27. Chapter 26 #2
“Yeah,” he said, repeating the spell for the next sheet. Her question sank in his stomach like a rock. He wasn’t sure if she was implying something else, or if he was reading into it. “I can manipulate any liquid. It’s not a common spell, but I’ve a knack for it.”
He repeated it on the last page of the blueprint before returning everything to its place.
“Is that how you got your tattoos?”
He turned to see her carefully folding the sheets. His spine straightened, and sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He needed to answer carefully so as not to blow his cover, for both of their sakes. “Most of them.”
“Easier than having the needle stab you a thousand times,” she said, tucking the pages into her pants pocket.
His shoulders sagged with relief. She must think he could only manipulate fresh ink. The less she knew about this skill, the safer she would be. Before he could say anything, the door to the office swung open, and Rhea stepped inside.
“Did you find it yet?”
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” Ivy said.
“Good, good, we should get going,” Rhea said a little too quickly, rushing over to the window and flinging it open.
Ezra moved next to Rhea, peering outside as she formed the rope ladder again. “What’s going on?”
“Dean Wren may or may not be on her way here. I saw her talking outside in the courtyard with some guy in a suit,” Rhea said. “Are we gonna chat more or get going?”
Nothing else had to be said. The three of them quickly shimmied their way out of the window, Rhea being the last to put her feet on the ground. As she released her spell, the sounds of the door slamming shut above them echoed.
“Shit,” Rhea whispered. “Get close to the wall.”
They each pressed their backs against the building, and a few seconds later, a trickle of magic covered him, followed by a milky sheen of a barrier encasing all three of them. An invisibility spell.
“Hm, I don’t remember leaving the window open,” Wren said, followed by the thud of it being shut.
“Did you get a good look at the man she was with?” Ezra asked.
“A little. He was any basic rich white man with a superiority complex. I wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a lineup or anything.”
Maybe it was Declan. Though why he’d be here so late was beyond him. When they could no longer hear anything from above them, Rhea dropped the spell and fell back against the wall.
“We should get back to our apartments,” Ivy whispered. “Are you safe to walk back, Rhea?”
“Yeah, I’m fine” she yawned. “Tired from the last spell is all. Maybe it’ll help me sleep for a couple of hours for once.”
They parted ways, with Ezra and Ivy heading toward Embry Hall, and he glanced over his shoulder and noticed Rhea going in the opposite direction.
There was another pod of student apartments on campus between Arcania Hall and the nature buildings.
But instead of that direction, Rhea was on the path toward Belarune.
They reached the third floor of Embry, and Ivy stifled a yawn next to him. He slowed as they neared his apartment door, and he expected Ivy to keep walking, but she stopped with him.
“Thank you for tonight, by the way,” she whispered, leaning against the wall next to his door. “Even if the blueprint shows us nothing, it’s enough to know it was hidden.”
“Of course.” He took a step closer to her, but his stomach twisted into a knot. He didn’t help. Instead, he did his duty to his family, and the itching on his arm where the new ink sat only served as a reminder of his duplicity. “It’s better than nothing.”
“Oh, um.” She pulled the hat off her head and handed it to him. “You probably want this back.”
“Keep it,” he said, smiling gently. “It looks better on you.”
“Okay.” Her round cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she clutched the hat in her hands. “Good night, Ezra.”
“Sleep well, snapdragon.”
She grinned before turning on her heel and leaving. Once she went inside her apartment, he waved his hand over the door and stepped inside. As it clicked shut quietly behind him, a cold, prickling sensation crawled along his spine.
He peered around the room until he saw that the back left corner was pitch-black. “Breaking into my apartment, Silas? If you wanted to come in so badly, all you needed was to knock.”
The darkness faded, revealing Silas leaning against the wall. He ran his hand through his blond hair before stepping farther into the room. A sliver of moonlight cast his pale skin in an ethereal glow, and Ezra couldn’t help but stare at the curve of his lips.
“Why would I bother knocking when you’ve used the same locking spell since we were sixteen?” Silas asked. He took another step closer to Ezra, his dark eyes boring into him as he smirked. “Perhaps I’m not the only one who wants company?”
Ezra’s cock stirred. He could easily press Silas against the wall and take him there, or bring him to the bed, lay him down, and take him again.
It was the pattern they had fallen into over the years.
Fighting and making up. Fighting and making up.
But he always thought their time together meant something to Silas. To find out it was one-sided…
“I suppose I should change it,” he said, casting his gaze to the side.
Silas exhaled loudly. “Is this because of her? What do you call her…snapdragon?”
“Are you the jealous type all of a sudden?” he asked, turning back to him.
“Or do you miss my pet name for you?” My star.
The name he gave when he found the five small moles in the shape of a star on Silas’s temple.
He loved to trace them with his fingers.
He missed how soft the tender spot was and the quiet sighs Silas would breathe beneath his touch before falling asleep.
“No,” Silas said quietly. He closed the distance between them, his bonfire scent curling around Ezra like smoke. “Jealousy was never for us. But getting close to her will ruin everything. It will ruin you.”
“Don’t pretend to care about me,” Ezra muttered, steeling himself against his desire to reach for him.
Despite how Silas felt, he still cared. He wanted more, even if he couldn’t have it.
“Being close to her is the only way I can keep her from finding out more. I’ve only just managed Callum.
Now she’s convinced there are tunnels beneath the school so I have to keep her away from that theory. ”
“Which is why you were in the dean’s office tonight?”
“Yes,” Ezra said. “I’ve tried ignoring her. I’ve tried pushing her away. This might be the only thing that works.” Except he didn’t believe the words as soon as they passed his lips.
“Make sure it does.” Silas shook his head, clearly thinking the same. “I don’t want to see what would happen if it doesn’t.”
Silas stepped back, turning toward the door, but before he could leave, Ezra reached out and grasped his hand tightly. He snapped his dark eyes back, frowning as his brows knit together like he was in pain.
“Does the time we’ve spent together mean anything to you?” Ezra whispered. He had to know for certain. He had to know if he needed to let go of Silas once and for all. If he could even do that.
Silas opened his mouth as if to say something. But a second later, he closed it. Whatever emotion was strewn about his face slunk away into the dark, and he pulled his hand out of Ezra’s grasp.
“I need to go,” Silas said coldly.
Ezra said nothing. His gaze fell to the floor as tears sprang to his eyes. A moment later, Silas was gone, and he was alone.