Chapter 15
As I trail behind Briar undetected, I know there’s a chance my concealment may not last long. I hoped she would stay in her room or that Ziv would return early, but neither of those things happened.
When a male steps into her path, blocking her from walking down the hall, I nearly slip from my shadow form, especially when I watch his eyes travel up and down her body. My creature stands her ground, and the male doesn’t elevate to a threat. He does mention the fallen, and it’s clear he and everyone else is curious about why he’s been escorting her around. She doesn’t answer his probing question and cuts the conversation short by making a quick exit.
When I follow her, I’m tempted to sweep the male’s feet out from under him, but it would only alert him and the others to my presence or make them think Briar was somehow responsible. The rest of her venture is uneventful, other than the looks she attracts. It seems I’m not the only one who notices either. I watch her shoulders inch closer to her ears as she fills a tray with small portions of food, then selects a chair that leaves her back in the corner. She does her best to stay focused on her plate, but I see the way her eyes try to take everything in without being obvious about it.
As much as I would like to be closer to her, I stay on the other side of the room, clinging to the shadows that give me the best view of her surroundings. She may think she’s alone, but she isn’t and never will be.
After eating every bite on her plate, she returns her tray and disposes of her trash, then she makes her way back into the hallway. She is moving a little slower, as if she’s either reluctant to walk through the institute or go back to her room. I catch her looking over her shoulder several times, and each instance gives me a trace of satisfaction. I like knowing how aware of me she is.
I’m too busy watching her ass in britches that still don’t fit her well, but are much better than the rags she wore before, so I’m startled when Briar stops abruptly and takes a quick step backward. Mistress Corin steps into the corridor. It takes me a moment to realize she’s coming from one of the restricted libraries. Her reaction to seeing Briar makes me wonder if she was avoiding anyone seeing her leave the dark archives, or if something specifically about my creature alarmed her.
“Why are you roaming around?” Corin peers down her hawkish nose.
“Looking for my room.” Briar allows her hair to swing forward, concealing part of her face while she averts her eyes.
The instructor’s eyes narrow on Briar’s head with suspicion and, if I’m not mistaken, hostility. “This area is off-limits to students,” Corin lies. As far as I know, the library is off-limits to pretty much everyone at the school, with the exception of the headmistress and her top aides. The only reason I even know about the location of this place is because I make it a point to learn everyone’s secrets. It’s easy when you can live in the shadows.
“I’m new. I didn’t realize,” Briar defends.
“That seems awfully convenient.” Corin is sizing my creature up and inching closer. I know her ability comes from nature, but what her distinct talent is, I’m uncertain. Corin looks ready to pounce, and I need to put a stop to it.
I slip back around the corner and shatter my shadow form. It hurts like hell for a heartbeat, but it’s easy to ignore. I make a point of scraping my boot along the stone floor to be heard, then emerge from the corridor.
Briar does a double take when she sees me. There’s a second where I see relief flash across her features, but it’s eclipsed just as quickly with resignation.
“Kage.” Mistress Corin starts to step back but catches herself and holds her ground, rocking forward. “Am I interrupting something?” She glances between Briar and me, as if we planned to meet here.
“My solitude.” I act as if me happening upon them is an inconvenience.
“Neither of you should be wandering around. Head back to the dorms,” the instructor states, dismissing both of us.
“Where are the dorms?” Briar questions softly.
“I’m sure he can show you.” Corin skulks away.
I watch her back as she goes, but I still notice when my creature gazes over at me. “Are you following me?” Her tone isn’t accusatory, and instead, she almost sounds curious.
“Why the hell would I do that?” I find it difficult to outright lie to her.
“I’m not sure, but you seem to be around a lot.” I pretend not to see her lift her nose in the air and take a whiff as if she’s scenting me. Fuck, now my dick is hard. When she tilts her head to the side and narrows her eyes, I start to wonder if she knows that too. Maybe her ability is mental.
“Maybe I should be questioning why you are always around?” I counter.
We have a stare off that lasts all of five seconds before she breaks and looks away first. “If you tell me how to get back to the dorms, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“You mean your cell?”
