9. Quill
Quill
The moment Professor Blackwood’s office hours began, I was there, pounding on her door.
She called me in immediately, which wasn’t surprising.
Professor Blackwood had always been fond of me.
I’d maintained a nearly perfect score in all of her classes, never missed an assignment, and made a point of engaging thoughtfully in lectures.
It was a good strategy, but it was also genuine. I respected her.
“Quill,” she greeted me, gesturing to the chair across from her desk. “I assume this is about your group assignment?”
“It is,” I said, settling into the seat. My heart was already racing. I’d rehearsed this a dozen times. “I need to request a new partner. Aeron and I aren’t compatible. Our working styles clash, and I don’t think we’re going to produce quality work together.”
She leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled beneath her chin. For a long moment, she simply studied me, and I felt the weight of her gaze. It was sharp and assessing as always. Professor Blackwood didn’t miss much.
“Next time you rehearse a lie,” she said finally. “You should work on keeping calm. All the words came out right, but it sounds rushed and desperate.”
My stomach sank. She knew. Of course she knew. Why did I think I was going to pull one over on the most powerful witch at the college?
“However,” she continued, and something in her tone shifted, “I might be willing to work with you. But I’d need a favor. In confidence.”
I leaned forward slightly. “What kind of favor?”
“I need you to keep working with him,” she began, holding up her hand before I could retort. “And I want you to keep an eye on him. That shouldn’t be difficult considering how attached he seems to be to you.”
“That’s one way to say it…” I grumbled.
“You are a great student, Quill. One of my finest,” she said, leaning back in her chair with a sigh. “I’m usually not one to ask students for favors, but there’s something going on with Mr. Pyre that I don’t quite trust.”
“I don’t trust him either,” I replied. “He’s a dickhead—” I froze, feeling embarrassment flush across my face. “I’m sorry, professor. I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh please,” she laughed, giving me a dismissive wave. “I spend all day trying not to curse in front of students. Don’t worry about it.”
I relaxed slightly at her reassurance, though the tension in my shoulders didn’t fully ease.
Professor Blackwood had always been more human than most of the faculty, more willing to acknowledge the messy reality of student life.
It was strange considering she had a reputation for being one of the most difficult professors on campus.
Maybe it was just me she was so nice to.
“So what exactly do you want me to watch for?” I asked, trying to steer us back to safer ground. “Is there something specific?”
She was quiet for a moment, her dark eyes fixed on something beyond the window of her office. When she spoke again, her voice had dropped lower, and her words were more carefully chosen.
“You know that Mr. Pyre is the grandson of Elder Thaddeus Pyre, yes?”
“Of course,” I nodded. “Aeron won’t let anyone forget that.”
“How much do you recall of your magical history lessons?” she asked, leaning forward. “About the Elder Council and its operations, specifically.”
“Some of it?” It wasn’t my favorite subject, that was for sure. But I’d passed with high marks. It was a gen-ed course though, so it had been a couple of years since I’d taken it.
“The Elder Council has never been under the control of one person before,” she said, her voice low. “I’m not saying I distrust Elder Thaddeus, but he does hold a lot of power right now. And I’m concerned that Mr. Pyre isn’t here to be the poster boy for Widdershins security as he claims.”
I furrowed my brows, trying to piece together what she was saying. “Why do you think he’s here, then?”
“That’s just it,” she shrugged. “I don’t know. But my gut tells me it’s more complicated than what it seems. Something about this is just too… clean. It feels rehearsed. Much like your lie you tried to feed to me earlier.”
I felt my pulse quicken. I’d never known Professor Blackwood to be into conspiracies. But that’s what she was describing. I trusted her judgment though. If she thought something was off, it probably was.
“So you want me to spy on him,” I said slowly, testing the words. It sounded worse when I said it aloud.
“I want you to observe,” she corrected, though the distinction felt thin.
“You’re already in close proximity to him.
You’re in his classes, his social circles.
Or at least, you will be if you continue with this group assignment.
I’m simply asking you to pay attention. Notice inconsistencies.
Note who he associates with, what he talks about when he thinks no one important is listening. ”
“And if I find something?” I asked.
“Then you tell me,” she said simply. “Not Dean Thornfield, not the other faculty. Me. Directly.”
I nodded slowly, though my mind was racing.
There was something else she wasn’t telling me.
I could feel it in the careful way she was choosing her words.
But I also knew better than to push Professor Blackwood when she’d already given me more information than she probably should have.
We both knew that if I went to the administration about this, it could be the end of her career.
“It’s probably nothing,” she said at last. “I could just be overthinking all of this. But I’m curious about what Mr. Pyre is up to. And, to be honest with you, he’s kind of a prick.”
“Thank you,” I sighed, a wave of relief washing over me. “He’s such an asshole. I don’t know why nobody else sees it.”
“He’s powerful,” she nodded. “And you and I both know that people will put up with a lot to gain power.”
I leaned back in my chair, processing what she’d just said.
Part of me wanted to ask more questions, to dig deeper into whatever suspicions she harbored about Aeron.
But another part of me, the smarter part probably, knew that the less I understood about this whole situation, the better. Plausible deniability and all that.
“So I’m still stuck with him as a partner,” I said, more to myself than to her.
“For now,” she confirmed. “And Quill? I appreciate your discretion on this. I know I’m putting you in an awkward position, but I genuinely do think you’re the right person for this.”
There was something almost apologetic in her tone, which made the whole thing feel even more real. Professor Blackwood didn’t apologize often. She didn’t ask favors. The fact that she was doing both now told me just how serious she was about whatever this was.
“When should I report back to you?” I asked, my mind already shifting into a different mode. How was I supposed to act around Aeron now, knowing that I was essentially gathering information on him? Every conversation would feel loaded with subtext.
