by Kenna Bardot
“A bad precedent for what? Sex between two consenting adults? I am not a child, Sir. Gale cannot take advantage of me in any way that matters. He cannot promise to pass my exams in exchange for sex. He cannot show favoritism that he hasn’t already shown me by your agreement at the start of my first term that he should see to my training.” I let my frustrations begin to show through, waving my hands as I spoke.
“Perhaps if Docent Porter agrees to cease his relationships with students until they’ve graduated-“ Docent Ho input in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
“Absolutely not,” Gale snapped sharply. “I will not be made to feel like my relationship is something dirty when it is the purest love I’ve ever had.”
The Headmaster pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are there any others involved in this relationship?”
“Mages Williamson, Daniels, and Madden,” Gale admitted, holding his chin high.
“Quite the busy girl you’ve been,” Headmaster Stewart sneered at me.
“Proceed carefully, Archibald,” Gale warned, pressing his lips together tightly as he glared at his superior.
“You don’t have to like my relationship, in fact I’m fairly certain it is absolutely none of your business,” I said carefully. I kept my voice void of anger, but inside I seethed. I would be out for blood where Pia was concerned in the future for risking Gale’s career – the only one he’d ever wanted for himself over her own stupid, petty jealousy.
“I am Headmaster of InkHaven Academy-” he protested.
“Good for you, but as we just discussed, there is nothing in the rules to prevent Docents and students from having relationships. As such, who I fuck is not your concern,” I spat at him. “We both know this was all a ploy because you want me gone. You expect me to believe Pia Ramos and Wella Smith have never seduced a Docent? You’d need to be blind not to see the way they worship Docent Frost, but have they gotten into the same sort of trouble? She pointed the finger and played you to get even with me, because I took her favorite toy,” I paused, standing and allowing Gale the time to follow suit. “And you let her.”
“Get out. All of you.” His voice shook with anger, and we stormed out of the room at a leisurely pace. Docent Ho turned to me in the hall, only casting her eyes down to stare at where Gale held my hand for a brief moment before meeting my eyes.
“That,” she said and grinned, “was either very foolish or very brave. I’m not entirely certain which.”
“Does it matter?” I chuckled.
“Not particularly. I’ll get the other Docents on board, because you’re right. You’re hardly the first student to seduce a Docent, though you might be the first one foolish enough to have an ongoing relationship with one.” She gave Gale a glance, and he smiled at her finally.
“Can we go with brave? I prefer that option, as foolish makes it seem like I’m not worth it,” he teased. She laughed, wrinkling her nose like the idea of just how Gale might be worth it was appalling.
“I don’t want to know.” She shook her head. “No point in hiding your relationship now, but I’d expect some curious looks from the other students. If you were even half as effective at hiding your relationship as I’m sure you tried to be, then I’m sure there will still be some shock.”
I winced, thinking back to my conversation at least a month prior where I’d told Cel and Emerson there could be no more secrets. In the meantime, I had kept a secret from Cel. My inner voice hissed at me.
Hypocrite.
I knew I would need to tell him, because even though we hadn’t progressed with our relationship in anything aside from a rapidly budding friendship, I wouldn’t want him to learn the truth from a rumor or seeing us in the halls.
“Speaking of that,” I said hesitantly. “I think I need to go find Emerson.”
Gale glanced down at me with a furrowed brow. “I’ll come with you.” He looked down at our intertwined hands - my man who loved holding hands the most. He brought my hands to his lips and kissed it.
“I can do this now.” He touched a hand to my cheek, running a thumb across my scar, down to my bottom lip. “I can kiss you in public and not care who sees.”
“Yes,” I whispered to him, not because I didn’t want anyone to hear, but because I was overwhelmed by my emotions.
“I can tell you I love you without fear of anyone overhearing,” he whispered back, and I could see he was having trouble holding it in about as much as I was. “And I do, my darling thief. I love you. You were glorious in there.”
