#Chapter 264 – Midnight Surprise

“Ariel!” The word bursts from Jackson even as he grins, I think swept away by my laughter even as he’s confused by the direction of my thoughts. “Seriously, what are you talking about? What on earth makes you want to do that?” “I was jealous!” I say, throwing my hands out, my laughter subsiding. “When you were teaching Luca – it was so interesting! And I – I don’t know any of it! And it’s very clear that you all have this like, cool, super useful knowledge of battle strategy that I don’t have - and I want to know it, and I feel left out!” “Ariel,” Jackson says with a sigh, taking a second to run his fingers through my messy hair – which he had a great deal of involvement in messing, I mentally note - sorting it out and tucking it back behind my ears. “You don’t need to know that stuff –“ “I do too!” “And when would you even study it?” he asks, frowning at me. “I mean, I’m happy to teach you how to read the maps and about the old battles – I would love to do that. I just…you’re