lunch. I still remember what you like to eat," Noah suggests when we get to the table where his brothers are sitting at.

"Thanks," I say, pulling a chair out next to Sin and sitting down. Noah walks off, leaving me in the awkward silence of his brothers looking at me, but no one actually says a single word. Knox stares down at his food, eating away like I'm not here. Tobias is staring at me, completely silent which is stranger. Sin keeps parting his mouth like he wants to say something but doesn't know what. I feel that, because I don't know what to say to them. The silence just goes on until Noah brings back a tray of food and pulls the chair out next to me to sit down. I can't get over how different they all look now, so much older than I thought they would. I imagined how they would look many times, but this wasn't it. They are darker in nature, full of secrets that I wonder what it would take to make them tell me.

"Ham and cheese sandwiches, still your favourite, right?" Noah asks with a cheeky grin. "With salt and vinegar crisps, of course."

"Perfect," I say, taking my sandwich up off the plate as Noah digs into his. "Yours is a chicken club sandwich with cheese and onion crisps. Right?"

"Yep," Noah grins at me, clearly happy I remember. I remember everything about them. I could guess what Tobias, Knox and Sin are eating as well.

"How long did it take Quin to make a move after we left?" Sin asks. "Quin is a dark horse, I'll give him that."

"You really want to know that?" I ask them all, because even though Sin asked, they might as well have all asked.

"Call me curious," Sin replies.

"A while. I always loved him, I just didn't know it until then," I answer them, not missing how each of them doesn't look pleased with the answer. If I was a smart girl, or any other girl in here, I wouldn't have been so honest.