He shook his head and set his form down with a clatter. “Ignore me. I...have some history there. Her mother and mine have—had differences in the past.”
My eyes widened in realization. “That sounds unfortunate. Is it weird being assigned as her RA?”
He hesitated before shaking his head slowly. “No, not really. Those issues were a long time in the past. Our fathers helped smooth things over, at least for now. And...don’t let anything I say color your opinion of her. Besides, you can’t blame children for their parents’ bullshit.”
Something about that statement had a shiver sweeping across my skin. I rubbed my arms briskly and then smiled. “That’s awfully mature of you, Legs. And I wasn’t going to let your thoughts color my opinion. My mother taught me to always make up my own mind.”
Zane’s copper eyes sparkled as he laughed. “That’s one of the things I like most about you, Crystal Clear. Strong-minded women are sexy as hell.”
I leaned forward to give him an impulsive kiss, but his eyes gleamed even more brightly and his arms slipped around to capture me; gently enough that I could pull away if I chose. Not that I did. Our lips fused in a kiss that was nowhere near as quick as intended. Sparks danced across our bodies everywhere bare skin touched, and my eyes slid shut as intense emotions seared a path inside. Never in my 18 years had someone’s touch affected me so intensely. It was almost too much. I totally got how a moth could willingly burn to ashes because damn. I was willing to burn if it meant more of this incandescent pleasure.
Zane groaned and then reluctantly pulled back, breath gratifyingly every bit as ragged as mine. “You’re killing me here, Crystal Clear.”
I batted my eyelashes and said in a breathy voice, “Who, me?”
He managed a husky laugh and pushed back a little more. “Yes, you; and we have a class starting in 10 minutes.”
My eyes popped open and I shot to my feet. “Oh my god, 10 minutes? Shit. We’re gonna be late!”
He shook his head in amusement. “My class is right across the quad. Two minutes away, tops.”
I scooped up my waste and dumped it in a nearby trash can. “What class? Mine’s in that building, too.”
After disposing of his own trash, he wiggled his hand at me and smiled when I placed mine inside. “Intro to Witch Literature.”
My fingers squeezed his as a smile spread across my face. “With Professor Pulaski? Me, too!”
His features softened, and he actually began to hum a song as we walked. It took me a second but then I recognized it as being by our favorite Gloaming band Witching Hour. We had shared many hours listening to their music as we honed our leet hacker skillz back at Gloaming High. I began humming along, truly happy that we shared at least one class. It would be awesome to finally share a class with someone I knew.
Misty and I would share two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on Mondays and Wednesdays we’d only see each other at lunch. Thanks to our choosing two completely different electives, it had required a lot of juggling our schedules to even get two classes together. Fridays were dedicated to necessary Lab sessions and certain electives that weren’t available on the other days. Those like Misty and me who needed to get part-time jobs would also benefit from having extra hours to work if their Fridays weren’t jam-packed.
Pixie suddenly poofed onto my shoulder without warning. Zane blinked but otherwise showed no reaction. I grinned because Pixie had been obviously trying to startle him. She gave a mental shrug and nuzzled my neck. ((Belle and I want to pop over Eternal-side to check on a friend. You won’t need me for Literature right?))
((You already know the answer to that question, but thank you for pretending to consult with me for once. Like you very much did not do on moving day.))
She lifted her head at a snooty angle and dug her claws into my shoulders, which were fortunately padded by the white cotton uniform shirt. ((You’re welcome, my liege!)) she snarked and then poofed into thin air.
This time, Zane tilted his head. “Was it something I said?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Nah. She and Belle are poofing over to the Eternal Realm to visit a friend. They like to pretend we can tell them no on occasion.”
His lips twisted sympathetically. “We all know who the real bosses are in these witch-familiar relationships. No matter that they’re supposed to be 50-50 partnerships.”
We both made amused snorts at that statement, and walked in companionable silence until we reached our next classroom. That one went by in a pleasant blur, both because I enjoyed sitting next to him and because Professor Polaski was a dynamic teacher more like Professor Roseberry than Professor Twill. I was also a hard-core bookworm so there was pretty much no way I wasn’t going to enjoy a literature class.
Zane and I parted ways after that class, because he had to cover the front desk back at the dorm while I had one more class for the day: Intro to Magical Research.
