"So, what's the deal with Enzo and Blake? Whatever was going on there, it felt personal." I asked Nancy as we both stumbled back towards the dorms, arm in arm.

Enzo hadn't been seen for hours. Not since he told me not to come crying to him and stormed off. After hearing the story, Nancy had winced and suggested it might be better to just leave him to cool off for a while and we began the trip back up to the school.

I had asked how we were able to leave the school to go to the bar when I had been under the impression we were trapped here. Nancy shrugged and said the school decided when we could leave and if we didn't come back of our own accord, it would bring us back the same way we had arrived.

As much as I really wanted to test that theory, I was exactly one drink away from being horizontal after accepting a shot from one of Nancy's friends which was significantly stronger than I expected.

It was stupid, really. I had always promised I'd never be one of those girls taking drinks from strangers, especially if I didn't know what was in them. But then he was handing out the round to me and five others and for a moment, just a moment, I didn't feel like the weird out-of-place human. I felt like I belonged and joined in as the others raised their drinks and downed them with a cheer.

Less than five minutes later, I was giggling my head off and Nancy had taken one look at me before hauling me outside with a hasty goodbye to her friends. The fresh air, as expected, did absolutely nothing for my inebriated state. It was at this point Nancy told me I should have stuck to the alcohol made for my species as witch ones were brewed with magic and particularly potent to other species.

I wished she had mentioned that prior to me cheerily gulping it, but there was no going back now and I had had a particularly challenging day so I thought I'd earned a little mistake here and there.

With a sigh, she had called the night over and insisted we head back. I wanted to protest, but it was then I noticed she was a little drunker than I first thought as well and decided it was probably for the best. Definitely to protect her. Nothing to do with the fact I was completely incapable of staying upright without support.

Realising Nancy still hadn't replied I glanced sideways at her, almost overbalancing and pulling her into a hedgerow in the process. Despite her tipsy state and loose lips when discussing every other person here, I felt her stiffen up and her forehead creased into a frown.

"That's not my story to tell, babe." She said softly after a long enough pause that I had thought she wasn't going to reply.

I sighed, trying to focus on putting my feet one in front of the other but still somehow zigzagging all over the path.

"Well, neither seemed keen on sharing the details, so how am I supposed to know? What about just telling me about Blake? Enzo said he was dangerous?"

I just needed something, anything that would make it all make sense.

We had reached the school now and Nancy propped me against the wall of the building as she unlocked to let us in. The school seemed so much more eerie in the dark. All looming castle like structures and very little light to see by. She glanced around before speaking, as if checking for any other students. We were the only ones I had seen leaving so I very much doubted anyone was about.

"He's dangerous Erica, dangerous in every way someone in our world can be." she warned.

I stumbled through the door, "Now I'm not sure about your world, but in mine that's not a good enough answer. Details Nancy. What's he doing? Murdering babies? Sticking cats up in trees? Littering in the streets?"

Nancy's eyebrows shot up, "I'm a little concerned by where your mind went with potential crimes but we will circle back to that later." She lowered her voice, "It's a lot of things, but mostly his family."

I breathed out in relief, "Well, we can't choose who we're related to and what they do."

If we could, I wouldn't have picked someone who didn't abandon me after making me run and hide all my life.

"No, we can't, but when they're as dangerous as his family are," she paused, searching for the right words, "When they're accused of the things that his are? It's just better to stay clear, babe. You can't trust a King as far as you can throw them."

"How bad can they be?" I rolled my eyes and lost my balance.

Nancy righted me seconds before my face slammed into the wall and I giggled at the close call. Despite her small stature, she was surprisingly strong as she tugged my arm over her shoulder and forced me to continue up a spiralling stone staircase.

"You're probably not even going to remember this in the morning." She huffed.

"Yeah, probably." I replied, head dropping onto her shoulder and allowing her to lead my intoxicated body through the dorm halls.

We stopped outside my room and she helped me unlock the door after I dropped the key for the second time and ended up in a giggling heap on the floor.

Before I could head inside, she caught my arm. "Just be careful, Erica. I know you don't understand, but he is dangerous. His mother is high on the council and his father is a scientist whose subjects disappear or die under mysterious circumstances. Not to mention he has a younger sister that no one ever sees. He's been at this school a year and he knows the ropes and the world better than you. I don't know why he's interested in you, but it can't be anything good."

I blinked at her, once again reminded how little I knew of this world and this tiny little witch was probably the difference between me making it through my time here and not. Ok, so maybe the shot wasn't my only mistake this evening.

I briefly wondered if I should tell her he said he knew me, or that I felt for sure I knew him too. But my drunken mind didn't linger on the thought long enough to decide before drifting to remember Enzo's concerned but furious face.

"I fucked up with Enzo didn't I?" I said as I leaned on the doorframe to stop myself toppling over.

