“It’s Zak!” I said. “I need to catch him.”
I broke away from Gina’s group. “Zak!” I called as I half ran toward him, trying to catch him before he exited the courtyard.
My path took me past the group of black-robed students I had seen when I first arrived. They broke off their conversation at my cry, turning to look at me. The girl, who had barely glanced at me before, examined me closely this time, her gaze flicking between me and Zak.
“Youknow Zakary of Callinos?” she asked loudly.
“Zak always did have odd friends,” one of her companions said dismissively.
“Even so,” another girl tittered.
My steps faltered, my attention wrenched from Zak’s distant figure to the closer group of students. Behind me, murmurs broke out among the commonborn students I’d just left.
I glanced back at them to see Bea watching me curiously. The boy beside her leaned toward Gina.
“That’s Zakary of Callinos? I’ve heard of him. His mother was that Callinos lecturer who took our class for that lecture series last year, remember? He’s supposed to be very powerful.”
“She called him Zak!” Bea said. “She must know him.” She looked inquiringly toward Gina, but Gina only shrugged, her own gaze flashing curiously to me.
My entire body flushed hot and then cold.
Zak was aCallinos? Not a minor mage as I had always assumed, but the powerful son of one of the four great mage families who ruled Ardann and controlled the ten mage disciplines.
At times I had dared to imagine that the gap between us wasn’t so very large, but I had been completely wrong. Mages valued strength and power above all else, and they carefully guarded the bloodlines that ensured it. A yawning gulf of power and history stood between us.
CHAPTER 13
My feet started moving while my mind was still in chaos. I needed to get away from the whispers and the exclamations and the many watching eyes.
But I had been facing toward Zak, and when I ran, my feet took me too close to him. I was aiming for one of the walkways, planning to pass beneath the arches, cutting across the walkway to whatever lay behind the University buildings. But Zak caught sight of me as I ran.
“Aria!” he called, his voice glad, and I heard a fresh wave of murmurs behind me.
I didn’t turn, ignoring his call and urging my feet to run faster. I needed to get out of sight.
It was the only thought I could manage. Once I was alone, I could try to process the enormous, terrible news I had just received.
But running footsteps sounded behind me. When I darted through the walkway and rounded the corner of the building, I wasn’t alone.
A park spread out behind the University, softening the stone of the building with its greenery. I plunged into the closest standof trees, finding a small clearing at its center with yet another fountain.
“Aria!” Zak sounded slightly out of breath as he followed me into the trees. “Why are you running?”
I finally came to a stop, my breath heaving as I spun to look at him. But the words of dismay and recrimination on my lips died at the sight of his handsome face, lined with concern as he waited for my answer. Longing rose up in me, more potent than ever now that I knew, without a doubt, that a truly insuperable barrier lay between us.
Zak’s expression changed as he took in mine, a blazing light coming into his eyes.
“You did this first,” he said in a throaty murmur. “Now it’s my turn.”
With two long strides he reached me, his strong arms seizing me around the waist and pulling me against his chest. One of his hands slid up to cradle the back of my head, tilting my face toward him as his lips came down over mine.
The fire from our last kiss sprang instantly back into being as I melted into his embrace, all thoughts driven from my mind. My hands reached up to twine around his neck, and he made a low noise in his throat, breaking off the kiss only to tilt his head and press his lips to mine again.
My knees trembled, and I clung to him, returning his kiss with equal passion, reality forgotten before the strength of our shared emotion. But a sudden thought sprang into my mind, fully formed, and it was enough to make me break away, pushing myself free as I stumbled backward, panting and staring at him with wide eyes.
“It was you!” I said.
“What?” He sounded dazed, his eyes only slowly coming into focus.