“Don’t force it,” she said, as if reading my thoughts. “Just come by during office hours if you notice anything significant. We can chat like we normally do. No one needs to know this conversation happened.”
I stood up, my legs feeling a bit unsteady. “Is that all?”
“That’s all,” she confirmed. “Oh, and Quill? I won’t forget this. When you graduate, and you’re ready to take over your family business, come see me. I think I can help you with that.”
My jaw dropped. “Really? You’d do that?”
“Of course,” she nodded. “A favor for a favor.”
I left her office in a daze, my mind already spinning with the implications of what had just happened.
Professor Blackwood had basically asked me to spy on Aeron, and I’d agreed to it.
More than that, she’d dangled the promise of help with my family business in front of me like bait, and I’d taken it.
Of course I had. Why wouldn’t I? I needed all the help I could get.
There was a part of me that wanted to feel guilty about this.
Aeron was irritating, sure, but he hadn’t done anything to me personally.
You know, except kiss me and chase me down the cross-country trail.
And now I was going to be watching his every move, cataloging his conversations, looking for inconsistencies in his story. It felt underhanded and almost wrong.
But then I thought about how Aeron had looked at me in class, that possessive gleam in his eye.
How he kept trying to tell me what I wanted when it came to him.
Or the fact that he just let his dick hang out of his shorts last night, acting like it was completely normal or something.
The guy was basically harassing me at this point, and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact, he seemed to lavish in it.
Maybe Professor Blackwood was right. Maybe there was something more going on behind the scenes that nobody knew about. Or maybe I was just the bait, the temptation to get him to do something that would tarnish his image forever. Either way, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to finding out.
I made my way across campus, my books clutched to my chest, trying to look like a normal student just going about his day.
But everything felt different now, charged with a new purpose.
Every person I passed could be connected to whatever Aeron was really doing here.
And now, despite my better judgment, I had to go looking for that dickhead and get to work on this stupid assignment.
Now if I could just get the image of his cock hanging out of his shorts out of my head, that would be great.
The library was nearly empty at this hour, which I was grateful for. I found a quiet corner on the third floor, far enough away from the main circulation desk that no one would bother me. I needed time to think before I had to face Aeron again.
However, just as I sat down and got my books out, I saw Aeron emerge from between the stacks on the far side of the room like he’d materialized out of thin air.
His golden eyes locked onto mine immediately and my skin prickled.
He was wearing one of those fitted black shirts that showed off every ridge of muscle he had, and his horns gleamed in the light like they’d just been buffed.
Of course, he headed straight for me.
“There you are,” he said, sliding into the chair across from me without asking. “I’ve been looking for you all day.”
“I had class,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. “And a meeting.”
“With Professor Blackwood,” he stated, not asked. “I saw you going in.”
I forced myself to meet his gaze steadily, even as my mind raced. How much had he noticed? What did he know?
“We were discussing the assignment,” I said. That was mostly the truth and the best way to tell a lie was to make it as close to the truth as possible. “I tried to get rid of you, and she wouldn’t let me.”
Something flickered across his face. Satisfaction. He leaned back in his chair, clearly pleased with this development.
“Good,” he said. “Because I wasn’t going anywhere, anyway.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “You’re incredibly difficult to get rid of.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is.”
“Is it though?” He tilted his head, studying me with those unsettling golden eyes. “Or are you just scared of how you feel when I’m around?”
I felt heat creep up my neck, and I hated him for it. This was exactly what I meant. He had this infuriating ability to make everything feel personal, to turn a simple conversation into something loaded with innuendo and challenge.
“I feel annoyed,” I said flatly. “That’s the primary emotion.”
“Liar.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table between us. His horns caught the light again, and I found myself momentarily distracted by how pretty they were. I forced my attention back to his face, and he was smiling. “Your heart rate just spiked. I can smell it.”
“That’s creepy,” I muttered, opening one of my textbooks with more force than necessary.
“I can also smell that I arouse you,” he grinned wider. “And that you haven’t jerked off in at least a few days. It’s killing you.”
“Can we please just work on the assignment?” I sighed, trying to ignore the way my cock was thickening in my jeans. It always did that when he started talking about it. “That way I can be rid of you faster.”
“Whatever you want, Red.” He pulled a notebook out of his bag, the same one he always brought to Magical Theory. I noticed it was pristine, the pages untouched. He’d been at school for over a week and hadn’t taken a single note yet.
I watched him as he opened the notebook, pretending to focus on my own work.
His jaw was sharp, his movements economical and precise.
There was nothing about him that seemed out of place or suspicious on the surface.
But then again, that was probably the point.
My gaze traveled further down, taking in the curves of his thick pecs and the way his shoulders strained against the cotton of his t-shirt, almost too big to be contained.
“Enjoying the view?” he asked without glancing up.
“I wasn’t even looking at you,” I said quickly, dropping my eyes back to my book. “I’m just trying to figure out where to start with the assignment.”
“The beginning is usually a good place.” He finally looked at me, and there was amusement in his expression. “If you want, we can just skip to the part where we both get naked. I always think more clearly after I cum.”
“That’s not happening,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Not yet,” he corrected, and the confidence in his voice made my skin prickle with both anger and arousal.
I forced myself to focus on the assignment, pushing aside the complications of what Professor Blackwood had asked me to do and what Aeron was making me feel.
One problem at a time. First, I’d get through this assignment without losing my fucking mind.
Then I’d figure out what the hell was really going on with the grandson of the Elder Council leader.
And maybe, eventually, I’d figure out why spying on him made my stomach twist into knots.
Nah. It was probably just nerves.