She watched him go, slicing his way through the crowd. More than a few people stopped to watch him, but he didn’t seem to notice. What a waste, she thought. To be born a natural leader, only to feel that you were inherently poisonous, someone to be hidden away at all costs. In spite of herself, she felt a shot of anger toward his father.

Careful, Jaya, her internal critic piped up. You’re acting like you actually care about the boy.

I don’t care about him, she thought scornfully back at the internal critic. I’m just… feeling the normal amount of concern that any human being would feel.

Oh, good, the internal critic said snidely. What a disaster any real feelings would be. Could you imagine?

No, Jaya thought somberly. I couldn’t.

It was fine. She was here running an errand with Grey, and after this, they didn’t need to have any more interactions besides civil, acquaintance-level ones. She’d continue to keep her distance from him in class, she wouldn’t walk with him anymore, and she’d make sure Caterina had absolutely nothing to feed Kiran or anyone else back home. She’d do the right thing because she was a Rao princess, and that’s what she always did.

Jaya walked to the register a few minutes later, armed with three new books, all the first in series she hadn’t read yet. Looking over her shoulder as she paid, Jaya saw Grey loitering by the front door with a bag. He was studying a small stuffed pug on a rotating rack by the door, and she bit back a smile at the sight of the tiny, soft animal in his giant bear paw.

She went up to him and tapped him on the back. He turned and a small smile caressed his lips. Jaya felt a tiny spark of surprised joy; it was one of the few times she’d seen Grey Emerson smile at anyone, let alone her.

“Hey.”

“What’d you end up buying?”

They pushed through the glass door and back out into the cold, both of them putting on their coats. Grey pulled a paperback book out of his plastic bag and showed it to her.

“Napoleon: An Exhaustive History,” she read. “Er, great! I’m glad that looks, ah, interesting to you.”

Grey snorted. “Right.” He put the book back. “I also got this.” Grey pulled out another book, a hardcover this time.

“Twenty Places to See During Your Gap Year,” Jaya read.

“It’s for you,” he said gruffly, thrusting it at her. “Just in case you decide, you know, to do it.”

Jaya took the book, feeling ridiculously touched. “You… you bought this for me?”

“Because of what you told me on the school shopping trip,” he said, frowning down at her. “How you think about—”

“I remember,” Jaya said softly. “Thank you, Grey. This is very thoughtful.”