I groaned internally. And I couldn’t even light a single candle. Maybe I needed Melanie to attack me again and then I’d be able to do something.
I wished she would. It might get me out of this class.
All of this was making me want to pull my hair out. Everything Everson said were things I’d experienced from one of the Aurkai at some point or another. They made this stuff look easy.
But it wasn’t.
I bolted from the room the second class ended.
I was power walking to my dorm when I stopped abruptly at the sight of Blake stepping out of the Adept’s training hall. He was still wearing his gear, and his hair was wet, as if he’d rinsed it. He caught my eye, and his smile melted my frustration in an instant. I immediately looked down to his lips, remembering the feel of them against mine. Heat rushed into my cheeks, and I tore my gaze from his lips and stared firmly at my feet.
“Anna,” he said, his voice smooth like liquid metal.
“Hey,” I said, finally looking up. “What’re you doing here?”
Blake glanced at the training hall. “Roslyn asked me to cover Raicanya classes for the Adepts for a few weeks. Kalmont had other things to attend to. Hard to say no to family.”
“Family?” I asked.
“Yeah, Roslyn is my cousin,” he said offhandedly. “I must head back in a bit but I have some time. Walk with me?”
I attached that piece of information to every memory I had of them together, like the final piece to a puzzle.
I laughed, “That makes a lot of sense. And sure. Where to?”
My entire being eased as he took my hand. It was as if Everson no longer existed and my problems were a thing of the past.
What was it about Blake that affected me like this? I could’ve listed his best features all day but that wouldn’t have covered it. At my core, everything was at peace in his presence.
“Come on, there is a place I want to show you,” he said.
He led me down the corridor and up a flight of stairs to an aged wooden door with a beautiful and weathered iron handle.
“What is this place?” I asked.
He smiled. “You shall see.”
He opened the door and waited for me to pass through. The scent of roses and pops of colors delighted my senses as I stepped onto the cobblestone.
“Wow,” I breathed, taking in the courtyard.
It was built on a rooftop overlooking the grounds from high atop the castle. A cloister of stone arches framed the garden, lush with roses and ivy. Lanterns hung from the vaulted ceiling; their flame joined with the muted natural light of the north.
Fresh air soothed my skin as I let my fingers trail across the aged arched stone. Ivy grazed my skin as I parted them, passing through into the courtyard to a sea of vibrant reds and glistening pinks.
“Most do not know this courtyard is here,” Blake said, his hand touching the small of my back.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“I thought it might remind you of home,” he said. “A little more color than you usually find this far north.”
I smiled and turned to him. “Thank you for showing me.”
He trailed his finger along my cheekbone. “How has your first day of classes been?”
I smiled faintly. “Fine. I guess I thought this was going to be easier. Instead, it’s like the next level of you and everyone else reciting ‘you have to find it yourself’ on repeat.”
Blake grinned. “You are coming into this on a much more difficult path. In our world, everi is far more prevalent and fine-tuned in a way that makes it easier to align with. Here, you must be particularly skilled to access it. Do not let it deter you.”
