Nina closes her notebook, stands with eerie smoothness, and does as instructed, leaving me and Logan alone again.
I watch him carefully, waiting, hoping he’ll address everything now instead of later.
“We need to go.” He pushes off from the wall, but he sways, catching himself against the stone.
“Oh god, are you—” I move toward him, close enough to see the controlled way he breathes, like he’s managing pain through sheer will. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m fine,” he says, but when I reach for his arm to steady him, he doesn’t pull away.
“You don’t look fine.” My fingers tighten on his arm. “Using compulsion on everyone is hurting you. Not to mention how hard you fought down there. We need to go back to the dorms. You need to rest.”
“Compelling other witches is taxing.” His eyes meet mine, and despite everything, heat flickers between us. “But I’ll recover. I always do.”
The intensity in his gaze makes me hyperaware of how close we are, of the way his body radiates heat despite the cold water dripping from our clothes.
“Logan...” I trail off, not knowing what I’m asking. For answers? For reassurance? For him to tell me I didn’t just kill murderous mythological creatures in an ancient flooding tower?
“I’ll explain everything later. I promise.” His hand covers mine where it rests on his arm, his eyes searching mine. “Will you trust me?”
“Yes,” I say automatically, since how can Inottrust him after how many times he’s saved my life?
“Good.” He straightens, his features not quite as pale as they were a few minutes ago. “Now, we need to dry off.”
He raises his hand, and the flame that appears is steadier, yellow burning around the edges. A warm breeze swirls around us, and my clothes steam slightly as the water evaporates, leaving them dry.
“Impressive,” I say, not finding even a hint of dampness on them.
He looks me over and smirks. “Far from the most impressive thing I’ve done tonight.”
My cheeks heat at the memory of his lips on mine, his hands on my body…
“No,” I agree. “Definitely not the most impressive thing you’ve done tonight.”
His eyes darken, and I swear he’s about to kiss me again. Hopefully more. But then he steps back, the warm air dissipating, breaking the spell between us. “You go up first,” he says. “I’ll follow in a few minutes.”
I blink a few times to reorient myself, taking in the circles under his eyes and the sheen of sweat on his brow. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Go.” He wipes away the sweat, life already returning to his eyes.
“Okay,” I say, because this isLogan Ashford.If anyone can take care of themselves, it’s him. “And Logan—thank you. For everything.”
“Always.” The certainty in his tone makes it clear he means it.
So, I turn and climb the stairs, getting closer to the party above that seems surreal in its normalcy.
Music pounds, bodies move, and everyone’s oblivious to what happened below. As I scan the area, I find Miles standing at a table off to the side, bent over that damn notebook again, pen moving across the page with focused intensity.
“Jade!” Evie’s voice cuts through the noise. “There you are!”
She appears at my elbow with Oliver and Avery, all three looking various degrees of concerned and tipsy.
Oliver’s arm slides around my shoulders, easy and warm. “Where have you been?” he asks. “We were starting to think you’d fallen in.”
“I was with Nina.” The lie rolls off my tongue, tasting strange. “We were talking on the third floor after I used the bathroom. I lost track of time.”
Evie shares a confused look with Oliver, whose face goes serious in response. “Nina?” she asks. “Really?”
“Yeah, she’s actually really interesting.” I talk faster now, needing to keep going so they can’t push back. “We were comparing notes about combat training. She’s got some great insights. Lots of things that will help me moving forward.”
