ADAD Chapter 7: Secret

 Darius pulled Anastasios to the side, his tail wagging. 

"Prisi has a soulmate," Darius proclaimed, and then pointed at Noah, who was trying to engage the princess in a conversation. 

"Him?" Anastasios asked, tilting his head to the side. "But he is so..." 

"Uncertain of himself, yes," Darius had to agree. Noah behaved like he thought that his presence bothered them, most of the time. He had just read his books in silence, before Prisila had come over to their table. "Do you want to let them find each other?"

"You will miss out on the opportunity to get them together? I thought that you were a proud matchmaker," Anastasios asked with a smirk. 

"Yes, well, wouldn't it be fun to watch them stumble around each other?" Darius asked. When Anastasios glared at him, he decided to word his words differently. "I think their bond will be stronger, if they don't have the knowledge of being soulmates hanging over them." 

"Well, if you don't want to tell them, then I won't make you. But what if they end up with someone else?" Anastasios asked. He wanted his little sister to be together with her soulmate, and no one else. 

"Prisi needs to just taste his blood, to figure it all out," Darius said, and then grinned at Anastasios. "Come on, they will be adorable with their friendship that will turn into a bond." 

"I suppose," Anastasios agreed, and then sighed. "Come on, let us go back." 

They did go back, and sat on their chairs. Prisila gave them a suspicious look, but didn't comment about their need to conspire to the side.

"So, how are your classes going to go?" Darius asked, wanting to break the silence.

"Well, I can see a math textbook in the mix," Prisila said, and then she sighed. "I so wished that I would be able to get away from math during my time here." 

"Wait, is that an economics textbook?" Anastasios asked, taking a big textbook out of Prisila's pile. "Man, you will get your fill of math with this. Did dad pick your electives as well?"

"He did," Prisila said, disgruntled. "Professor Gideon said that I can't hope to support myself off rapier competitions alone, so..." 

"I am certain that you would have been able to, princess," Noah chimed in, and all eyes landed on him. "I mean, Anastasios has been singing your praises the entire time, and Darius said he saw you behead a dummy in two hacks." 

Prisila blushed at that, and looked at her siblings. 

"Really? You have been talking about me?" She demanded to know, and the two boys grinned. 

"Come now, sis. Wouldn't you like to brag about the rune genius that is your brother's soulmate, or my amazing katana skills?" Anastasios said, and Prisila shook her head. 

"What for? You can brag for all of us," she stuck out her tongue at her brother, who mirrored her. Darius giggled at that, and waved his hands, to defuse the situation.

"Come now, you two, don't fight. Let us read some from our textbooks. I lifted through mine, and saw many new runes that I have never seen before. I can already imagine how they will look like, when I mix them up," Darius tail began to wag then, and Anastasios patted him on the head. 

"I am certain that, if there is anyone from the rune house that will hold the record for most invented runes this year, it would be you," Anastasios told his soulmate, who bumped into him, and then leaned on the vampire prince. The vampire began to pet Darius, whose tail wagged happily. 

"Uhm, you guys look cozy," Noah said, as he looked from Anastasios to Darius. "Must be nice to know your soulmate is near." 

"You will find yours soon," Darius told him cryptically. "She is closer than you can imagine." 

"The librarian?" Noah asked, turning pale. A chorus of three sets of giggling children answered him. "Anyway, I am glad it is a she, if you are right. I want children one day." 

"Really, do you think that this is all women are good for?" Prisila chided, ready to argue some more. 

"Women are strong, princess. I watched my mom give birth to my baby brother. She was in a lot of pain, but she kept on pushing. Even when the doctors told her to have a c-section, she insisted on bringing him out the old-fashioned way because she feared that something might go wrong during the operation," Noah said, and then allowed himself a small smile. 

"What is a c-section?" Prisila asked, and Noah turned green at the thought. 

"Well, it is when a mother gets opened up, her belly gets cut open, I mean, to get the baby out. My name is Timothy, pretty lady. I hope we can be friends," the group turned around, to see the feline shifter approach them. 

"Prisila Vicente," Prisila offered her hand for a handshake, but the feline shifter kissed the back of it instead. Prisila's cheeks turned rosy, and Darius's brows furrowed. 

"Tim, a minute," Darius said, getting out of Anastasios's half embrace. 

 "Can't it wait until I have gotten to know this vision before me?" Timothy asked, and Prisila's cheeks turned even more crimson. 

"It can't, come, now," Darius all but growled, and then hopped off the chair, and took Timothy by the elbow. He dragged him out of sight, between two rows of bookshelves, and then glared at him. "Prisila and Noah are soulmates!" 

"I know. You are not the only one with a keen nose," Timothy said, and Darius looked confused then. 

"Then, why are you trying to get between them?" Darius asked, and Timothy just shrugged. 

"Feline shifters don't have soulmates in the traditional fashion. We can mate with an already acknowledged pair of soulmates. I am not trying to get between the princess and the human, I am trying to join them, so I won't end up alone," Timothy clarified, and Darius's eyes widened. 

"What?" Was the only thing that Darius managed to say, before Timothy went on a lengthy explanation about the nature of shifters.