Chapter 16
Grayson
Grayson isn’t sure what to say to Bixby in the moments following the headmaster’s departure, especially with Nix’s blue eyes flashing a warning, teeth grinding audibly in the echoing silence.
Dahlia Kirwan could not have escaped faster if her tail feathers had been on fire.
Even with The Plain dialed down again, he’d seen a future where Nix’s self-control had snapped—absolute disaster, playing out in violence and retaliation—but it had shifted just as quickly.
It was probably for the best, given that they’re already in enough trouble without adding her entrails to the Water classroom’s decor and Nix living the next hundred years in a Were prison for violations of the Human-Were Alliance.
Not to mention the loss of life and limb once Jay tried to break him out with Rowan and Gideon and…yeah, it would have been bad, bad news.
A frisson of fear swoops in his belly, so strong it almost overshadows Nix’s burning anger, searing their soul at the close call.
The thought of prison reminds him that it doesn’t have to mean a magically enforced cage with iron bars.
It could be a Gothic castle school in the Swiss Alps, studying Time and being punished for shielding his true access to The Plain.
It didn’t matter that Grayson had been honest when he said he’d never made the ice staff before. He’d certainly never shown a glimmer of Water Affinity beyond heating water in a mug, and he’s always assumed that had been because of his Fire Affinity.
But this sure as fuck wasn’t that. This was a fully-formed weapon.
Unbreakable, harder than steel, and entirely made of the water readily available in the classroom’s air.
It wasn’t just Water, either. Not that now was the time to tell Bixby that the staff had been a delicate mix of Air and Water and Fire.
It had just appeared out of nowhere. Bixby had been poking at Nix, and while Nix had bitten his tongue, his sweet vanilla sugar scent had shifted into burnt sugar.
He knew Bixby couldn’t tell—or didn’t care—that Nix was holding back for only one reason: he was Jay’s representative.
He hadn’t wanted Jay’s reputation ruined.
But their soul had been brimming with simmering anger.
That had made Grayson even more determined to let The Plain free, in some righteous defense of his mate, using the powers he’s brought to bear in every lifetime.
But Grayson was done making himself small, and while he’d let some of it free in his Air class, this was completely unfettered.
He still prides himself on his control, but letting the full spectrum of The Plain flow through his every cell had been a relief.
An irresistible lure he only indulges in at home with his pack or in his studio.
Schools like The Guild should be a safe place to master his skills and reach his full potential. A place where he can fully be himself.
Figuring out who that is has been on his mind more and more. Every day spent here with his teachers and fellow students has shown him that his future might be helping others do the same.
Just as Ignatius does with his novices in Florida, every minute the Master of Novices spent encouraging Grayson showed him that teaching might be the thing he’d been looking for his whole life.
In his Air and Fire classes, Knox and Xiu often let him assist other students. They didn’t have to; it wasn’t part of the magical curriculum. But they persevered because teaching and doing it well was for their students and themselves. Their genuine support made him feel free.
Now, though, that dream is in jeopardy.
He doesn’t need to understand the full scope of the Truthseeker tribunal to know that failing the test will not only put him on a plane to Switzerland faster than Luca can shed a pair of pants, but will also be an indelible mark on his reputation.
The Guild won’t want someone who failed a test based on integrity anywhere near their children.
“You should go, Grayson.” Bixby interrupts Grayson’s doom spiral.
He opens the classroom door, looking out and checking both ways as if he’s expecting someone to be lurking.
“Professor Kirwan has a great deal of influence over our headmaster, and I wouldn’t put it past her to change his mind about detaining you. ”
It’s an oddly protective sentiment, given the teacher’s earlier snide remarks.
“Thanks, Professor. I am sorry about the ice staff. I didn’t mean to—”
The smaller man smiles briefly, and it makes him look less toady.
“It is I who should apologize. I was less than welcoming.” He adjusts his coat, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“And Nix, I am sorry about earlier. I won’t make excuses, but please know that the Guild instructors are under a great deal of pressure under the current administration, and it has brought out the worst in me. I fear I was not always so…”
“Bigoted?” Nix asks flatly. “Rude?”
Bixby coughs, face florid. “Yes. You are absolutely right. Hearing the headmaster’s remarks made me realize my own words and attitude weren’t so far off.”