“I love you too, Gaylord,” I murmured, using the special name. The name I used when I was overcome by him, how I felt about him. My head snapped up when I looked and saw Levi staring at us. I tightened my grip on Gale even as I stared at the betrayal on his face. If the party after the Choosing Ceremony was any indication, he was still interested. And here I was, telling him we were full but with a guy who was, to him at least, quite new.
He walked off before Gale could see him, and I just threw a smile at my lovely Docent. “Speaking of things to love. I can’t wait to see Emerson’s face when we tell him we can do this now.”
“Yes, our group of six will definitely be very happy,” he agreed, swinging our interlocked hands in between us as we walked towards my room.
Six.
I worried about his reaction to Emerson’s and my growing feelings for Cel.
Emerson waited in my room, pacing until I returned from my summons in a mess of his own anxious energy. His eyes instantly went to where Gale still held my hand, and they widened in question.
I nodded. “The Headmaster knows.”
“And what did he say?”
“He tried to get rid of Gale, but there’s nothing in the rules that specifically prevents a relationship between a Docent and student,” I explained, a small smile on my face.
Emerson exhaled a huge breath and nodded at us with a smile. “This is the best news! So why do you look like you’re going to be sick, Precious?”
“No more secrets,” I whispered, and his eyes went to Gale. His hand raked through those red curls atop his head, and he nodded.
“Crap.”
“What did the two of you decide?” I pressed, and his eyes came back to me.
“He’s going to talk to Vali. He said if this is something he’s going to pursue, then he at least owes it to him to feel him out first.”
“What exactly are you two talking about?” Gale’s hand tightened around mine, and his eyes narrowed on me.
“I have feelings for Cel,” Emerson blurted out, saving me from fumbling over my words. “And he returns them, and he has strong feelings for Kaia too.”
Gale pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing my hand from his grip. “You want to add another man? Are you insane?”
“He’s a good guy, Gale,” Emerson objected.
“I’m aware of that. I’ve taught Mr. Castelo, but there are plenty of good guys at InkHaven, are we going to fuck them all, Em? Kaia?” Emerson winced, and I felt my jaw tightening at Gale’s outburst. “And you? You’ve had Vali twice, Thief. When are you going to be content with what you have?”
“That’s not fair,” I whispered back.
“And why not?” he hissed.
“You have Ronan. Alec Gaius and Vali are a thing now, which no one saw coming but really should have because it’s obvious now why they’ve hated each other all this time. We all enjoy each other, but you guys are paired off in your couples of preference and everything centers on me,” I spat back.
“Is that a problem for you?”
I shook my head and glanced at Emerson, feeling all my anger drain away as I looked at his pale face.
“Who does Emerson have? When we’re all together, do you think he doesn’t feel that? Because I feel it for him,” I whispered, fighting back my tears. Of all my men, I was becoming the most in tune with Emerson’s emotions – even all the ones he never spoke. I’d had the longest time with him; he’d been my friend months before he joined
my bed, and we spent most nights with just the two of us.
Gale’s face softened, and he shut his eyes on a grimace. “Is that really how you feel?” he whispered, opening those eyes to look at Emerson, who only shrugged with a nonchalant little smile. Those eyes came to mine, and he gave me all the warmth I knew was inside those beautiful sea green eyes. I saw him.
I always saw him.
“Gods, Emerson. I had no idea we made you feel that way,” Gale shuddered, and I stepped away from him to tuck my arms around Emerson. “We love you. All of us. You have to know that.”
“I’m no one’s first choice, and I’m not even anyone’s second. It wasn’t so bad before Vali, but now-”
“I get it,” Gale cut him off, but not harshly. “Zeevar, I get it. You won’t feel left out?” he asked me, smirking at the incredulous expression on my face.
“There’s rarely an occasion when we’re all together where I don’t have at least two men inside me. I think it’s fairly clear that I’m at the top of the list, Gale.” I cast my eyes to the ceiling, but it was true. No one ever withheld their dick from me and sometimes everyone wanted me to have it, really.
