Chapter 13 #2
Lory was about to object, placing her hand on his chest to shove him away, if that was even possible—with his training and experience, nothing could push him off balance.
But Falcrest pulled a hand from his pocket, lifting it to her face and halting an inch from her cheek, as if debating whether to touch her, the gesture so familiar, a memory of salt and sweet spices streaked through her mouth, and her breath caught in her throat as she refused to read the answer to her question in his eyes.
“You’ve already shown me how well you handle your tongue,” he murmured, his other hand an inch away from her shoulder in a near replay of her dream. “Now show me that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to survive.”
His face was so close, the heat and size of him overwhelming, but Lory fought with all of her will to remember that this was the real Captain Falcrest—the man who enjoyed the sort of reputation he had and wasn’t afraid to drag her reputation through the dirt for the games he played.
“Give me one reason why you care. Why I should trust you.”
Falcrest flashed his teeth, not pulling back as Lory squared her shoulders, defying the intensity of his eyes. “You shouldn’t. Only that I have my reasons. Besides, I can always order you.”
A thread of warmth ran across Lory’s palm where it still rested against Falcrest’s chest, and the captain’s chin dipped, eyes shutting in exasperation. “Get to class before I forget myself.”
His tone made her think he didn’t mean it in a good way. “And torch me again for assaulting you with my mouth? I don’t think so.”
So fast, she almost missed the waver in his stance when she shoved him away, Lory ducked under his arm and stalked for the blue room, forbidding herself to glance back over her shoulder.
If the whole school learned the tale Falcrest spun, Ricca wouldn’t be the only one trying to kill her. Half the female students would probably line up to take a punch because of what she supposedly tried to do—at least, if the way they looked at him was anything to go by.
Lory entered the blue room as silently as she could, forcing herself to walk past the groups of chatting students to an empty seat at the back of the room where Aiden was sitting alone as usual.
“You were speaking about learning experiences when we tried to get out of that room?” She flung herself into her seat, inhaling a stabilizing breath as she faced the ice wielder, who appeared lost at her anger.
“It usually is, but this time, things … escalated.” He scanned Lory’s face with that new expression of warmth Lory had gotten to know the day before, gaze snagging on the pale spots on her skin. “At least, the wounds healed fast.”
“Yeah, at least that.” Unsure whether to laugh or cry, Lory leaned sideways in her chair, shoulder against the backrest. “He told them I assaulted him.”
His blinks told Lory Aiden had no idea what she was talking about. “You mean you attacked him?”
“Guardians no, because that would make him look weak if he can’t fight off the attack of an ashling.
” Lory shook her head, more at herself than at him.
“He told them I tried to kiss him.” Her last words were a whisper, but the way a few of the ashlings in the row in front of them turned their heads informed her she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d hoped.
“You what?” Eira Moonfell wanted to know, exchanging a glance with Tabi and Jarek, who were sitting next to her.
“Nothing.” Lory waved her off, but Eira’s face had gone pale, and Tabi’s expression of disbelief made Lory want to sink into the ground.
“I didn’t want to believe them when they were talking in the hallway, but—”
“It’s not true.” Lory mentally dug in her heels. Oh, that prick really knew how to ruin her day.
“So, the Veiled Hand is lying?” Eira seemed to actually hope he was.
It was going to be a long day. “I didn’t kiss him. Ask Frost. He was there.”
All eyes turned to Aiden, who had folded his arms over his chest, cocking his head and giving them all a look daring them to do just that.
The tattoo behind his ear drank up the light falling in through the windows, the form of it better visible with the way he exposed the side of his neck.
Something like a dragon, but not quite… Lory decided it didn’t matter as long as Aiden held his tongue about her magic or told the truth about the kissing part.
“Did she?” Thal joined the conversation, and Lory wished she hadn’t chosen this particular chair, or she’d at least kept her temper under control for a little while longer.
Aiden flashed a menacing grin. “Why? Jealous?”
That wiped the curiosity right off Thal’s face, replacing it with a pink flush before he caught himself. “For getting a taste of that hunk, damn straight I am.”
Lory had never been more grateful to anyone than she was to Thal in that moment when he got up from his chair and leaped across the back of it to sit on Lory’s other side. “Tell me all about it. If I’d kissed that incredible mouth, I might have gone up in flames myself.”
The humor in his voice meant the world, but the phrasing perhaps wasn’t exactly what she’d chosen. At least, not when the kissing story had been made up to prevent anyone from suspecting fire magic.
“Quiet, ashlings,” Hand Dunveil boomed over the noise of conversation filling the room.
“We have a lot to do, so you’d better not waste your time talking.
” He sat on the edge of the desk, bracing one tan hand beside his hip as he scanned the room.
