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My irritation flares. "I didn't exactly fly across the continent."

Rhyven doesn't even look at me. "No."

"Rhyven."

"No."

Professor Vayne's eyebrows rise. I fold my arms. "I'm standing right here."

"I know."

"Then stop deciding for me."

That gets his attention. Golden eyes settle on mine. "I'm not deciding for you."

"It sounds suspiciously like it."

"I'm deciding what I will do."

That stops me. Oh. He isn't telling me I can't try. He's saying he won't participate. Damn him. That's annoyingly reasonable. Professor Vayne studies Rhyven for a long moment. Then nods. "Fine." Rhyven's shoulders loosen approximately half an inch. "We don't reproduce it." Vayne looks toward me. "Not today." I don't like the addition. Neither does Rhyven. Good.

Professor Vayne takes our statements separately. Mine first. Every sensation. Every movement. Every thought. He asks whether I heard words. No. Whether I saw images. Not exactly. Whether I felt emotion. I hesitate. "No." That's true. Mostly. There had been something. Not emotion. Awareness. For one fraction of a second I'd known Rhyven was there without seeing him. Known where his magic would move before it did. Like my body had included him in its calculations. I don't tell Professor Vayne that. I don't know why.

Rhyven's statement is shorter. Of course.

"What did you experience?" Vayne asks.

"Pressure change." Vayne waits. "Her manifestation." Rhyven adds.

"Describe it."

"Different."

Professor Vayne looks increasingly irritated. "Different how?"

Rhyven's gaze flicks toward me. Then away. "I knew where she'd move." My breath catches.

Vayne stops writing. "Before she moved?"

"Yes."

"How long before?"

"Less than a second."

"Did you read her body language?"

"No."

Vayne frowns. "How do you know?"

"Because she hadn't moved yet."

Professor Vayne slowly sets down his quill. Neither of us speaks. So...It wasn't only me.

By the time we're finally dismissed lunch ended an hour ago. The corridors are nearly empty. Rhyven walks beside me. Not because we're going to the same place. Apparently because neither of us has decided where we're going. For once I don't fill the silence. Neither does he. We reach the courtyard. Cold air hits my face. I breathe deeply. Normal. Everything looks normal. Students crossing between buildings. A professor arguing with a stack of parchment. Two Riders walking toward the western grounds. A dragon soaring overhead. Normal. Except...I can still remember Vyrael's heartbeat.

"Does he know?" I ask.