“Where is the journal now?” he asked once I’d finished speaking.
“I think Tamina or one of her goons took it. But I’m going to get it back.”
“No. You’re not. Leave it with me.”
Annoyance flared in my chest, because why did he have to be so… So helpful. “I can fight my own battles, Master Vitra.”
He blinked sharply before a small smile curled his lips. “I’m sure you can,” he said softly. “But you don’t always have to.”
I dropped my gaze to the floor, cheeks warm with an awareness of this male that I didn’t need or want.
“Get some rest,” he said, words coasting on a sigh. “You’ll need to be sharp for the grading.”
He was right. I was exhausted from the constant conflict, and I still had training tonight with Drayven, then the grading tomorrow… “You heard about the changes, huh?”
“I did. But I have faith that you won’t let these changes affect your performance.”
“What doyouknow about my performance?”
“I know that you stay back every class to work on the moves. I know that Mr. Thorn has been helping you prepare. I know that you want this, so I know enough.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all.”
He’d been keeping tabs on me. Watching me? No contact over the past few weeks hadn’t meant he’d forgotten about me. Ah, my sexy naga stalker.
“It’s my job to watch you, Ana. I’m your mentor.”
His words were a cold reminder that he could never be more. “I should get going.”
I gathered my things and moved toward the exit.
“Anamaya…”
I glanced over my shoulder. He was standing a mere foot away. He’d moved so fast and silently that I hadn’t heard him.
I lifted my chin to drink him in, chest aching with an inexplicable longing that made me want to rub my face against his chest. “What?”
His gaze flicked to my white-knuckled grip on the door handle, his smile wry. “Good luck.”
I slipped from the room, taking his scent with me, eager to put distance between us. The man was dangerous, the way he made mefeelwas addictive.
Fate certainly had a cruel sense of humor.
* * *
The dining hallwas filling up by the time I finished telling the others about my encounter with Tamina and how she’d threatened to hurt people I cared about. Once again, I left out the part about Theo’s attack. I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Probably never. It had shaken me too much, and I couldn’t afford to be shaken while here.
“I told Tamina there wasn’t anyone I cared about here, but she’s seen us together a lot, so just…be careful, okay?”
“That’s bullshit,” Dori said. “She can’t touch us, not without breaking half a dozen treaties and contracts that exist between the covens and the Baobhan Sith houses.”
“Then what was she talking about?”
“No idea. Blowing smoke, no doubt,” Benedict said. “But it’s sweet that you care.”
“Even if you don’t want to,” Clary added.
I looked away, rubbing the back of my neck. “Am I that obvious?”
