Chapter 37 Taera
Taera
Master Koroy isn’t here. Whispers roll over the room.
Waving a quick goodbye to Omi, I take my place at Nikolai’s stony side.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
He shrugs, not looking up from his page.
The doors blast open, and Master Koroy storms in, followed by Head Glassmaster Sen’ko. Her semi-transparent face splits into a crazed smile.
The room goes silent, and I can hear my own hammering pulse.
“Thoma Ahlberg,” Koroy booms.
I flinch, even though it isn’t my name.
“Yes, Master.” A student shakily stands up—the same one who grabbed me on the first day. “Head Glassmaster.”
“You’ve been found in possession of a forbidden text,” Koroy snarls.
Thoma pales. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“This was found in your chambers.” Master Koroy lifts the book and my breathing quickens.
I recognize that book.
It isn’t the one Nikolai stole from the Library of the Labyrinth—it’s the one before that. The book he spent days and nights fixated on and took with him to every class.
I turn to the magician beside me.
He doesn’t even blink. If anything, he looks bored.
“I-I’ve never seen this before.” Thoma’s hands shake as he speaks. Then, to my horror, his long dark hair flickers away in patches, revealing glimpses of a shaved head underneath. Students gasp.
“Terrible luck then, for it to be sewn inside your mattress,” Koroy says.
“I don’t know how…” Thoma’s big, beautiful eyes twitch and shrink to smaller ones with stubby lashes, shining with terror.
I stare at Nikolai. “What did you do?”
He finally deigns to shake his head, muttering, “Emotion is getting the better of him. How humiliating.”
Nikolai turns and smiles at me, his eyes cold and hard and unspeakably gorgeous. It’s like being pinned by glass.
“No—please—” Thoma cries, his voice feeble without his magic.
“You know the consequences,” Sen’ko says. “But I’m feeling generous. Immediate expulsion from the Halls of Glass. We will confiscate your amulets and conduct a thorough investigation into whether a more permanent solution is required.”
My mouth hangs open. He’s being expelled?
Koroy clamps a hand around Thoma’s arm and drags him toward the door. His sobs bounce off the glass walls.
“Take this as a lesson,” the Head Glassmaster remarks lightly as Thoma is dragged away. “Classes are dismissed for the afternoon.”
I stare at the empty doorway. I didn’t like him, but my horror morphs into despair for the poor student. He looks so hopeless, so afraid. Guilt seeps through me. I try to tell myself it isn’t my fault, but Thoma’s wretched pleas echo in my ears.
The door slams and the room exhales. Low, eager whispers flare.
“I heard he broke into Sen’ko’s office—”
“How’d he even get near it—”
“He deserves it.” Jezebel chuckles. “For getting caught.”
I can’t move.
Thoma—terrified, pleading—hadn’t even understood what was happening to him.
He didn’t deserve to be ruined.
I can’t tear my gaze off Nikolai. He did this. To an innocent student.
When he packs up his books to leave, I stumble after him. My mind screams at me to be wary. He’s dangerous.
Even knowing it’s a bad idea, I follow him back to his rooms. He doesn’t look back at me the whole way, but when he arrives, he holds the door open for me with a patronizing smile. I don’t take my eyes off him as I step inside.
“How could you?” I whisper.
“Oh?” He pins me with those green eyes. “You’ve gone from hating magicians to wanting to save them?”
I just stare. “It wasn’t his fault. That book wasn’t his.”
He smirks. “Your perceptiveness astounds me.”
“But why? Why do that to him?”
He grins like he’s been waiting for me to ask. “I couldn’t just leave the thing lying around—not with you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
A wave of nausea washes over me.
“What if I tell someone?” I whisper.
His smile widens, and he starts to laugh, flashing perfect teeth. “You really want to threaten me?”
Fear crawls down my spine like icy fingertips. Contempt, too, but the fear wins. He’s a monster and has just demonstrated how cruel he can be to prove a point.
Nikolai moves to his desk, rummaging through it, then heads for the door again.
I can’t let him leave. There’s one thing that’s still too important.
“I need to write a letter to my family,” I blurt.
He chuckles. “How lovely.”
“What can I write?” I ask, willing to give him anything, even humiliate myself. “Please, Nikolai. Please.”
He glances at me with calculating eyes, then smiles magnanimously. “No magic. No mention of the Halls, or of the desert. No illusionists.”
I swallow, unsure what his game is. If he’s actually telling the truth, if he has an ulterior motive.
“If you care about your family, you’ll lie to them.” He continues smiling sweetly.
“How will they believe I’m okay if I can’t explain anything?” I ask carefully.
“Better question”—Nikolai’s eyes glint, and he stalks toward me—“is how do you plan to send it?”
My hands tremble, and I clench them into fists. I won’t give him the satisfaction of showing him I’m afraid. He got Thoma expelled today just to spite me. I don’t want to be around when he snaps completely…
But my family means more than anything.
I try to keep my tone even. “You said you would—”
“Send your little letter? Aww, that’s sweet.” His smile turns mocking. “That was before you searched my desk—the one place that was off-limits.”
“Please.” I swallow my disgust toward him, along with my pride, ready to say whatever I have to. “I-I need your help.”
“You haven’t earned it.” He sneers. “Even if you write your letter, you can’t afford to send it.”
“You told me my money wasn’t useful here.” My stomach fills with fire, and I forget my fear. “You filthy liar.”
“Oh, Taera.” He chuckles. “The price isn’t gold; it’s magic.”
My breath catches. “What?”
“And last I checked, you touch anyone other than me and you both go…” Nikolai makes a popping motion with his hands before grinning down at me. No doubt he’s enjoying the shock and betrayal I can’t hide.
He steps past me.
“Where are you going?” I try to sound demanding, but my voice is faint.
“The labyrinth.”
“It’s forbidden,” I cry after him.
“Yes.” He chuckles. “But the masters are occupied with Thoma, now, aren’t they?”