“I’m capable of finding the room they assigned me if you’ll help me get back to the dorms.” She huffs, sounding ashamed when she begins to fidget. She thinks it’s an insult to be placed in the holding cells.
“Make sure you keep up.” I pivot and head in the opposite direction, taking the longest route back to the dorms.
At first, we’re quiet on the way back, but I slow my pace soon after we begin the trek back. Although I don’t plan on walking beside her, I find I quite like feeling her eyes on me. Besides, she’s so small, she would have to jog to keep up with my normal pace.
“Why is this place so big?” she mutters under her breath.
Answering isn’t even a conscious thought, but I find myself replying, “Size equals strength.”
“Not always. I once encountered a female who was smaller than me, and she could uproot trees.” Her words are spoken conversationally—not like she’s trying to prove me wrong, but like she just wants to talk. It’s not something I’m accustomed to. No one chats with me.
Strangely enough, I want to continue speaking with her too, but I’m at a loss for what to say, other than answering her question about the institute. “Strength can be amplified by numbers, and this facility is large, fortified, and shielded with magic, which means it appeals to those who would like to amass more power.”
“What kind of shields?”
I look down and realize just how close she’s gotten to me. She could reach over and touch me with ease. “You’re too close,” I snap out with more intensity than I intended, and her face falls as her steps slow to drop behind me. My gut twists, and I get the urge to tell her it’s for her own protection, but explaining that my touch kills somehow feels like admitting I shouldn’t be near her at all, and I can’t do that. Instead, I answer her earlier question to ease the sting of my rebuke. “There are wards all over the grounds—magical land mines.”
“Do they keep us in or others out?” she asks, seemingly unbothered by my insistence on having distance between us.
“Why, are you hoping to escape?” I stop and face her when she doesn’t respond. She pauses several feet away from me, making sure to maintain distance between us. “It would be useless. There is no place you could go where you would not be found.”
There’s an unmistakable threat in Kage’s words, one I don’t quite understand since it seems personal, as if even the mention of leaving pissed him off. I have an entire conversation with him in my head, explaining not everyone wants to be enlisted at Ivy, and that all I really want is to be left alone, but I know it would be a waste of breath to say any of it out loud or a challenge I could never stand up to. It’s clear by the other female’s reaction to Kage that he’s powerful. I know all the tells, like the way she instinctually stepped away from him, the way her entire demeanor shifted when he showed up, and how she left as soon as she could get away from him. None of it comes as a surprise, though, since I’ve seen him stand up to Ziv.
“I’m just trying to learn,” I defend lamely, then deflect a little more. “I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing here.”
“What you will do is train.”
“For the games?”
“For survival,” he intones, then turns to resume walking. I trail after him like a lost little puppy, desperate to ask more questions but too afraid to push him. A breeze from an open window stirs his midnight hair and carries his scent to me. The spike of familiarity hits me again, just as it did when he got between me and the older female. I know his smell, but I can’t figure out why, other than to assume it was from the day he took me to the healer.
“Who was that female?” I ask.
“Mistress Corin, she’s an instructor.”
“For combat?”
He glances over his shoulder briefly. “No, her magic is nature based.”
“So she tutors others with nature-based magic,” I surmise. “Why is that area off-limits to students?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” he remarks, but answers anyway. “It’s not just off-limits to students.”
“Oh, does that mean she wasn’t supposed to be there? What were you doing there?” The second half of my question escapes my thoughts, so I roll my lips together to keep from speaking again.
“I do as I please,” he replies without answering my question. “Think you can find your way back from here, or do you need me to draw you a map?”
I take in our surroundings, noting that the populated dorms are only a corner away. “I’ve got it,” I mumble, slightly embarrassed at the insult.
“Don’t go wandering around. It’s dangerous,” he warns, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s really a threat. He steps to the side, giving me ample room to pass. I try to look at it as if he’s doing me a favor, but I can’t help wondering if he just doesn’t want to get close to me.
Like a fool, I look over my shoulder and find him still watching me. The feeling is familiar, and I can’t shake the notion that he was following me earlier, despite his denial.