Chapter 21 Nikolai
Nikolai
Koroy can’t touch me, so he’s punishing Taera instead.
I watch the painful scene, but I don’t interfere.
Public humiliation is one of the safer ways for the class to size her up without causing lasting damage to the source.
I need her to be dismissed as a joke, then ignored until she flunks out—still several painful weeks away.
Thoma tugs his gloves off agonizingly slowly, delaying the inevitable. The conduit looks like he’d rather set his own hand on fire than touch her. I don’t blame him. This is going to hurt, and he doesn’t even know how powerful she is.
He grabs her without warning. What a dick.
The room explodes with a blinding clap of thunder, followed by Taera’s cry of pain.
Even having dulled my senses, I’m shocked by the sheer volume of the outburst. Magicians around me take a step back, eyes widening before they remember themselves.
After her assessment this morning, Taera’s magic should be almost spent, not reacting this violently.
The source cowers and cradles her arm where Thoma touched her.
While she’s frightened, she still seems alert—not even dizzy.
“You idiot,” Thoma mutters, shaking out his own hand. “Don’t dump all your magic at once.”
He lunges at her again, grasping her other arm.
She flinches, along with several nearby students, and the room erupts with blinding red.
I hide my wince behind a bored expression, even as my pulse jumps.
Bloody desert, she’s powerful. Taera may be untrained, but I underestimated her.
For a moment, I entertain the thought of harnessing it before dismissing the fantasy.
Her magic is wildfire: repressed for so long that it’s blazing out of control. Especially with her temper.
When my eyes refocus, accelerated by a touch of magic, Thoma is sprawled on the floor, on his ass. He scrambles to his feet, his cheeks scarlet and the contours of his face warping before he regains his composure.
“I don’t know why you have it out for Koroy”—Jezebel giggles, pressing herself against my side—“but this is hilarious.”
I frown. I do not want to anger Koroy. How do I spin this show in my favor?
Thoma, recovered and balling his hands into fists, advances on Taera again. “At least now you’ve gotten most of it out, it should be easier to—”
Taera jerks back, wild-eyed and trembling, the air around her vibrating—warning me she still has far more magic than she should. If Thoma touches her again, he might lose a hand. I open my mouth to intervene—
—but across the room, someone flips a mane of red curls over her shoulder. Annie meets my eyes, and my chest loosens. I nod.
“This is fun.” Annie’s inflection is perfect: amused yet drooping with boredom. “But can we get back to the real magic? Or do we have to wait for Niko’s new toy to pass out on the floor?”
A ripple of agreement moves through the class, but Koroy still looks ready to flay Taera.
“If we’re not getting any work done anyways,” Annie drawls, “then I want to play with her.”
This warrants Koroy’s attention. He scowls. “You don’t have to take Thoma’s place.”
Annie shrugs. “I don’t mind. C’mere, Tae-tae.”
The nickname is affectionate, like summoning a dog. Taera’s eyes flicker between Thoma and Annie before making the correct choice. She cautiously approaches the redhead. I exhale, relieved that the main ordeal is over.
“Now aren’t you a poor, sweet thing,” Annie coos, making no sudden movements. “Thoma’s being nasty. Come on, sit down over here.”
Taera, hands trembling, obeys. She glances at me with shiny eyes, and her jaw clenches. She wrenches her head the other way.
My stomach twists, tight and unpleasant.
“Someone who can’t hide their tears shouldn’t be in a fourth-year illusion class,” Koroy growls. He snaps his glare to the rest of the room. “What are you all staring at? You know what to do.”
Slipping off my gloves, I wipe my emotions clean and dive into drills with Jezebel. She presses herself against me at every opportunity, fingers possessively wrapped around my arm.
“Nikolai, a word.” Master Koroy approaches.
Maintaining tight control, I toss him a look of innocent confusion. Then, I excuse myself to follow him out the door and into the hall. Interested eyes and ears perk up as we pass, but I draw from my newly replenished magic to ensure no one can hear us.
“You understand the position you’ve put me in,” he says slowly.
I nod. “I apologize for—”
He raises a hand, cutting me off with magic for effect. I look down and do my best to appear contrite, to hide my unease.
“She’s not only a danger, but a petty distraction. An inconvenience.” An embarrassment, Koroy doesn’t say.
“I understand.”
“You’d like to go on one of your little… trips again, after exams?” Koroy says.
My jaw clenches. I separate the image Koroy sees of me from my telltale reactions underneath. How dare he blackmail me? He knows how important it is for me to go.
“Yes,” I say, working to keep my tone smooth.
“If I’m going to continue granting you favors, then you won’t mind doing a small one for me,” he says.
“Of course. What can I do?” My anger swells. If he’d just admitted Taera to first year, I wouldn’t have been forced to sponsor her.
“Surely you won’t mind partnering exclusively with your personal source,” Master Koroy says, smiling unpleasantly. “I don’t want another conduit touching her.”
The injustice has me clenching my teeth. It’s demeaning, a direct slash to my carefully cultivated reputation to chaperone a useless, untrained source—as well as a waste of my time. I could appeal to Sen’ko, who might take pity on me. But she might also laugh maniacally and triple my punishment.
“What about exams?” I ask.
His lip curls. “While it would be entertaining to watch you wrangle your way through those, I’m not cruel. You may take your examinations with whomever you choose.”
My spitting rage settles back down to cool anger.
“Do we have a deal?” he asks. “You work with her, and after exams you can leave.”
It stings, letting him flex his authority over me, but it could be worse. I swallow my pride and give a small nod. “As you wish, Master Koroy.”
If this is the part I have to play, I’ll play it.
I’ll do anything to see my sister again soon—even put up with this hurricane of a source for three and a half weeks.