“Ugh, I hate when you do that. I mean, I get it, but…feels like you turned the lights off.” Nix rubs his abdomen. “Jamie’s happy right now. I hate to harsh his buzz about the extended pack, but the shit is going to hit the fan. I should call.”
Grayson doesn’t spare a smirk for the weird mix of cliches. They’re about two minutes from the bell, and Grayson doesn’t want to take the chance that he’ll run into anyone by teleporting to the front doors.
Clenching his jaw against the impending crowd, he pulls Nix closer to him, taking the stairs down to the lobby almost two at a time. They manage to make it halfway through the massive atrium before the shrill tone sounds and a hundred and fifty students flood the area in waves from every direction. There’s the usual loud din, but this time Grayson can hear his name amongst their high-pitched conversations.
“Shit! This is crazy,” Nix says, almost shouting over the noise. He’s got his phone in hand, Jay’s number already ringing through.
Jay answers, and after that, Grayson can’t hear what he’s saying.
“He’s okay,” Nix says. “He’s with me. We’re not hurt. But…” he lowers his voice so the kids don’t hear him. “They’ve suspended him. Effective immediately.”
More students fill the foyer, crowding close, no doubt to get the juiciest gossip straight from the source.
“Grayson!” Someone calls from behind them.
Grayson doesn’t stop, but keeps pushing through the pockets of students. He’s not the only one who hears it, though, and heads turn toward the voice.
Jillian is a senior from his Healing Talent class. Her main Affinity is Water, but she has both Earth and Healing Talents. She has also made no effort to hide that she finds Grayson attractive. This is something Grayson has not shared with his mates, and right now, he doesn’t have the time or the energy to be kind about her childish crush.
A group of first-years intercepts them when they’re a few feet from freedom. At the center are two of his Water classmates whohad witnessed the ice staff incident. “Grayson, hey. That was really cool today.”
“Grayson!” Jillian calls again, this time closer. “Wait up!”
“The Guild’s main foyer,” Nix says into the phone, eyes scanning the crowd. “The kids are…impressed.”
Jillian arrives out of breath and cheeks flushed with the effort of having moved the other kids out of her way. She’s at least 5’10, with long red hair tied back with a pink ribbon. Crowding in close, her eyes on him, she completely misses Grayson’s arm around Nix’s shoulders.
“Hi!” she purrs, hand on Grayson’s forearm. Normally, he’d step back or remove it, but both his hands are full, one braced against the door behind him, the other anchoring Nix, and the crush of first-years presses in from the other side. There is nowhere to retreat without making a scene.
“I heard you made aweaponin class,” she says, voice dropping as her fingers tighten in his sleeve. “That is so hot.”
“Are you on your way?” Nix asks Jay. “I think it’s better if I explain somewhere less populated. If you know what I mean.” He finally notices Jillian standing way too close, her perfume laid on thick, the cloying fake strawberry scent making his sensitive nose wrinkle.
“Excuse me. You should really get your hands off my mate.” With a glare, he pulls Grayson behind him. His aura is broadcastingpissed-off omega, and the kids heed their instincts, parting like the Red Sea.
He pushes the door open, and they’re finally standing on the front steps. It’s only slightly quieter, and Grayson can finally hear Jay. “Are they detaining him?”
“No. That was just an adolescent admirer.” Nix crowds him into the side of the school, letting one of the hedges shield them a little. “But Kirwan? She wanted to.”
Jay’s growl through the phone makes the hair stand up on Grayson’s arms. “We’re coming. Listen to me. Do not leave the Guild. Not the building. Not the wards. Nowhere.”
It’s probably wise that Nix doesn’t tell him they’re already on the front steps.
“I wasn’t planning to,” Nix replies. “Hurry. I have a bad feeling that this is just the beginning.”
He disconnects and slips the phone into his pocket. He’s still broadcastingback-offscent, so the loitering kids give them a wide berth. “They’re coming now.”
Grayson folds him into his arms, turning so that he’s between him and the onlookers. He feels better knowing the kids can’t see his mate…which is weird, since he’d not minded at all inside the building.
It hits him then that it’s not the kids’ gaze he minds. Someone or something is watching, and it’s not a bunch of fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds on their mid-morning break.
“Nix—”
“Yeah. Since we stepped outside. I can’t see them, though. Can you?” Nix is scanning the crowd, a small line deepening between his brows.
Inside the Guild, the wards would protect the children the same way as they should inside the gates. Whoever has eyes on them is magical, and inside the wards.
A quarter hour crawls by, anyway. Grayson keeps one part of his attention on the courtyard, watching the other students take advantage of the warm summer day during their break, like this is any other day.