Emerson barked out a laugh, leaning against my side. I was sure he knew where my thoughts had gone.
“You’re getting arrogant,” Gale teased, but then turned a much more serious expression to Emerson. “I’ll support you. The others will too once you explain it to them.”
“I hope so.” Emerson gave him an enthusiastic smile and raised his eyebrows at him. “You’ll like him too.”
“And why is that?” Those long arms crossed over his chest, and he leaned back against the wall in his familiar sentry position.
“Aside from the fact that he’s fucking beautiful?” Emerson asked, and it was a fact I couldn’t deny. Cel was stunning in a way one rarely saw on a man, classically handsome as sin and mysterious all in one package. “He’s hung,” Emerson whispered, and I gave a nervous giggle.
“I think we have lots of that as it is.” I chuckled, turning my face up to Emerson where he stared down at me with those mischievous eyebrows raised to his hairline.
The smile fell from my face, and I heard Gale fighting back a laugh and turned to see his fist pressed to his mouth. “Your face, Gods.”
“Bigger than Gale? Vali?” Emerson only nodded at my question, and I swallowed my anxiety.
“What’s wrong, Thief? Don’t you want Vali and Cel inside you all at once?” Gale moved into our space as Emerson shifted back, and his words combined with the way they sandwiched me between them made my belly clench.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” I choked out.
“Practice makes perfect,” Emerson whispered against my neck, and I swatted him away.
Gale gave me an amused look, and his eyes danced with laughter. “I bet if you really wanted to, you could take both of them in your ass.”
I burst out laughing. “You know, I was beginning to wonder if I had any hard limits. Pretty sure two of you, any two, of you plugging that hole is my very hard limit.”
“Never know until you try,” Gale teased. I just shot him a horrified look.
“Go get Cel,” I sighed, giving Emerson a shove away from me. “Let’s get this honesty thing over with. He should know about it before he talks to Vali.” Emerson nodded, giving me a solemn look before he left the room.
“I’m sorry. For what I said before.” He stared down at me, letting me see just how much he meant it.
“It’s okay, Docent Porter. I have collected a lot of dicks in a very short period of time.” He chuckled against me, body shaking with amusement.
“Collected a lot of dicks,” he rumbled, pressing his face into my neck.
I collapsed into a fit of giggles as he pushed us onto the bed. I wrapped my arms around him and stared deep into his eyes. “Stay tonight, Gaylord.”
He smiled, green sparkling in the brown. “I will. Forever.”
And in that moment, I was content.
Twenty-One
Kaia
Cel sauntered into Gale's classroom like he owned it. I swallowed back my blush, barely able to look at him since Emerson's confession about his, erm.
Endowments.
I masked my discomfort, faking a bright smile to cover my blush. The good news was, Cel had taken the news of Gale being part of our little entourage very well, even mentioned he suspected as such from what he’d seen of Gale’s reaction to me after Lottie’s death.
"What up?" I nodded my head to Cel as Blythe trailed in behind him. She gave me a sweet smile, her tongue pressing against that adorable little gap in her teeth. Cel shook his head at me, but his usual amusement was dimmer than normal.
I sobered immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Sword," he ordered.
"What?" I stammered, my eyes darting around in confusion. There was no danger to speak of.
"Draw your sword," he repeated, and I drew it from my holster and over my head slowly. He pulled his spear from its place at his belt, snapping the interlocking pieces together with a twist to form one long pole. I shot an alarmed look at Blythe, who smiled at me encouragingly.
"You can fight. You've proven that," he said slowly. "You rely too much on your body and the way you've honed it to be a flawless little weapon. But you are not a cage fighter, Little One." He thrust his spear at me, and I parried with my sword. "You are an Air Mage. So be an Air Mage."
