His eyes meet mine, and there’s something intimate about the way he slowly peruses me, almost as if I’m a delectable meal and he’s deciding which piece of me he’d like to devour first. There is an unmistakable flash of hunger in his eyes, and goosebumps ripple across my flesh in anticipation.
But just as fast as I saw it, then hunger is gone, leaving behind a carefully blank expression as though he’s deliberately trying to hide something for me. “No, that will be all. You may go.”
I rise from my chair and leave, my mind racing as it tries to comprehend what it saw.
No, no, it’s not possible,I tell myself. And yet, despite all logic, I have to wonder. Is there something more that Professor Dalmatius wants from me? Something that falls…outside, the student-teacher relationship?
11
“Addyyyyyyy.”
“Mmmmm,” I grumble, ignoring the sing-song voice as I pull the blankets up to my shoulder. They’re pulled down almost immediately, and I instinctively curl my legs up into my body. The fire went out at some point overnight, and the dorm is cold. I reach down, blindly groping for my blanket, and pull it up again.
“Addy,” Cass repeats, sounding exasperated. “It’s time to get up. You’ll miss breakfast.”
“Then I’ll miss breakfast.” I roll over, tucking the blankets back around myself. The last two weeks have passed by in a blur, filled with training, teaching, studying, tutoring…I’m exhausted. It’s Saturday morning and I just want to sleep in.
I slit my eyes open, looking down at Gertrude’s bed. It’s empty and has been made already. If she’s up, then I’m guessing Kaia is too. At least some of my friends had the decency to let me sleep in.
I don’t know who’s been working me harder: Professor Dal or Maxon. Though Professor Dal sets the bar high, pushing me to do more, to be better, he softens the blows with his smiles, words of encouragement, and little touches. The more time I spend with him, the more comfortable I become in his presence, and I’m always left a little bereft every time I have to leave his office.
Maxon is the opposite: cold, callous, and doesn’t let me forget that he’s only helping me because he was told to do so. Though thanks to his rigorous training, I passed the basic competency for history as well as Fundamentals of Spell Casting.
I’ve caught up fast in Demonology thanks to Professor Dal’s help and got high marks on yesterday’s quiz in Portal Opening, much to Celeste’s chagrin. Sacred Geometry comes easily to me, and the symbols form together in my mind, glowing until they all connect as they should. Despite having to deal with Maxon, I’m having the best time of my life. Er, afterlife.
Cass lets out a dramatic sigh and swooshes through the door. I snuggle back down in bed and fall asleep, and when I wake up two hours later, I feel refreshed. My energy has been completely restored, and knowing I get a day off from doing spells that deplete me of all energy is a welcome reprieve.
“Finally,” Cass says when I swing my legs over the bed. I take a minute to stretch and then hop down. “You get to go into town today, don’t you?”
“I do,” I reply with a smile. There are shops and taverns in town, and right when I was feeling a little embarrassed to know that I didn’t have any money to my name now that I am a reaper, several pounds of gold mysteriously showed up in a black velvet satchel on my bed. I have a feeling it was Professor Dal, as the bag smells a little like him, but there’s no note so I can’t be sure.
I’m excited to buy clothes that aren’t school uniforms. On our days off, we’re allowed to wear more comfortable clothes. They’re still uniforms in a way, since we all match, but the black leggings and tunic-style long-sleeve top is much better for lounging around the common rooms. It’s fall now, and the weather is starting to get cool as soon as the sun sets. Kaia told me fall lasts until the winter equinox, when the weather abruptly shifts to cold and snow. The sudden changes in the weather might have shocked me if I’d grown up anywhere but the Midwest, where it can be eighty and sunny on Monday and snowing by Wednesday.
I pull on tights, my plaid shirt, and a sweater over my button-up. I brush my hair and my teeth and slip on my new cloak Madame Benita made for me. I’ve never had anything close to custom-made. This thing is gorgeous without being flashy. It’s black, with a dark scarlet lining and double hand-stitched hems. The ties are long, soft strips of velvet ribbon and rest comfortably on my chest, somehow balancing the weight of the heavy material perfectly.
Kaia is jogging up the stairs as I leave the dorm.
“You’re up!” She holds out something wrapped in a napkin. “I saved you a muffin.”
“Thank you! I’m starving, but it felt so good to sleep in.”
“I bet. You’ve been hitting the books hard.”
“I know. But I’m getting caught up.” I let out a breath, feeling like I can breathe for the first time in days. “You’re still planning on going into town, right?”
“Yes, hopefully you can sneak away from your slave driver and hang out for a while with us.”
I laugh. “Right? I hope so too.”
As Professor Dal had promised, my excursions into town are being deemed educational. Maxon will be acting as my chaperone, and I know he’s going to grumble and gripe the whole time about it.
Patting the gold coins in my cloak pocket, I part ways with Kaia, hoping to meet up with her later, and go into the common room nearest the lobby to wait for Maxon.
No surprise, he’s already there. And so is Celeste. Her back is to me, and she’s quietly arguing with Maxon.
“But it’s not fair,” she whines. “If you’re going into town with anyone, it should be me!”
“I can’t,” Maxon says, sounding exasperated. “Professor Messor asked me to introduce Addy to the village. The last thing I need is for the two of you to be sniping at each other the entire time. There’s a lot of ground to cover and she could easily get lost.”
