“I’ll be waiting outside your dorm,” Cayden promised.
Ezra pulled Quinn into the gym, and the door shut with a thump.
Cayden and I exchanged a look, both clearly debating whether to wait and walk her back.
“Ezra will make sure she gets there safely,” I finally said.
Cayden scowled and shoved his hands in his pockets. I fingered my TB. The night was still young. I didn’t need to slink off to my dorm.Joe was on a date with Brit, but I had a few other friends I could message to get a drink. And I needed a drink after today.
For some reason, instead of pulling out my TB, I opened my mouth. “Want to get a pint at The Rooster?”
Cayden’s scowl deepened, but for some reason, he also opened his mouth. “No. But I don’t want to be alone either.”
I brought my arm around Cayden’s neck and rubbed my fists into his cheek. “That’s the spirit!”
Cayden attempted to break my headlock, which turned into the world’s shortest wrestling match. We broke apart, with the rune mage literally inspecting his tunic for damage. I laughed. “Come on. You remind me of my little brother, and I could use some bro time.”
I woke the next morning and hit the gym hard. Quinn’s crystal magic still lit the space. For better or worse, imagining her using the equipment made my blood rush, and I was able to hit personal bests I hadn’t meant to try for.
She probably had no idea what she did to me. Thank the gods she couldn’t feel me the way I felt her.
“Your quads are going to get as big as mine soon.” Joe slapped me on the back.
I grinned. “As long as it’s not your gut.”
Joe chuckled, along with a few morning regulars. As I hit the showers and put on my leathers for guard duty, Quinn’s tether bloomed to life in my chest. It wasn’t the sheer hatred of her alarm, followed by the heavy dread of her train duty I was used to. Instead, her groggy morning haze bloomed into excitement for the day.
I felt myself grinning in response.
With the Architect, she was calm. Not like last night with Ezra, thank fuck. Quinn’s body had bounced from straining muscles to spikes of lust that made my dick twitch. Whatever she felt for my commander burned. I tried not to think about it, or I’d end up asking questions I didn’t want answers to.
This morning, her training with Xan was smooth. Her emotions spiked with excitement and joy as, I assumed, she successfully made her magic work. A few times, she used enough of it that my tether prickled with power. I wasn’t sure if that was normal, and I didn’t know who to ask, so I left it.
I couldn’t wait for our combat training, and despite knowing better, I “ran” into her coming out of the Alun. She wasn’t as surprised as I’d hoped.
“Do you have a tracking spell on my TB?” She twirled a piece of her crystal hair around her pointer finger.
Something quick and bright flicked through the tether as she said it, there and gone before I could get a grip on it.
I grinned, unable to comment on the emotion. “Yup. It’s called being one of Ezra’s five and peeking at your schedule.” Which was a lie, but also something I probably could have easily done.
Quinn quirked her lips and sighed. “Game on, Rowan.”
My grin faltered. I didn’t know what game she was referring to, but if she was involved, I was in. “I’ll play anything with you.”
Quinn snorted.
We grabbed a bite from Wicked Wich before eating it in the coliseum. A few enforcers practiced their sword work, and I pointed out their moves and the weaknesses in their stances. Quinn nodded like every word I said was priceless, but her tether told me she’d rather chew rocks.
“You’re not really interested in this, are you?” I finally asked.
Quinn hooked her hands around my bicep, pulling herself close. “Why would you think that?”
I froze. “Um.”
Quinn pointed to the same guy I’d been talking about and excitedly asked. “What did he do wrong now?”
I looked at the guy taking a water break, and she nodded encouragingly, which did not match the faint thrum under my ribs.
