Talen shifts, stepping to my side, then his hand slides down the length of my arm until he finds my fingers. For a second, he lingers there, our hands barely touching, tension sparking where skin meets skin. Then he moves, grip tightens around mine, not tender. A hold that feels less like affection and more like a silent order.
“Officer Veirmont.” Professor Strannt,Weasel Senior, says. His tone clipped and assessing, “If you’re quite finished with that very public display of affection, we’ll be removing Cadet Bloom now.”
He shifts his weight on his cane and turns to me. Jaw tight, the same eyes and the same oily, leering grin his son wore when I stepped into that interrogation cell.
Remove me? Shit, shit, shit, I’m being Reassigned. Oh god, they all saw. They know I interfered...Panic flares, tightening everything inside me, twisting something deep in my core. No. I can’t let Weasel Senior touch me. I can’t let them take me. I was close—so close. Just a few more weeks, to get the journals, get answers, get home. To Bren...
My pulse stutters hard against Talen’s hold, and my free hand curls into a fist, body tense and ready to strike.But before I can speak or swing, Talen’s hand clamps down harder around mine, not painful, but a clear warning I can’t ignore.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Merrin cuts in, his red robes a bold slash of power against Weasel Senior’s blues. “It appears that Officer Veirmont and Cadet Bloom here are in an open and committed relationship…”
Wait—what?
My head jerks toward Talen, he doesn’t even glance my way, just keeps our hands locked firmly together. But the cold mask has softened, replaced by a smug, satisfied smile that makes my skin prick.
I shift, meaning to yank my hand free, to tell Merrin exactly how wrong he is. But without so much as a glance, Talen’s grip tightens, not just on my hand, but on my voice. Without the slightest effort, he takes it; words dissolving on my tongue, stripped away as easily as if they’d always belonged to him.
“You know the rules,High Chancellor.” Weasel Senior turns his head towards Merrin.“Anyinterference results in immediate Reassignment.”
“True,” Merrin allows, “but you also know the rules,Professor, that when officers or cadets are in a formal, open, committed relationship, the Union Clause is enacted. They cannot be separated. And given that they’re both training within the Air Realm cohort, I see no reason it wouldn’t apply.” His gaze hardens, head tilting slightly as he slices through Weasel Senior with a look that for a moment, chillingly reminds me of Talen.
What the hell is he saying? What game is this?
I want to demand answers, to make it clear I didn’t agree to any of this, but Talen’s grip is aniron shackle, keeping my hand and my voice pinned exactly where he wants them.
“It’s also a rule,” Merrin adds, “I know you wouldn’t dare break, considering you personally pushed for the amendments last year for, what was it now, stricter reinforcement?” Weasel Senior’s mouth thins, his eyes narrowing to slits. “So unless you’re suggesting we Reassign our most prized and skilled officer along with her, we have no alternative, however muchImay wish otherwise, but to let her remain.”
A flicker of ego snaps through Professor Strannt’s weaselly gaze. He wants to bite back, you can see it in the way his jaw locks, in the way resentment grits down into his spine, stiffening every line of him. Still, Merrin's gaze holds, silence stretching between them taut as wire.
Oh shit... It hits all at once—Why the kiss, why the lie, why the warning to keep it quiet. This is it. Talen’s just stopped myReassignment—stopped them from throwing me to the dragons and death.
Why would he do that?
First the truce, then the dragon, now this?
The thoughts barely finish before the full weight of it crashes through me. Shit. If I call him out, if I tell them it’s not true, I’m finished. But if I don’t, if I stay silent…
I’m his.
My gaze drops to my hand, still locked in his.
Fuck, this wasnotthe plan. I wanted to be trapped, yes, but only once I got a new duck, once I had my magic under control and definitely only long enough to get answers. I didn't want to end up buried so deep I can’t claw my way out.
Still… Reassignment means certain death, and I’ve only got to survive a few more weeks here. Get the journals, get answers, and get out, alive. Home.
I’m so close. Close enough that maybe I can swallow this, play along, follow his lead and make it to the end... I can do this. I have to. This is his game, and the only way I win is by playing it right.
I know what I have to do.God, but I don’t want to...
Looking back up, the silence holds, jaws tick, eyes flicker. The air’s so tight it could splinter in a heartbeat.
“Fine,” Weasel Senior finally grits out through clenched teeth.“TheOuterlanderstays,” he turns to me.“For now. But I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you.” He drags his gaze over my body before cutting to Talen. “On both of you.”
Beside me, Talen’s head tilts, a shrug, almost apologetic.“If it amuses you,professor, who am I to object?” His smile hooks wider, crooked and knowing. “Although I had assumed a man of your ranking had better things to do than assess my more...intimate talents.Feedback’s been flawless so far.” Then he leansin, the words drip from his tongue as if he can taste every one. “I’m constantly told I more than exceed expectations.”
The faintest drag of Talen’s thumb over mine—so light I almost miss it, but it’s enough to send heat climbing my neck and into my cheeks.My knees almost give again, but he shifts fast and catches my weight before anyone notices.
“Good,” Merrin chirps, breaking the tension like it was never there. “If that’s settled, we’re late for the monthly faculty meeting.”He starts for the door, then pauses.“Officer Veirmont, your presence is also requested by the Sovereign Minister.” Then without waiting for a reply, he walks out.
