“I don’t do it often, Ana, so take it while you can. If you make it onto my hunt team, you’ll be treated just like everyone else.” His fingers grazed my cheek before falling away. “But there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. It’s why I came to find you at the training grounds in the first place.”
“Oh?”
“Jay told me what happened with Tamina.”
This again. “If you’re going to try to talk me into breaking the deal, don’t bother. Vitra already tried.”
“He did?” Drayven frowned. “Did he tell you that two students have died trying to best her?”
He had not. “I can handle a little pain.” I pointed to my throat, which, now that I focused on it, felt less constricted.
“What Tamina has to offer is more than pain. She’ll get inside your head, find your worst fears, and use them against you.”
“I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Everyone fears something, even if they don’t know what it is…yet. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone by challenging her. There is still time to?—”
“I’m not trying toproveanything. I want to help Ruspin.” I lifted my chin and held his gaze, letting him know there was no budging on this.
Finally, he sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll drop the subject. Now, if you’re sure you don’t want me to walk you back, I have students to yell at.”
“I’m sure.”
He stood slowly, and a sudden sense of abandonment gripped me. “Will you be there tonight…on Coral Isle?”
“It’s not my scene,” he said. “But best of luck.”
He left, taking his pleasant pine scent with him, and I ventured deeper into the gardens, hoping that the tranquil atmosphere would somehow soothe the tumultuousness inside me. Reliving my past, speaking it, had drained me, but nature was the perfect fuel to recharge. Not even the crisp bite in the air could deter the tiny purple blooms from flowering in the hedgerows. If only I were as resilient as nature.
I strolled down wide cobbled paths, past several benches and a lamppost hung with an old-fashioned lantern that would need a long match to light the thick candle tucked inside. Did someone come through here to light it?
I took a left at the next intersection and entered a gorgeous, wooded area that sported arches woven with ivy. Delicate stone figurines lined the path to a magnificent fountain with two winged horses rearing up nose to nose as the centerpiece. It was dry and dappled with moss but still a beautiful sight.
I parked my ass on the wooden bench closest to it and closed my eyes, breathing in the evergreen aroma of my surroundings. Long seconds passed, and I was beginning to relax, when my scalp prickled with the unmistakable sensation of being watched.
I snapped my eyes open to find the blond, spectacled guy from earlier sitting on the other end of my bench.
“How is Dori?” he asked bluntly.
O-kay… “You know it’s customary to begin a conversation with an actual introduction, right?”
He smiled. “I suppose it is. Hello, I’m Timothy.”
“Anamaya.”
“How is Dori?”
Bloody hell. “You could ask her yourself.”
“I could never bring myself to speak to her.” He hugged his book to his chest bashfully. “Well, except one time, but I ended up stuttering and ran away.” He winced.
Aw, Dori had a secret admirer. “You’ve got it bad.”
“Yes, I suppose I do.”
“What are you afraid of? Just talk to her. The worst she can do is say she isn’t interested.”
He forced a smile, his gaze flicking over my shoulder. “But then hope would be gone.” His brows knit into a frown. “I have to go.”