That class turned out to be in the same building as the massive library waaaaay on the opposite side of campus, so I ended up needing most of the 30 minutes between sessions just to get there. I stood puffing in the shadows of the sprawling stone building that made up the library. A place I was pretty sure would be my all-time favorite at Eternal Academy. Not counting my own bedroom and the cafeteria that served all the delicious Dr. Pepper fizziness I could desire.
“Hey, Crystal!” a familiar voice called out.
I turned and watched an equally out-of-breath Penny huff up to me. “Hi, mirror-twin.”
She grinned. “You don’t happen to be here for Intro to Magical Research, do you?”
My eyebrows wiggled. “Why, as a matter of fact, I do. Don’t tell me we actually have two classes together! That’s exactly how many Misty and I share, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
Penny’s grin widened. “Well, I guess we really are mirror-twins then. Unless we have any classes together tomorrow, because then things won’t be even.”
We headed inside the building and up a flight of stairs to where the classrooms in the same building as the library were located, comparing schedules as we walked. Turned out we did not have any Tuesday/Thursday classes together, but we would share the same Infernal Magic lab on Fridays. Not a huge surprise, since we had the same class with Professor Roseberry, who would also be running the Friday lab sessions.
I was expecting the Magical Research class to pass as uneventfully as Intro to Witch Literature had gone. But the moment we stepped into the classroom, Penny suddenly froze like a deer in headlights. Her eyes remained glued on a tall, dark-skinned guy with searing blue hair and eyes seated at a desk near the podium where I assumed the instructor would lecture. He also happened to be handsome as hell.
My eyes sparkled with mischief as I leaned forward to whisper, “Hmm. Does that guy over there happen to be a Mage who’s also a senior?”
Those words helped get her body moving again. “Yes. Now please shush!” She shot me a pleading expression and hustled toward the back of the room; never noticing that the senior Mage in question watched her with keen interest. And I was willing to bet that her previous claim that he didn’t even know she was alive would prove just as wrong as my own belief that Zane freaking Anders had never looked at me romantically.
I slid into a seat in front of the very last desk in the row, where Penny was now slouched as if she could hide from the object of her affection. She totally failed, because he continued to sneak glances at her every time she locked her eyes on the top of her desk.
Since the chimes hadn’t rang and the professor hadn’t yet strolled into class, I turned and channeled my inner Misty. “Soo, he doesn’t even know you’re alive, huh?”
She blinked several times and glanced over to the Mage, who had conveniently looked toward the door the second her eyes started moving his direction. “What are you talking about?”
I snickered softly. “He looks at you every time you look somewhere else. And then when you look toward him, his gaze is on anything but you. He definitely
knows you’re alive!”
Her cheeks flushed but her eyes widened in interest. “You really think so?”
“Trust me, I know what I’m talking about! A few days ago, I thought Zane looked at me as nothing more than a casual friend. And now we’re having our first date this weekend. That dude looks at you just the way Zane now looks at me. At least, when you’re not looking at him. I’d say Mage-Boy’s got it bad if he’s too nervous to even meet your gaze.”
Before she could respond, the chimes signaling the the 4 o’clock hour rang. I gave her an impish wink and turned to face the front of the room, only to find the professor still hadn’t arrived. That had me wondering whether this would be another professor who looked at start times as guidelines rather than rules—or one running late because another idiot was about to get a first-day suspension for trying to sneak into a restricted area.
But then Penny’s Mage-Boy rose from his desk and stepped around to the podium, flashing a charming smile. “Hello everyone. My name is Finneas Twill. Please feel free to call me Finn. Those of you who recognize me as a senior probably wonder what the hell I’m doing standing up here.”
I was willing to bet the student behind me had a vastly different thought in mind, but kept my lips zipped. Probably best not to push my new friend too far on our first day of friendship. Then my eyes narrowed as his last name sank in.
Wait, is this guy related to boring-ass Professor Twill?
“The truth is that I’m actually Dr. Honeywell’s TA this year. That’s Teaching Assistant for the newbs among you. Dr. Honeywell’s just about to come off maternity leave and asked me to handle all lectures and assignments for the first three weeks. Until then, you’re stuck with me. Don’t expect me to be a pushover, though. As a senior, I’m well-versed in detecting underclassmen bullshit, and as a sixth-generation Academy student, I have the Chancellor on speed dial.”
