Page 42 of Hero of Havoc

I want to forgive but not forget.

I’m already trying that, and it’s not going to happen overnight, just like many other things on my list. Which brings my attention back to the halfway mark.

I want to whoop Teddy’s butt at fencing.

My device chimes on the desk, distracting me for a moment. Except it’s not a response from Ember, but a message from Hugo.

Hugo: Hey, Vee. I’ve got an hour spare and I was wondering if you’re free to hang out? My fencing gear could use some dusting off…

A squeal parts my lips as I leap in the air, excitement flooding my veins as I tap out a response so fast I can’t keep track of my thumbs.

Ivy: YES! Meet you at the fencing space on campus?

I thankfully don’t have to wait long for a response.

Hugo: I’ll be there in ten minutes.

I don’t bother to reply, leaving my device on my desk as I drop to my knees and tug my fencing bag out from underneath my bed. I gather my things in record time before hiking my bag over my shoulder and racing for the door.

There's a bounce to my step, and I love it, but as I swing my door open, I falter.

Does this count as needing an escort? My instincts tell me no, but my mother and Leonardo’s ability to get to me in my dorm room makes me think twice.

Choosing help isn’t the same as being chaperoned, Ivy.

Reiterating my thoughts, I close my door, only to knock on the one next to it. It only takes a moment for the wood to swing open before I’m graced with a shirtless Archer.

His dark hair looks freshly washed and a little disheveled with no product in it and it makes me smile.

“Ivy,” he breathes, and my gaze returns to his. “Is everything okay?” he asks, his gaze flitting between me and my bag.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry, I just…”

Knowing I need help and actually asking for it are two completely different things.

“Ivy?”

Gulping, I take a deep breath. “I’m going to meet Hugo at the fencing room, over⁠—”

“Let me grab a shirt and I’ll go with you,” he states, cutting off my rambling with an answer when I hadn’t even managed to get to the question.

I press my lips into a thin line, trying to hide my smile as he leaves his door open, grabs a t-shirt off his bed, and slips into a pair of sneakers before he strides toward me again

His gaze travels from me to my bag and back again as he joins me in the hallway.

“Can I take that from you?” he asks, nodding at my bag, and I nod.

He shrugs it over his shoulder with ease as he guides me toward the stairs.

“Fencing, huh? Hugo said you were good, and Teddy confirmed it; I just hadn’t considered it being a reality until now,” he states, and I clear my throat.

“Yes. It was a way to spend time with Hugo at first. My parents despised the idea of me doing it, and that only made me want to do it more.”

Understanding flashes in his eyes. Like he knows what it’s like to want to prove someone wrong.

Especially a parent.

I sigh as we make it outside, basking in the heat, staying by his side as we cut across campus.