“Don’t underestimate the academic types.” He notes. “The smart ones know how to turn theory into survival, and Ezrelia’s one of my best students.”
Ezzy flushes, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, looking like she wants to disappear and grin at the same time. Then Quinn turns to me, he’s short, round in the middle, cheeks rosy and a warm smile tucked beneath an untrimmed beard. Dressed in the same deep-blue robes that seem to be the standard teaching attire around here, but they are more rumpled, like he doesn’t care enough to smooth them out.
“Ah, Cadet Bloom, you must be our Outerlander.” He continues. “I had heard you’d be joining us this semester. Unconventional, yes, but I’m told you’ve got promise.”
I bite back the urge to spit something barbed as his gaze sweeps down, weighing every piece of me. But the less I say the better, just keep my head down, no issues, no fuss.
Behind me a door creaks open, but Quinn continues unfazed. “We’ll see if that holds true, starting in the second year, you’ve got a lot to catch up on. But luckily for you, and the rest of the cadets, we’re fortunate this term to have additional support. A few of our most skilled graduates are assisting with Demonstrations. In fact,” his gaze flicks toward the door, “one of our very best will be joining us today.” Movement at the edge of my vision, Quinn’s mouth twitches. “Ah. And here he is now.”
Talen steps through the doorway, and his eyes—dark, piercing, too damn focused—find mine like a dragon locking on to prey.
Every muscle locks, hard and fast, and for one awful second, my body misreads the spike in my pulse as something else. Somethingdarker.
“Never cared much for teaching…”Talen mutters as he starts pacing toward me.
The words shouldn’t carry, not across this much space, but somehow they land like a whisper pressed against my ear, intimate and unwelcome, sending a shiver through me before I can stop it.
“...But walking in and finding you standing here, Bloom?”
Another step. His eyes rake over me as the left corner of his mouth curls, not in amusement, but in something darker.
“...Now I’m just picturing all the fun things I could do with a willing student.”
Fuck.
How the hell am I getting out of this one?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tightness clamps around my throat before I can stop it, locking in place as Talen closes the last of the distance, stopping in front of me. Close enough that I catch the warmth of his breath, the scent of smoke and something bittersweet beneath it.
A quicker beat thuds through me. Threads stir, heat rising under my skin like a warning. But neither Quinn nor Ezzy react to what he said. Why? Because they didn’t hear him.It was just for me.
I’ll give it to Ezzy, this sound-warping trick of his is actually really fucking creepy.
“Ah, Officer Veirmont.” Quinn breaks the tension between us. His voice is bright but stretched thin at the edges. “How generous of you to join us, giving up your valuable time. I must say, we’re all very excited to have our top senior officer assist with Demonstrations today.” He smiles tightly while his fingers nervously twitch, smoothing out his messy robe.
I'm glad it’s not just me, the Nightrose seems to rattle everyone around here.But Talen doesn’t look at him, his gazeis all mine, and his voice, when it comes, is like silk soaked in poison.
“Oh, I’mthrilledto be here, Professor. There’s nothing I enjoy more than hands-on work with promising students.”
Merrin’s warning flashes through:no killing outside sanctioned hours.But this is class, this is a Demonstration. Shit, and no one’s allowed to interfere.
My fingers dig into my thigh as I try to steady the pressure building just beneath my skin—magic rising faster now—because Talen’s not just here to teach, he’s here to end me. This isn’t just a Demonstration, it’s a hunting ground, one the Codex won’t protect me from.Shit.I have no protection. I’m exposed. I’m screwed.
The air thins. The walls press in.
Okay. Think. I need a plan.
Beside me, Ezzy’s gone completely stiff, eyes wide, breath caught like she’s about to bolt. I grab her arm, holding her steady, holding me steady. The last thing I need right now is him noticing how scared she is. How on edge webothare.
“We’re honoured, really.” I say as I meet his gaze, trying to keep my expression flat, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing what’s under my skin. “Who better than aVeirmontto teach us how to work the system? Maybe you can also show us how to squeeze gold out of sickness since your family’s so good at making a fortune taxing Spice.”
Talen doesn’t bite. Just lifts a brow, the left corner of his mouth curling, crooked.
“Funny, you’d think with a name like Bloom, you’d be soft, sweet...” The gold in his hazel eyes glints with quiet amusement. “But you’ve gotthorns, don’t you?” A pause. “I like that.”
His grin widens as he sinks a hand into his pocket like he’s got all the time in the world.