Most people in the Nashville magical community in positions of power weren’t so quick to admit their flaws, certainly not to their younger counterparts.
“Thank you.” Nix raises a suspicious eyebrow. “You’ll do better?”
“Of course.”
Like the flipping of a switch, Nix gifts him a full smile, and Bixby looks startled by it.
“Good. I’d like to come again. I like the snow,” Nix says, looping his arm through Grayson’s. He’s already moving them toward the open door.
“Certainly, come anytime, Nix. I’ll look forward to it.
” Bixby still looks a bit flummoxed, but gathers himself from the magnificent beauty that is his soulmate’s smile.
“Grayson, I will see you at your tribunal. We will show them that you are merely an honest student coming into magnificent powers later in life.”
Grayson tries not to let his concern show. Because he may be coming into his powers later in life, but he has most assuredly not been honest about them. Not at all. And that is only part of the problem.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Professor. Again, sorry, but we have to run.”
“Bye!” Nix waves as they head down the hall. “Turns out he’s not so bad. That’s good, right?”
Grayson doesn’t say a word. He needs to be outside right now. The walls are pressing in. He’d been so sure he was done hiding, and now he’s got The Plain pulled in so far that even Nix’s lips are pinched.
“Ugh, I hate when you do that. I mean, I get it, but…feels like you turned the lights off.” Nix rubs his abdomen. “Jamie’s happy right now. I hate to harsh his buzz about the extended pack, but the shit is going to hit the fan. I should call.”
Grayson doesn’t spare a smirk for the weird mix of cliches. They’re about two minutes from the bell, and Grayson doesn’t want to take the chance that he’ll run into anyone by teleporting to the front doors.
Clenching his jaw against the impending crowd, he pulls Nix closer to him, taking the stairs down to the lobby almost two at a time.
They manage to make it halfway through the massive atrium before the shrill tone sounds and a hundred and fifty students flood the area in waves from every direction.
There’s the usual loud din, but this time Grayson can hear his name amongst their high-pitched conversations.
“Shit! This is crazy,” Nix says, almost shouting over the noise. He’s got his phone in hand, Jay’s number already ringing through.
Jay answers, and after that, Grayson can’t hear what he’s saying.
“He’s okay,” Nix says. “He’s with me. We’re not hurt. But…” he lowers his voice so the kids don’t hear him. “They’ve suspended him. Effective immediately.”
More students fill the foyer, crowding close, no doubt to get the juiciest gossip straight from the source.
“Grayson!” Someone calls from behind them.
Grayson doesn’t stop, but keeps pushing through the pockets of students. He’s not the only one who hears it, though, and heads turn toward the voice.
Jillian is a senior from his Healing Talent class.
Her main Affinity is Water, but she has both Earth and Healing Talents.
She has also made no effort to hide that she finds Grayson attractive.
This is something Grayson has not shared with his mates, and right now, he doesn’t have the time or the energy to be kind about her childish crush.
A group of first-years intercepts them when they’re a few feet from freedom. At the center are two of his Water classmates who had witnessed the ice staff incident. “Grayson, hey. That was really cool today.”
“Grayson!” Jillian calls again, this time closer. “Wait up!”
“The Guild’s main foyer,” Nix says into the phone, eyes scanning the crowd. “The kids are…impressed.”
Jillian arrives out of breath and cheeks flushed with the effort of having moved the other kids out of her way. She’s at least 5’10, with long red hair tied back with a pink ribbon. Crowding in close, her eyes on him, she completely misses Grayson’s arm around Nix’s shoulders.
“Hi!” she purrs, hand on Grayson’s forearm. Normally, he’d step back or remove it, but both his hands are full, one braced against the door behind him, the other anchoring Nix, and the crush of first-years presses in from the other side. There is nowhere to retreat without making a scene.
“I heard you made a weapon in class,” she says, voice dropping as her fingers tighten in his sleeve. “That is so hot.”
“Are you on your way?” Nix asks Jay. “I think it’s better if I explain somewhere less populated. If you know what I mean.” He finally notices Jillian standing way too close, her perfume laid on thick, the cloying fake strawberry scent making his sensitive nose wrinkle.
“Excuse me. You should really get your hands off my mate.” With a glare, he pulls Grayson behind him. His aura is broadcasting pissed-off omega, and the kids heed their instincts, parting like the Red Sea.