I took the opportunity to study her. This was probably the closest I would be able to get to my mate until either my work with Vallynn was complete or she graduated from the academy. Even knowing secrecy and distance were necessary, I couldn’t help the pang of longing that settled into my chest.
My eyes roamed over her, taking in the way her red hair framed her heart-shaped face. I’d learned through her file that she’d produced fire magic at orientation, and for some reason, the color of her hair made it feel obvious that my mate would control such a wild and reckless element. My fingers itched to tuck the fiery strands behind her ear, just so that I could have even the briefest moment of connection with her.
“This isn’t working,” she groaned, her long lashes fluttering open.
“What did you feel?” I asked, forcing my eyes away from her plump lips.
“I felt nothing.” She shrugged.
“Nothing at all?” I arched a brow at her. “That’s notnecessarily unusual. It may take a few attempts for the visualization to help.”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t just nothing, it was… like a void. Just a massive, empty void. Look, can we pick this up another time? I’m honestly just exhausted, and if this is going to take some time to actually help, it would probably be better trying it when I’m not ready to collapse into my bed and sleep for a month.”
My lips pressed into a firm line, and I nodded. As she slipped from my office, I mulled over what she’d said about feeling an empty void. I’d never heard any supernatural describe such a sensation, not even their first time with the technique. While I was relatively new at using it with Academy students, I’d spent enough time in the human realm with another dragon clan, helping their young unlock their dragons, to know it was abnormal. It didn’t make any sense. She’d manifested at orientation and then later with the shield. Shaking my head, I stood from my desk. There was something unusual about my little mate, and I needed to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter Twelve
Bechora
I trudged my way across campus to my dorm room and gathered my things for a quick shower to get the blood off of me. I wasn’t sure what to do about my ruined training uniform, but that was a problem for tomorrow. By the time I scrubbed the dried, flaky blood from my skin and dressed in my night clothes, I was so exhausted that I was seeing things. For a brief moment, I thought I saw fur spread across my face when I caught my reflection in the mirror. Blinking my tired eyes, I dragged my feet back to my room and collapsed into bed. There wasn’t anything unusual when I checked my reflection in my vanity mirror the next morning.
“This place definitely has me hallucinating,” I mumbled to myself as I smoothed my hair down.
I groaned as I stretched my stiff, sore muscles and slowly made my way to my door. Even though I’d slept, I felt like I’d done ten rounds with Mike Tyson. Everything ached.
“Oh, good! You’re up.” Shadrie beamed when I strolled into the living area of our dorm. She lifted a small brown package and waved it at me. “This came for you.”
“What is it?” I frowned, taking it from her hands.
Shadrie just shrugged and motioned for me to open it. Carefully, I peeled away the tape, sealing the package and retrieved a small vial of liquid from inside. There was a brown tag tied to the neck of the bottle that readDrink Me.My brows knit together as I studied it, tilting the bottle side to side as I watched the shimmering blue liquid slosh around.
“Damn, B, someone’s sending you the good stuff. I bet it wasZypher.”
“Uh, what the hell is it?” I asked.
“It’s a restoration potion. Those things are expensive as fuck, too.”
“What is a restoration potion?”
Shadrie blinked at me for a moment in silence. “It’s only the best recovery potion ever made. I’d kill for one right now. My entire body aches from combat training yesterday morning. You take that and you’ll feel brand new. No sore muscles, no brain fog, nothing,” she said with a dreamy sigh.
“I’m trusting you, Shadrie,” I said, eyeing her. “If this does something weird to me instead of making me feel better, I’m going to find a way to dye all your clothes pink.”
She let out an offended gasp and clutched her chest, her voice a hushed whisper. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I would. Especially if you’re pulling someAlice in Wonderlandshrinking potion trick on me.”
“Cold, Bechora. Very cold.” She playfully scowled before waving her hand toward the vial. “I promise it won’t do anything weird to you.”
I squinted at her before uncorking the vial and downing the contents. My eyes grew wide at the taste of cotton candy and the sudden warmth that traveled down my throat. The warmth seemed to spread to my limbs in a matter of seconds, and I couldn’t help the squeak of delight that left me as I realized I wasn’t feeling stiff or sore any longer.
“See?” Shadrie grinned, waggling her eyebrows at me.
“I’m going to have to make sure to thank Zypher. That potion is a fucking miracle,” I replied.
“Speaking of, he practically interrogated Miles about the human realm when he sat with me at dinner. Where were you, anyway?”
“I had my meeting with Professor Thrackborne,” I replied, letting my face show my irritation with the dragon professor. “He threatened me with detention if I didn’t follow him to his office for our meeting, as I was on my way to the dining hall. Itdidn’t occur to me at the time, but it’s ridiculous that detention is a thing. We’re adults, for fuck’s sake.”