“We have two more weeks until you will prove what you can do on the parcours Captain Falcrest has chosen for your first Veiled test. But you also have a test to pass in knowledge.” He cleared his throat, patting the fat tome he pulled onto his lap.
“We’ve covered the most important pieces of Brestolyan history: Lontio the Starborn, who founded Ashthorn Ward, the Great Purge, when the lands were rid of magic wielders—people too dangerous and uncontrollable for the kings who reigned the lands back then.
The Uprising a hundred years ago, when Ulder’s ancestors were able to eliminate the last of the Flame-born who were threatening this continent. ”
He paused, giving them a moment to remember the facts they’d studied from his words and the books the academy provided.
It had been a slow process for Lory, putting together her words with her lack of education due to growing up on the streets, but she was making progress.
She didn’t shy away from books the way she had the first day she’d been handed one, and with Thal’s patience and Tabi’s encouragement, she was determined to put her time at Ashthorn to good use—at least when it came to reading.
“You’ll be tested in Knowledge soon, and historical facts will only be part of the exam. You’ll be tested on the theory of your specific magic type and given a practical exam as well.”
Lory sensed Thal tense beside her at the mention of the practical exam.
She didn’t know about the other colors, but if Falcrest was right, and what had happened in that escape room was her light magic showing, Thal was the only one yet to develop their power.
Not that she had any idea how to make her own magic resurface.
“If you fail the theoretical exam, you will merely be punished.” Dunveil’s tone dropped to an icy temperature. “If you fail the practical one, however—”
“You’ll die.” Goosebumps rose on Lory’s skin as Falcrest’s velvet voice sounded from the back of the room.
She didn’t need to turn around to sense him right behind her, could feel his gaze burn into the back of her head.
But she was the only one who didn’t turn. All eyes flipped to the captain who had spread such a despicable story about her, and as they found him, they found her, too, grins and grimaces forming on their faces as they judged her with a gaze alone.
“Did she really try to jump him?” Someone whispered near the front of the room, causing a snicker to run through the rows of ashlings.
“I’d let her try any day.”
Lory didn’t even bother trying to see who had spoken.
Falcrest had made it very clear that he expected her to handle whatever the situation brought on, and she wasn’t ready for anyone to suspect she had the fire magic people considered a death sentence.
Escaping the butcher’s block once was more luck than anyone could expect Eroth to bestow upon them, and she wasn’t in a gambling mood today.
“See the pale patches on her face? Must have hurt like the Brother Guardian’s vengeance.”
“The Medica Hand must have spent hours patching her up. What an impressive magic to have.”
The whispers went on until Dunveil cleared his throat again, motioning for Falcrest to join him by the desk.
Lory didn’t hear him move, but she could feel the change in the air as he prowled away, his presence sliding off her like a cloak being dragged off her shoulders. Only when he made it to the front of the room did she dare look at him—finding his eyes already waiting for her.
“If you fail your practical exams, you’ll die,” he repeated with the cold face of the captain, not a trace of the concern Lory thought she’d spotted in the infirmary.
“You’ll be given the opportunity to train your magic, but ultimately, it’s up to you what you make of your abilities.
” His black uniform was impeccable despite its inconspicuous look, the soft, flexible pants perfect for climbing and leaping over obstacles, and the shirt tight-fitted so it wouldn’t catch on fences or roof tiles as he made his way across the city the way only a master of stealth could.
What will you make of it? his eyes seemed to ask Lory, who did her best to ignore the burning heat in her stomach as she refused to look away.
No one was paying attention to her anymore with Falcrest dominating the room. Even Dunveil appeared insignificant next to the captain’s powerful presence.
“Heener, Ngala, you come with me.” Without a warning, he prowled from the room, leaving Brycon and Tabi to scramble after him, and Lory wasn’t proud to admit the spark of jealousy flaring in her belly as her name wasn’t called and she had to watch the three of them disappear.
“I have no idea what happened between the two of you,” Thal whispered so only she could hear, “but one of you is going to murder the other one of these days.” He gestured at where Falcrest had just vanished, then at Lory. “I’m still trying to figure out who’ll strike first.”
“If stories are to be believed, I’d rather fuck him than kill him.” She couldn’t help but smother a smirk at the realization she wanted both of it in perhaps equal parts.
“I’d rather you fucked him.” Thal returned her grin. “It would be a shame to see you executed for treason after all we’ve gone through.”
He didn’t need to specify the deaths they’d witnessed every morning or the brutal training they’d experienced every day.
He didn’t even need to refer to the shy magic they shared.
It was all there in his eyes as he directed them to the front of the room once more, waiting for Dunveil to continue his class.