“Oh shit! I’m so sorry. That was clumsy of me!” I walked my hands up his back so that I was standing on my own.
He turned. “It’s alright. Are you okay?”
My eyes widened. Our faces were only inches apart. I could feel his breath on my face, smell the minty freshness of it.
“Um, yeah. I’m fine,” I whispered. “But I swear that root popped out of nowhere. I mean, the trees are like twenty feet away! The groundskeeper should probably check on the root system. I—” My mouth snapped shut as I realized that I sounded like a blubbering fool. Thankfully, Alex didn’t seem to notice.
He chuckled and his blue eyes, two shades brighter than my own, crinkled at the corners. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you be anything besides athletic and graceful.”
A wave of heat surged across my cheeks. “When I have to be on my game, I am. But right now, I’m more relaxed.” My heart began to thunder and I became intensely aware of the way the moonlight reflected off Alex’s high cheekbones.
A second passed. Then two. Neither of us moved away from the other—it was like a magnet was keeping us there. Like this was meant to happen.
Maybe it is.
I leaned in.
He didn’t meet me halfway, he didn’t even move, but our lips crashed together all the same, sending a stream of fire rushing through my veins. My hands wrapped around his neck, and my fingers gripped his hair as I pulled him closer.
A low sound came from Alex’s throat, and I felt his hands land on my waist. Butterflies filled my stomach at his touch and our kiss deepened.
We stayed that way for God knew how long, our lips devouring each other’s, our arms wrapped around each other, until suddenly a whistle from the initiate tower hit my ear and we broke apart.
I glanced up. We were in plain view of the initiate tower and someone was definitely watching out the window.
Oh my God. How embarrassing.
Magic lit up in my hand, illuminating the ground. With the other, I pulled Alex into the trees. We tramped through the woods for at least five minutes, my heart pounding at how forward I’d just been—which was pretty freaking forward.
I wracked my brain, trying to come up with something witty and funny and interesting. Nothing I thought up sounded like any of those things.
Typical. I can pass the Spellcasters entry exams, but try to charm a dude and I come up empty.
My eyes ran over the forest frantically, searching for something halfway intriguing to comment on. The fence that ran parallel to the road was in sight, telling me that I’d walked further than I’d thought. My eyes grazed over it as I moved even closer.
Should I just break the silence with some banal fact about the security of Spellcasters?
It sounded lame, but I was getting anxious and had just decided to do that very thing, when I saw something odd. I jerked to a stop and my spine straightened.
“Diana? Are you okay?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, it’s just . . . look at that.” I lifted a finger and pointed to the fence. If my magic hadn’t been lighting the way, I probably wouldn’t even have seen the hole in the ground.
Alex took a couple steps to stand beside me. “You mean—that hole in the dirt on the other side of the fence?”
I nodded. “The fence around the academy is warded against all types of magicals. Mostly, if they touch it they’ll die. So the hole makes me wonder if someone tried to dig under.”
Alex squinted and then walked closer to the hole. When he was next to it, he knelt. After a moment of careful observation he spoke.
“Honestly, it looks just like a hole a dog would dig. Maybe someone from Wandstown has a dog that got loose? The village isn’t that far away, right?”
I cocked my head. I hadn’t thought about that, but it was a definite possibility. One that seemed far more likely than a hostile magical infiltrating the school when it wasn’t even in session. “Maybe . . . and obviously whatever it was ran into the ward.”
“Looks that way. There’s no opening on this side of the fence,” Alex agreed as he directed his crimson magic to light up our side of the fence.
He was right. The hole was deep and obvious, but it was still only on the other side of the fence. A weight that I hadn’t realized had been present lifted off my chest. “You’re probably right. Lots of people around here have dogs. Claudia, she runs the bistro in town, always lets hers loose and her yard isn’t fenced. I bet one made its way to the academy.” I glanced at the hole, feeling certain that was what had happened. “For a second there I thought I’d have to run to get Mother. I mean, I’ll still mention it so someone can fill the hole, but it doesn’t seem so urgent now. Growing up here can make you think everything is a conspiracy. Thanks for being the voice of reason.”
“No problem.” Alex stood, turned, and suddenly we were once again inches from each other, and my heart rate kicked up for what felt like the billionth time.
