Chapter 27
“Your apprentice is currently incapable of using magic,” I said, lazily raising the hand wearing the bracelet without even trying to sit up.
In reality, I was pretending not to care.
Pretending my heart wasn’t pounding like crazy.
Mentally, though, I was already bracing myself for another blow from Airis.
“I’ve noticed you’ve become quite fond of new accessories lately,” he replied.
I couldn’t see him yet, but I could hear his smooth, unhurried footsteps as he moved toward the shelves.
“Did you want something?” I asked, finally propping myself up on my elbows to look at him.
“You.”
Silence.
But my mind reacted faster than my heart.
“Do you know what this bracelet means?”
“I don’t know what your behavior means,” he said, turning to face me.
His gaze felt like invisible arrows—
Sharp and unwavering enough to pin me in place.
I genuinely didn’t understand what he meant.
That I refused to come see him?
That I was trying to bruise his ego?
Or that I’d earned this bracelet after nearly starting a fight with Joelle—
Becoming exactly the kind of threat he’d warned me about from the very beginning?
Letting out a slow breath, I finally said,
“I didn’t start the argument with Joelle.”
Nothing changed in Airis’s expression.
But he still looked slightly irritated.
“We were trying to defend ourselves.”
“Fireling, I don’t give a damn whether you threatened Joelle Fokas or not.”
He sounded as though he wasn’t breathing at all—
As though sheer self-control was the only thing keeping his anger in check.
“What I don’t understand,” he continued, “is why the hell you’re avoiding me.”
I swallowed instinctively.
“What makes you think that?” I frowned.
“Didn’t Stasia tell you I was going to sleep?”
“At seven in the evening?” he asked, raising a brow.
“And why not? I—”
“Didn’t sleep well?” he interrupted.
His tone alone sounded almost mocking.
Irritation flared through my blood instantly.
“I was tired.”
“And what’s the point of us seeing each other if my magic is blocked right now?”
Our eyes carried on a conversation of their own.
Both tense.
Both saying far too much for lips that remained closed.
I could’ve assumed he came because he felt guilty after our last conversation.
But damn it.
This was Airis.
What guilt?
No...
He did feel guilty sometimes.
Mostly during those nights when we fell asleep in the same bed.
But I refused to let anything like that happen again.
“We need to take a walk,” Airis said suddenly.
“And why exactly would we do that?” I raised a brow before dropping back onto the bed.
“I was genuinely planning to sleep.”
“You won’t sleep in that.”
His gaze drifted over me.
“You couldn’t even sleep comfortably in pajamas.”
“You kept tossing and turning until you finally passed out.”
I frowned.
Damn.
I didn’t think he’d noticed that.
“Stop pretending you know me.”
“But I do.” I snorted.
“I just don’t understand you sometimes.
And this is one of those times.”
“My condolences,” I replied dryly.
“We already talked about trust,” he said.
“But apparently we also need to start having honest conversations.”
“Do you even have a soul?” I turned my head toward him, giving him a skeptical look.
“Yeah.” Airis nodded, one brow lifting.
“And it’s currently the only thing stopping me from pinning you down and spanking your gorgeous ass for being this irritating.”
Silence.
Trying to hide my smile, I muttered,
“I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been for you not to say that sooner.”
“Very.” He nodded.
“Which only proves you’ve gotten to know me pretty well too.”
I snorted.
“You’re not a mystery to me at all.
Men like you are obvious from the start.”
“And what exactly is obvious?” Airis asked, his tone sharpening.
“That you’ll strip my soul bare while refusing to reveal so much as a bare arm in return.”
“Tomorrow your false conclusions about me are going to shatter.”
I looked at him again.
“And why’s that?
What’s happening tomorrow?”
“I’ll take my shirt off.”
I immediately rolled my eyes and looked back at the ceiling.
“We’re going to Magicslan,” he continued after letting his gaze linger on me for another moment.
“Pack a few things.
We’ll be there for two days.
I’ll be waiting outside your room at nine tomorrow morning.”
“Try not to traumatize my roommates,” I said as his voice grew quieter.
Apparently, he was already heading for the door.
“I have to mark my territory somehow.”
Our eyes met again.
His smug.
Mine utterly confused.
“So nobody touches what belongs to me.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Sweet dreams, Fireling.
I’d appreciate it if you stopped letting go of me in your dreams the way you do in real life.”
And with that, he left.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't blink.
It felt as though even my heart had stopped long enough to be reborn twice.
Maybe from shock.
Or maybe from the terrifying realization that I wanted him to mean every word.
