He had a self-satisfied grin that ought to irk her. “I will get the new student settled, and then… I’d like to see this dance you suggested.”
He was already to the bedroom door by the time her brain and mouth were on the same page. “Wait!”
He paused.
“I was askingyouto dance for me, man-witch.” She gave him the most lascivious look she could. “But I’m willing to negotiate to get you there, if you want.”
His laughter was more lighthearted than she’d thought it capable of when he’d arrived in her room spouting what she’d thought had been nonsense. Neither laughter nor orgasms were enough to lure her into a relationship, but he wasn’t mentioning such things either.
What was the harm in a little bit of no-strings stress relief while shetook these magic classes? Once her son was here, too, that would have to change, but for now, she was content to wait in Sondre’s bed.
She’d treat this like the most unusual spa weekend she’d ever had—and then she’d raise her son in a world far removed from her louse of an ex. Things felt like they were going to be fine. Better than fine. She nestled back in the bed and let her mind wander to the possibilities in this new future. Things like college and the rest were no longer going to be Craig’s top goals. She’d need to make sure there was some sort of sport here, though. Her son had no pressing career goals, but a lack of sports might be enough to make him choose a mundane world over a magical one.
17Sondre
As Sondre headed toward the door, the sudden thudding caught him off guard, especially as it was nearing morning. Very few students would have the audacity to hammer on his door, and the one most likely to do so was dozing in his bed. If things were different, Sondre thought he might like to keep her there, but Maggie had good reason to return to her world.
Sondre jerked the door open. “What?”
“There is a huge fucking serpent thing in the woods,” Dan announced. He was breathing heavily as if he’d been running. “I thought you said there were no dragons and that failing meant going home, not being fed to a snake and—”
“Stop. Lower your voice, and then tell me what you’re blathering about.” Sondre didn’t invite him inside. It was one thing to take Margaret to his bed, but it was something a lot less acceptable for there to be witnesses to the fact he had left a student naked in his bedroom.
The man at Monahan’s side, another of the new students, nodded. “Snake with purple goo on the fangs.”
“Excuse me?” Sondre stepped into the hallway, pulling the doorclosed behind him. It would be awkward if Maggie overheard this conversation.
Worse if she went into the woods.The rift there was fatal if a witch’s magic wasn’t strong enough. Maggie would be in danger. She likely could choose to go home, and though he wasn’t ready to surrender her, he was planning to recommend that she be siphoned and returned to her world. She’d be furious anyhow once she realized he’d misled her about her son.
Sondre stayed in front of his door, watching the unlikely pair of men. Based on the observations he’d made of the new arrivals, Daniel Monahan was an overeager puppy, desperate for approval and attention. Thin, anxious, but with an accepting attitude that was useful. Axell Olsen was a different kind of person altogether: smiling as if everything was a great adventure, easily placated, and not eager for anyone’s approval. Athletic build, unusual haircut.
“Why were you in the woods?” Sondre asked.
“We saw something and—”
“A woman carrying a body,” Axell interrupted. “We saw her. A murderer.”
“Is there a snake cult here?” Daniel asked in a low voice.
Sondre held up a hand. “You saw a woman carrying a body and a big snake with purple ‘goo’ on its teeth? So you followed it?” He looked into their pupils. “Did you have bad mead? Eat any odd mushrooms?”
Axell grinned. “We are not intoxicated.” Then he glanced at Daniel. “He is a bit, but I am not. I drank professionally.”
“Headmaster, there was a dead body on the ground in the bushes and a woman carrying an unconscious or dead woman toward town—”
“What did she look like?” Sondre asked.
“Top hat and black trouser skirt thing,” Daniel started.
“Excellent vest,” Axell added.
Only one witch dressed that way, buttoned up and prim as if still living in the 1800s and clad in her mourning garb.Prospero.
“You will tell no one of this,” Sondre stated, making eye contact withthem each in turn. “Unless you are looking for a quick return to the lives—and deaths—you escaped.”
Daniel blanched; Axell quirked a brow. That one might be a problem. Sondre looked at Daniel again. “If he speaks of this, my kindness to both of youwillvanish.”
Then he swept past them in search of Prospero and the remains of the witch she might have killed.
