Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Selene
Coaxing the little dragon into staying in my room did not go well.
Chaos defiantly held up his head, purposely glaring off to the side when I told him he had to stay put. I promised him that if he was a good boy, I would take him for a run at dusk. He had chuffed at me again but didn’t move, so I took that as something.
The day would tell.
Ender met me at my room as promised and escorted me to first period. I had skipped breakfast, not wanting to leave Chaos any longer than necessary. The first two classes dragged, and in third period study hall, I sat near the window, keeping an eye on the dorms.
“You’re not in your normal spot.” David sat at the desk in front of me, turning so he faced me.
“Just needed a change of scenery,” I lied. The window seats were closer to the front of the classroom—I always preferred staying near the back and near an exit.
“The window seat is definitely an upgrade, though it might have made someone upset.” David glanced toward the other side of the room, and I followed his gaze.
I couldn’t remember her name, but she was in a few of my classes.
She was staring at me but glanced down at her notebook, her fear almost palpable when my gaze met hers.
“I didn’t mean to take her seat,” I mumbled, feeling slightly guilty—not for taking her seat; that’s inconsequential—for the obvious fear she had of me.
“Nah. I wouldn’t worry about it.” David smiled, giving me view of his dimples. “Oh. I got something for you.” He turned around, grabbing a book from the bottom of the stack on his desk. “I found this.”
He set a book on my desk. Its cover was black leather with gold etching the edges. It was untitled and lacked an author’s name.
“What is it?” I stroked the old leather. Something about it felt foreboding. My finger moved to the flap to open it, but David covered my hand with his gloved hand, stopping me.
“I wouldn’t open it here.” He glanced around before moving his hand. Goosebumps rose along my arm when the skin of his exposed wrist brushed me when he pulled away. “It’s an old grimoire that belonged to a lineage of dark mages.”
He grabbed my useless English textbook and placed on top of the leather-bound book, concealing it.
“How…” I gave him a questioning look—how did he know I had been searching for this type of information?
“I pay attention. Sometimes.” He lightheartedly chuckled. “You’ve been searching for anything on dark mages since you arrived.”
“Where did you find it?” I had searched the entire library.
“Let’s just say I got bored while you were gone.
” David’s smile turned mockingly mischievous, then solemn.
“I wanted to find out more about the control of my abilities and if there is anything naturally dark about fire magic. I heard about a basement below the library with forbidden books and figured it wouldn’t hurt to look.
I saw the book and knew it was something you should see—you know, after the dark mage attack and all.
I should have given it to you sooner, but I had hidden it in my closet and forgot it was in there.
It would have made for an interesting Christmas gift. ”
“You went in the basement?” I leaned forward, keeping our conversation quiet though no one appeared to be listening. “Wouldn’t it be locked?”
“I know a few things. Plus, I don’t think they take the security of the basement seriously.” David’s brows furrowed. “You don’t seem shocked about the academy having a basement.”
It had sounded like John took the security of the basement very seriously. Maybe something was tampering with the enchantments again, but how did I tell John without getting David into trouble?
“Did you…” I wasn’t sure how to ask if he saw ginormous, venomous demonic rats. “… see anything?”
“Yes.” His eyes widened. “An abundance of dusty books and an exorbitant amount of stairs to climb back up. Descending had been less strenuous.”
I rolled my eyes but also understood. It was a lot of stairs—that’s why we didn’t have time to take them when Ender and I were running for our lives.
“Your expression is telling me you’ve been there?” David asked.
“Yes.” I nodded. “It was uneventful, but I ran out of time.”
David didn’t seem to buy it, as he slowly shook his head.
“Yeah,” he said. “I will be shamefully honest—it’s quite spooky and I didn’t last long.”
Someone moved to the desk next to him.
“Hi, David.” The student smiled, and David gave her a polite nod and gave me a knowing look.
“Too bad you don’t have that delicious liquid courage this time,” I said, remembering the Halloween party we’d gone to right after we’d each arrived. Though, this time, I welcomed the conversation. I was curious and David had become a friend.
“That is certainly too bad.” He gave me a wink before turning to the girl, who had still been talking.
I applauded him for his inability to be rude, even when it was apparent he didn’t want to have a conversation with her.
I was positive that had to be the contributing factor as to why the girls wanted his attention—it couldn’t have been because of the he offed his parents rumor.
I clutched the grimoire closely to my chest and walked to my locker. I tasted the bitterness seeping from it, unequivocally justifying why it was locked away in the basement. It sent chills down my spine.
A bright white rose was elegantly taped to my locker, complete with a tasteful black ribbon tied in a bow. I leaned in, taking in its fresh floral scent, but another aroma was hidden amongst its pedals and stem. An earthy oil scent?
Exciting awareness alerted me before I felt Ender’s breath against the bare skin on my neck.
He took a slow, deep breath through his nose. “The smell of roses and sandalwood. And a rare, beautiful rose. Like you.”
I turned to face him. He held a bouquet of white roses, his hazel eyes entrapping my gaze, making my heart flutter. This was a new gesture. A man had never brought me flowers—though there had never been any men in my life before Fives. He had matched my scent—according to him.
“What professor did you charm to have these made, or have you been practicing?” I asked jokingly. In time, he would be able to create them himself. They were the rarest natural occurring rose—blue was the rarest, but they did not grow by natural occurrence.
“Charm?” He gave his best one-sided grin. “I don’t have any of that.”
I laughed. If it hadn’t been him giving me the roses, I would’ve been uncomfortable. Instead, him knowing my scent did something wild to me.
I shifted the books I held, needing to unlock my locker. His gaze dropped to the books, his lips instantly turning down. The imaginary enamored bubble surrounding us popped, overtaken by questions and fear.
He glowered at the book. “What is that and why does it feel like death?”
“It’s a grimoire from a dark mage line.” I finished opening my locker so I could shove the books inside. “David gave it to me.”
I felt Ender’s anger as I shut the door, hoping to leave the stagnant, dreadful feeling emitting from the book.
“Why would he give you that?” He scowled, the flowers still in his hand. Somehow, he looked dangerous when upset … and hot. Ugh.
“Because he knew I was looking into dark mages. I assume after the attack and when everyone found out what I was, he understood why I was looking, even if he doesn’t know about my mom.” I shrugged. “He probably thinks I’m just trying to defend myself against dark mages but not the entire story.”
Ender physically relaxed, but I could still feel his anger. He didn’t like that I had been given a dangerous book. It didn’t need to even be opened to know it held dark secrets.
“Be careful, Selene.” He stepped closer, the flowers creating a small barrier between us. “That book doesn’t feel right.”
“I know.” I swallowed. “But it might have answers that could help prevent someone else from dying.”
His expression lightened and he wrapped me in a hug, careful of the flowers and protecting me from getting prodded by the thorns. I sighed, leaning into his chest. He understood.
He pressed a light kiss to my forehead as he handed me the flowers and left, heading to the men’s locker room. It was too bad I couldn’t follow him.