Anastasia Lang’s POV
“I won’t let her anywhere near you while you’re wearing that bracelet.”
Tarven paced back and forth in long, furious strides.
Meanwhile, I sat on a large stone near the Temple of Nereida, where we’d gone for a walk.
“How the hell could they put that thing on you?”
He was furious.
And I was trying to silence every troubling thought in my head by admiring him instead.
Thank the gods Tarven never noticed things like that about me.
His anger consumed him completely, only intensifying his need to protect me.
He always did this.
Never realizing it only made me like him more.
“Why did you even provoke her?” he asked.
My brows shot up.
“What?” I pressed a hand dramatically to my chest, feigning offense.
“You think I started it?”
“Obviously.” He nodded without hesitation.
“I know you too well.
And I know you’d do anything to end up sharing a studio with Ria.”
Well.
He wasn’t wrong about that.
“I like her,” I said lightly.
“Besides, we get along pretty well.”
And we each carried secrets dangerous enough to destroy the other.
Whether trust existed between us yet or not—
It would have to, eventually.
I’d seen in one of my visions that Ria and I would become close.
Though I never fully knew whether those visions were truly glimpses of the future—
Or just games my own mind liked to play.
“You and Airis are both becoming ridiculous over her.”
I looked at him in confusion.
Okay...
I understood immediately where Airis was heading after I told him Ria had supposedly gone to sleep early tonight—
But obsessed?
“With what exactly?” I asked carefully.
“I don’t know,” Tarven muttered.
“But he was seriously pissed after Miloran told him what kind of test I put you two through.”
A grin nearly tugged at my lips.
“And after he saw the scratches on her face, it honestly looked like he was about two seconds away from cutting off my oxygen supply.”
I stayed quiet.
Should I tell Ria that?
We’d never actually talked about feelings.
Or attraction.
Or anything like that.
But even without saying it out loud, it was obvious that whatever existed between her and Airis was far from normal.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“We were talking about Alicia.”
I sighed.
I wasn’t ready to face my sister.
Not mentally.
Not emotionally.
The last time we saw each other, she left me with a scar—
A permanent reminder of just how deeply my sister loved me.
Deeply enough to want me dead more than anyone else.
And unfortunately, Tarven had seen the aftermath.
Not the attack itself—
But everything that followed.
Everything except the scar.
That part, I hid from everyone.
“It’s because of that bitch that I volunteered to become your mentor in the first place.”
“I won’t let her lay a finger on you.”
I smiled.
“And here I thought you just wanted to spend as much time with me as possible.”
I shrugged, slipping into my usual teasing tone.
The mask that would never let Tarven realize how much I liked him.
Which meant I could flirt with him freely, without worrying he’d realize I meant every word.
“Obviously, Stasia.” Our eyes met.
“But first and foremost, I’d prefer you alive.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to survive,” I replied.
“Besides, it’s not like she’d attack me inside the academy, right?”
“She won’t,” Tarven agreed.
“But during unauthorized little trips to Magicslan? She might.”
His brown eyes held unmistakable disapproval.
As though we hadn’t already had this exact conversation five times.
Tarven had been furious after finding out I’d left the academy grounds without his permission.
He still thought I was weak.
Yes, my powers had only awakened about six months ago.
But Tarven had trained me the entire time.
Did he really doubt not only my abilities—
But his own as well?
“And what if I got myself a boyfriend?” I asked casually.
“Would these little trips suddenly seem less dangerous?”
“Stasia, what boyfriend?” Tarven frowned.
He didn’t sound jealous.
More like an overprotective older brother.
The kind I’d always dreamed of having.
“There’s a war with Moss coming,” he reminded me.
“You’re still not fully protected from Alicia, and you’re seriously thinking about your love life right now?”
The disapproval in his eyes only deepened.
I simply shrugged.
“And why not?”
Tarven let out a heavy sigh.
“You know, I swear you become more unbearable every year.”
“I do my best for you, Representative of Vuduarus,” I said with a smile.
Gradually, the tension left his body.
My silence only helped.
Meanwhile, I simply kept admiring him.
And thanks to the playful mask I always wore around him—
I never had to hide it.
“Tomorrow we’re visiting Wahlslan,” he announced suddenly.
At my questioning look, he continued,
“I’m going to teach you how to use weapons.”
“Can’t we do that here?” I raised a brow.
“Where else would we train with weapons if not in the City of Defense?”
The question sounded more like a statement.
I’d only visited Wahlslan once before.
Just passing through.
The memory of it still lingered beneath my skin.