Chapter 66 Taera
Taera
Spending the night with Nikolai, waking up tangled in his sheets and smelling of him…
none of it seems real. Especially when the magician in question is gone when my eyes open.
But I am certainly in his bed again, which makes me chuckle.
After luxuriating for a few more moments, I slip out of the silky sheets to go bathe.
I’ve never been this giddy. Warmth flushes through me when I recall last night.
I smile when I remember Nikolai inviting me to travel home with him, and the feeling only intensifies into an echo of the blazing heat that consumed us in his bed.
My breath leaves me, and I have to remember to get out of the bath, to get on with the rest of my day.
I’m barely dressed again when Omi raps on the door to fetch me for work.
My mind is elsewhere as we walk to the Healers’ Hall together and begin our checklist for the day.
Did I dream up the whole thing with Nikolai?
It seems plausible, given how perfect it was in contrast to all the bad that came before.
I think it actually happened. But was he serious about inviting me to go with him, or did he just get caught up in the moment?
I certainly wasn’t at my most lucid—I grin at the memory of his magic purring across my body.
Halfway through my shift, I realize I’ve been ambling around, not thinking straight or getting anything done.
Scolding myself, I douse my imagination in cold water.
If I want to leave the Halls as soon as I can, traveling with him might just be a distraction.
I’m not going to pass any exams without Nikolai, but maybe I can actually learn something when he’s gone, rather than relying on him to do everything for me.
Besides, last night was supposed to be the end of my feelings for him.
I’m supposed to move on—to forget about everything that happened so I can fall in love with some nice non-magical boy.
It was always going to be this way, I tell myself, even as disappointment lingers in my throat.
Then again, it might be safer to stay with Nikolai.
If he and I keep getting along, perhaps he’ll help me with my training.
And if I meet his sister—who was drained of magic—I’ll know for certain what happened to Mom.
Still, I can’t ignore that to get back to Gramps and Ezran, the proper thing to do is to stay here and study.
I realize Omi has already walked me back to my magician’s room, and I utter some sort of thanks and apology. I shouldn’t leave my only friend right after they found me a job. What sort of person would take off like that to chase a fanciful daydream?
I’m barely inside the door when I’m facing the green eyes that have my stomach tied in knots.
“These are yours,” Nikolai says. He holds out a bundle of brown fabric. I take it, realizing a moment later what I’m holding.
“My clothes.”
“I thought you might like to have them back,” he says, smiling tentatively. “If you still want to accompany me, that is.”
The rough tunic is paler than I remember, glimmering with an iridescent blue sheen it certainly didn’t have before.
“Sorry about that.” His smile is sheepish. “Outside clothing slowly turns that color.”
“That’s okay.” My brown clothes have always been cheap and utilitarian. For the first time, they look like something special. What will Ezran think when he sees them changed? Unease trickles through me.
“Also…” Nikolai holds out both hands. In one palm is my coin pouch, in the other, Mom’s necklace.
I gasp, reaching out to touch it. The wood is calm and cool, just like she was.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“It’s more than you think,” he says quietly. I stare at him, my brow creasing.
Nikolai lifts both our hands, together with the amulet, to his lips. My heart spikes. But rather than do anything indecent, he closes his eyes and blows a cool puff of air across the pendant. He tugs gently on my magic, sending a shiver up my neck.
The eucalyptus glistens. The wood glitters and peels away like tiny flakes of gold. They blow away, revealing the same pendant—every etching identical—carved out of glass.
My lips part.
As I watch, the pendant quivers atop his palm. Specks of gold appear across it, spreading like oil until its entire surface is coated in molten magic. It shimmers, then fades back to glossy wood.
I swallow. Once, the idea of wearing glass around my neck would have horrified me. But now, taking the pendant feels natural. It belonged to my mother. How?
“It might be best for me to hold on to this one,” he says. “Just until we’re outside the Halls. If you’re caught with it, the consequences will be dire.”
I run my thumb across it once more, but there isn’t even a glimmer. It’s the same smooth wood I’ve always known.
“I shouldn’t have kept it,” he says, tucking it away. “I don’t know why I did. But it’s yours, again, Taera. I’ll keep it safe.”
My eyes brim with tears. I tip my head back, laughing softly. “Thanks,” I say.
“We have to leave early tomorrow,” he says. “That is, if you still want to come with me.”
His expression is gentle, tentative, and my heart soars.
“I’d like that,” I say, nodding.
And just like that, I commit to going with him. The thought of riding through the desert again exhilarates me. But not as much as the magician who’s invited me, against all odds, to go with him. To leave this place, if only for a little while.
I swallow, wondering just how far I’d follow this magician.
I cross to my mat and pull out a piece of paper. First, I compose a letter to Omi, an explanation, an apology, a thank-you. If anyone deserves that, they do. Then, I take out a few more slips of paper to test a theory…
As I write, relief loosens my shoulders. I’m not moving to the dormitories. I’m not staying alone in the Halls of Glass without Nikolai. I’m going with my magician. The choice is as natural as breathing, which should frighten me.
Instead, I shiver with excitement.