"Okay," I whispered, casting eyes to Blythe who stood off to the side nervously. She was probably the only person I could confidently say Cel was friends with besides Vali.
I didn't count Emerson for obvious reasons.
Those being that friends didn't usually want to fuck each other.
At least not when they wanted to be just friends.
Cel thrust his spear at me again, grimacing when I blocked him. "Block my attack with your Air, Kaia. Your sword is supposed a Conduit, not just a blade. You know what a Conduit is supposed to do."
"I-"
"Channel the Air through your sword!" he barked. I jolted, trying to do what he said.
That block was in the way - a tangible thing the stronger my Air got independently. For some reason, my Conduit was the one way where it just would not connect at all.
He thrust his spear again, and I tried.
I poured every bit of my connection into that fucking sword.
Nothing.
I barely managed to block his blow from hitting my arm at the last second, a quick dodge out of the way when I realized nothing was going to come.
"Cel!" Blythe scolded.
He ignored her. "Channel it, Kaia."
"What bug crawled up your ass today? It doesn't work," I protested, dodging him again. I dropped my sword to the ground, ignoring the way his oh-so-handsome face twisted cruelly.
"Stop it, Marcellus. I asked you to train me, not torture me," I ordered.
He answered with another thrust, one that I shoved away with my Air. My hands weren't quite as blocked as my Conduit, my Air returning my call easily and protecting me as it poured out of my fingertips in dark red swirls.
"Why can't you do that with your Conduit?" he grunted, taking a step towards me as I backed away.
"I don't know!" I yelled. "Do you think I want to be the Air Mage who can't use her Conduit? For fuck's sake, you asshat."
His spear returned to his side, disjointing to go to the holder at his waist. "You need to do better," he said softly. "You're capable of so much more than this." He shook his head in disappointment, turning and striding from the room. I sniffled to fight the threat of tears, biting down on my lip as I picked up my sword.
"Don't listen to him. He's an asshole. He forgets we can't all be prodigies with our connection to Air as he is," Blythe murmured, coming up and resting her hand on my arm in support. "And you've had less time than most."
"It's no excuse. It won't change anything, so he's right. I need to do better." I sighed. "I just wish I knew how."
&n
bsp; She smiled at me, and I chuckled back at her. "You'll figure it out." She left too, leaving me to glare daggers at my sword that never did what it was told.
Fucking dickbag.
✽✽✽
While it would have bothered me at one point that people knew what we took such precautions to hide, I could only feel grateful that I didn’t need to continue hiding it. I was free to make it clear that Gale was claimed, and I looked forward to doing that.
Of course, it was a task that would have been much easier if I could see more of him, but since the reveal of our relationship, Headmaster Stewart had gone out of his way to ensure he kept Gale as busy as possible with Air students on the Assassin track who needed to shadow Mages on Sacrifices. Like his Docent duties weren’t enough.
I spent three nights in a row training in his empty classroom. The first night Cel had joined me and that had ended in his disappointment, the second it was Emerson, but that third night I felt like I needed time to train by myself. The more and more Cel toyed with my control over my Air, the more I felt like I was coming out of my skin with restlessness – like something slithered along under the surface and just waited for a way to come out. It was blocked, I knew that much, but its desire to break away made itself known along with the strength of how the block was there.
Feeling that lack of control with my own body, I knew I needed to re-center myself. Getting to the room, I opened the window. Charlie flew in to perch on the desk, and I enjoyed the cold air from the open window for a moment.
“Hello, my stalker,” I cooed, running a finger over his head and coaxing his silky feathers to lay flat. He pressed his head into my finger, bringing a smile to my face at the odd affection I’d found with a bird of all things. Of course, he only ever came around whenever I was alone, like he wanted to have me and just me.
Setting my Conduit on the desk, I moved to the stash of weapons Gale kept along the wall. A short sword caught my eye, as I’d trained in his room often enough that I’d attempted to use every weapon at one point or another, except this one.