Professor Thaddeus Morgrave’s nameplate gleams on the next office door, and I can hear the scratch of a pen on paper from inside.
I hesitate, then knock on the doorframe. “Professor Thaddeus?”
Thad looks up from a stack of paper, his expression shifting to something that might be mild interest.
“Jade. Come in.”
“Actually, I was looking for Logan. For proctor hours?” The words come out more uncertain than I intended. “Did I get his schedule wrong? His door’s closed.”
“He’s in there.” Thad sets down his pen and leans back in his chair. “Another student arrived before you. You’re welcome to wait in one of the chairs in the hall until he’s ready to see you.”
“Thanks.” I turn to leave, but his voice stops me.
“I noticed you in the library this weekend.”
My shoulders tense. Was everyone watching me research this weekend?
“Just doing some reading.” I brush it off, not wanting him to ask me any more questions.
“Curiosity is a valuable trait.” He reaches for his pen again, turning it in his fingers. “Those who dig deeper, who question what others accept... they tend to excel.”
The words hang in the air like an invitation. Or maybe a test. It’s probably about his advanced studies course, right?
I want to ask more. To understand what exactly they study. But something in his manner suggests I’ve been dismissed.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say instead, backing toward the door.
“I’m sure you will.”
His attention returns to his papers, and I escape back into the hallway, situating myself in the leather chair closest to Logan’s door.
Fifteen minutes pass, and the hallway’s silence presses in, broken only by the scratch of Thad’s pen and my own restless fidgeting. I open a book and start one of my reading assignments, but it’s impossible to focus knowing I could be interrupted at any moment. Not to mention that Logan is right behind that door, and soon, it’ll be just me and him, alone in his office.
Eventually, the door opens, and Callie emerges.
She looks terrible. Her usual golden glow has faded to something ashen, like expensive foundation trying to cover illness. Her eyes are glassy, and she’s gripping the doorframe with perfectly manicured nails, as if trying to stop herself from falling.
Then she sees me, and her spine straightens, her chin lifts, and that familiar sneer curves her lips.
“Well, well.” Her voice drips honeyed poison as she makes her way toward me. “The charity case is making house calls now?”
“Just waiting for proctor hours.” I stand, refusing to give her the high ground.
“Otherwise known as ‘chasing Logan?’” She smirks, continuing before I can answer. “It’s not going to get you anywhere, Jade. Because Logan and I have been having some very productive conversations lately. About working through the... complications that have been keeping us apart.”
Her fingers brush what looks like a promise ring on her left hand—delicate gold with a small fire opal that catches the hallway light.
“I knew him before the grief consumed him, before he built all those walls,” she continues. “I knew him when he still smiled. When he still let people in. And I’ll be here when he remembers how to do those things again. Because he and I understand each other in ways that...” She pauses, looking me up and down with obvious disdain. “Well, in ways you could never comprehend.”
The promise ring catches the light, and my stomach twists at the implications.
But no. I won’t let Callie Bennett intimidate me. I won’t let her win.
“Good to know.” I keep my voice steady, despite the electricity crackling under my skin. “But I really am just here for?—”
“Callie.” Logan’s voice cuts through the hallway from where he’s standing in his doorway, and he’s radiating vitality, power rolling off him in waves. “What are you doing?”
Callie doesn’t even flinch. “I was checking in with Jade about how she’s doing at Blaze so far, given her lack of magical knowledge beforehand and all,” she says, her fingers playing with that damn ring again.