"Yeah," she gave a wry smile, "But he's a good guy and surprisingly forgiving considering who he is."

Her hand clapped over her mouth as though realising she had let something she shouldn't slip. I cocked my head, trying to ignore the fact the floor definitely felt like it was moving, "Who he is?"

She shook her head again. "Not my story either. He will tell you if he wants you to know."

I groaned, "There are a fuck ton of secrets in this stupid place. How am I going to survive if I don't know half of the stuff everyone else does?"

"We're supernaturals, secrets are kind of our thing." she shot me a wink, "You'll be ok because you've got me and you've got Enzo too. It might not seem like it, but he likes you."

"Likes me? He compared me to soon-to-be roadkill." I giggled, remembering the interaction as I spoke.

"I mean, at least he said a bunny. Bunnies are cute. Everyone loves bunnies." She snorted with laughter and I completely lost it, cracking up.

"You," I said, wiping away tears, "have the best laugh I've ever heard."

"You," Nancy smiled, guiding me into my room and onto my bed, apparently realising my balance was not going to get me there myself, "are very very drunk right now and need to sleep it off. First day of school tomorrow, remember?"

"Who lets a bunch of teens and twenty-somethings go out the night before school starts and expects them to be coherent tomorrow?" I asked the ceiling as I flopped back onto the pillow.

Nancy just laughed again as she pulled off my heels and tucked the duvet up over me. I watched her stand and look around for something before spotting something on the desk that hadn't been there when we left. Digging through the little caddy of products, she selected a bottle of something and some cotton wool. It was a little disconcerting to think about someone I didn't know in my space, even if they had been there to deliver things I needed. It was even weirder that I was already thinking of this room as my home, despite being in a very different one the previous night.

My mind drifted back to Angie, and a twinge of guilt shot through me again. She would be ok? She had to be. Maybe the school would let me go and check on her? I just wish I knew exactly where here was.

Nancy began wiping my face with the cotton wool and cleaning away her makeup based handiwork. I sniffed back the unexpected tears that filled my eyes at the caring gesture. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to look after me.

As she moved to leave, I grabbed her wrist. "Nancy," I said, sounding more sober than I had all night, "Thank you."

She shot me a look and her eyes weren't filled with the pity I was accustomed to seeing, but more an understanding. As though she saw that I wasn't quite whole and she knew what that meant. I wanted to question her about it but she was already moving away. "Get some sleep Erica."

Somehow her gentle, barely there acknowledgement of my thanks had one of the tears falling, tracking a path down my cheek.

I hoped it was dark enough that she didn't see.

If she did, she didn't say anything as she slipped out into the corridor and I barely heard her whispered "Goodnight Erica." before the door closed and I was left alone with my thoughts.

Those and a bed that I was sure thought it was a boat because it really felt like it was rocking. The moving motion was simultaneously making me sleepy and feel concerningly close to losing the few drinks I had had tonight all over the very nice clean covers.

It wasn't fully dark, and I was grateful for that. Even if there weren't the lights from passing cars, moonlight slipped under the edge of the curtains and providing a comforting glow. I had never been afraid of the dark, but memories of being trapped with a hood over my head when I had been taken were never far from my mind, and my fingers rose of their own accord to the scars in my hairline.

They were closed and healed and I was...maybe not healed fully, but I wasn't quite as broken as they had left me. I was here; I was strong, and I was as safe as I ever could be.

My eyes flickered to the door. It wasn't locked, and I now realised I wouldn't be able to sleep until it was. With a groan, I pulled myself into a sitting position. There might be people at this school that could get through the door with or without a lock, but I wasn't about to make it easy for them.

I stumbled to my feet, gripping the end of the bed for support as I tried valiantly to remain upright. The wooden floor was freezing, and it encouraged me to move quickly. I hurried towards the door, my full weight landing on it with a thud as I fumbled for the centre of the doorknob. It twisted into the lock position with a soft click and I felt my breath rush out of me in relief.

Whether it would stop anyone didn't really matter in the great scheme of things. I felt safer and maybe I'd feel safe enough to sleep in this weird place.

I made my way back to the bed and slipped under the covers, that were thicker than anything I had ever known. For a few minutes I lay there and waited for sleep to take me, before I realised it was the quiet I couldn't quite get used to. A silence that made me feel much further from home than any spell or school could.

I never thought I'd be homesick for that dingy little room, but I was. I missed the traffic, the sounds of life, and people outside that told me I wasn't alone, no matter how much it felt like it. A part of me even missed those old rattling pipes.

That alcohol must have been stronger than I thought, because I never got stupidly emotional like this. I brushed away the second tear to fall angrily and rolled over to face the wall.

Somewhere outside, an animal howled, and I felt a shudder run through me. No, this place was not the home I knew, but I needed to adjust to it, and fast.

My eyelids were heavy now, and I didn't resist as they fell closed and sleep pulled me under.