Chapter 24 Monroe
MONROE
The dean gestures toward the chair across from her. “Take a seat, Monroe.”
She riffles through a few papers on her desk and passes one back to the vine-covered wall behind her. A thick, thorny shoot wraps around the paper, placing it in a basket at the top before it disappears into the ceiling.
Briar stands in the corner behind me, hands still in his pockets. He doesn’t take the other chair opposite the dean, nor does she invite him to.
I fidget with my fingers steepled in my lap, wondering if I’m about to be kicked out of the program.
Maybe my delay in magic is finally meeting its consequence.
I can’t blame the dean for being disappointed with my performance so far.
No one is more frustrated than I am that I’ve only just started being able to do anything at all—
Calmness settles over me like a blanket. My fingers quit their fidgeting, though the severe shift is disconcerting, as if every barbed tip of stress prodding at my insides has been smothered by marshmallows. I wish it were a comfort, but that calm isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from him.
While it’s unsettling experiencing someone else’s emotions within my body, I mirror Briar’s energy, releasing the tension in my neck and dropping my shoulders. “Is this about the spring assignment?”
“It is.” The dean sighs, then picks up a stack of papers, turning it toward me. It was an assignment from a few days ago. “I know it’s been a rough start. I’ll be honest, I’m inclined to have you defer the course, but your professors have seen a shift in your abilities and your drive to succeed—”
“I don’t want to give up.” Not yet. Not when I’m finally getting a hold on my magic.
I’m closer to getting home than I have been since I arrived.
I lift my chin, willing her to see how serious I am.
“There’s never been a challenge I haven’t risen up to and I’m already improving.
There are still a few more months left of training. ”
“That’s true, but you will need to demonstrate more consistency in your courses prior to your first rejuvenation.
” She frowns, glancing up at the three-handed clock, then back to me.
“Starting Monday, I expect you to stay after class three times a week and work with Professor Briar on your transformation skills and any other abilities you may be struggling with.” Her gaze shifts behind me. “You’ll ensure she’s ready.”
“Of course,” I hear him say, though his voice is low.
She clasps her hands atop the desk and brings her attention back to me. The dean takes the paper stack and sends it up the vines behind her. “We are not expecting perfection, but I refuse to needlessly endanger any of my Blooms this coming spring. Is that clear?”
There’s an intensity in her warning I don’t expect, but I also don’t question it. Not when there’s still an opportunity to return to my world.
“Yes, Dean.” I push my chair out and stand up. “Thank you for allowing me to continue. If it’s okay, I’d like to get home and practice.”
“I expect weekly reports over the next month, Professor Briar.”
I blink and nod silently, suppressing the prickling sensation behind my eyes. Unable to meet the dean or Briar’s stares, I scurry out of the office and exit the Conservatory.
Cherri’s waiting for me by the greenery-encased path.
“I’m here, waiting for you to fulfill your promise,” she says, bouncing on her heels to keep in time with my quick steps. “What’s going on?”
I pat beneath my eyes, willing the tears not to come. Not when I need to get it all out. It’s tempting to hoard the truth, but it’s also good to have an ally in keeping my secrets. “I know who my mate is.”
That stops Cherri in her tracks. She turns and grabs my shoulders. “Who?”
“First, I need you to promise you will remember that I don’t want a mate and I have no plans to do a claiming ceremony.”
“Oh no… It’s that bad?”
I nod vigorously.
“So it’s not Tom?”
I huff out a laugh. I shouldn’t be surprised she could say the one thing to cut through the tension pinning my shoulders up by my ears. “No. Our breakfast needs are safe.”
“Dani?” she guesses, wincing as if deeply mortified.
“God no.”
“Phew.” she drags the back of her hand along her forehead. “I heard the reason they’re at the Conservatory and demoted from their usual Radix duties is because they were caught with the Storms.”
Well, that’s certainly interesting. Makes sense that they told me they are on sabbatical, then.
I’ll admit, I still don’t really get what the issue is between summer and spring’s harbingers, but it also seems as though the rest of the seasons don’t like the Storms either, from what we’ve been told in Professor Tess’s class—which isn’t much.
“The suspense is killing me, sister. Who is it?”
I gnaw on my bottom lip.
“Who’d be worse than Dani? For my mate.”
Her eyes dart back and forth a few times, her face contorting with recognition. “No way… Sir Thumps-A-Lot?”
I muffle a laugh as I slap a hand over her mouth, scanning the space for onlookers. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
Cherri shrugs. “Really, it says more about our professor than it does about you.”
My cheeks flame, remembering how I wasn’t much better, thumping wildly against the dirt when he scratched my ears. I wrap my arms around myself and shiver.
On the way, I tell her about the meeting with the dean and my new assigned office hours.
“Maybe it’ll be a good thing,” she offers.
“Maybe…” Though I’m certain nothing good will come from alone time with Briar. Not when this bond has a mind of its own.
Worst of all, I’m already looking forward to it.