A few students exchanged uneasy glances until he snickered. “That’s some upperclassman bullshit right there. I do not have the Chancellor on speed dial, but Dr. Honeywell’s number is in my contacts. She has no problems failing anyone who gives me shit these first three weeks. You do not want to get on her bad side. She teaches both sections of Magical Research that you’ll have to pass before your junior year.
“Just to get one other thing out of the way. Yes, I am Professor Twill’s son. He was among the fifth generation of Eternal Academy students in my family tree.” His eyes started to twinkle as he suddenly grinned. “But rest assured that my lectures take more inspiration from Dr. Honeywell, who’s my academic advisor, than my paternal unit. Meaning you shouldn’t feel the dire need to nap during my classes. Which is a good thing, because we have a lot of ground to cover!”
With that, he launched into a lecture that was both informative and borderline irreverent, chock-full of geeky references to mortal science fiction and fantasy classics. A boy after my own heart. At least in a platonic, I-wouldn’t-mind-being-friends sort of way. I had my hands full with Zane freaking Anders, and I didn’t want to kill my friendship with Penny before it even got started.
Finn scored major bonus points with the class when he ended his lecture 15 minutes early and escorted us down to the library’s front desk. He advised that we’d be meeting there for our next session, and we’d be expected to have our library cards all sorted out before that time. Apparently he’d be getting us started on some big research paper Dr. Honeywell always assigned that would represent 30% of our total grades. We’d need the library card to access the appropriate sections of the library and to check out any necessary materials.
That only took a few minutes, so he glanced at his watch and shrugged. “I don’t really have anything else today, so you should probably use these last 10 minutes to get on that library card thing. Or go sunbathe and get the card later. As long as you make it past the library gatekeepers next time, I’m not gonna ask any questions!”
Finn cast a casual glance in our direction, but his cheeks turned an interesting shade of red when his eyes locked onto Penny’s. He managed a quick wave and then turned tail and ran. Okay, so he just casually walked off. It still felt like that’s what he was doing.
Penny’s expression was thoughtful when her eyes moved to meet mine. “Huh. I thought you were just trying to make me feel better before. But...is it just me, or did he totally blush when our eyes met just now?”
A huge smile cracked my lips wide open. “It is not just you. He did, in fact, totally blush. Confirming my suspicion that he does, in fact, know who you are.”
A matching smile slowly curved her own lips upward. “Good. That’s only fair considering that I can’t get his sexy self out of my mind. But damn. Why’d he have to go and be a TA in one of my classes?”
My expression sobered a little. She had a very good point that hadn’t even occurred to me. I wondered whether there was an official rule against dating your TAs. That would suck if there were. Finn was a senior, so this could be Penny’s last chance to make some sort of magic happen between them.
I gave her a friendly nudge. “We’ll have to see what the student handbook says about that. A TA isn’t actually the same as a professor. Plus, Dr. Honeywell will be back in three weeks. That’s not too terribly long; and surely if she’s the boss with respect to your grades, there wouldn’t be a huge conflict in dating the TA.”
We shared a snicker at that load of BS I’d just dropped, because we both knew I was only trying to make her feel better. There pretty much had to be a conflict in dating your TA. Still, that didn’t mean we might not find a way to make things work.
Penny gestured toward the front desk, where some of our classmates were obtaining library cards. “You getting your card now or waiting?”
I consulted the time on my cell phone. “I’m not supposed to meet Misty for almost an hour. She has a class running a little later than mine. You?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I already have my card. The Head Librarian is a friend of the family’s. But I’ll wait in line with you.”
“Sounds good.” We dutifully trooped into line behind the others. Since it was the start of the new school year, they had plenty of people manning the front desk, which meant it didn’t take long to work our way up to the front of the line. I caught sight of a Help Wanted sign taped onto a window separating the front desk area from what looked like an office.
Wheels started spinning in my head. My small supply of cash would not last too long without some source of replenishment. “Huh. That would be an awesome part-time job for me. I spent an hour helping the librarians in high school all four years.”
Penny smiled. “Sounds like you’d have the experience they need. I could also put in a good word with Dr. Wu, the Head Librarian. You should grab an application!”
I did just that after scoring my very own library card, which consisted of filling out a form so they could update the identification glyph on my hand to tie in to the library’s security system. You did not want to return materials late or they’d start charging fines to your student account. There was no escaping the Library Police.
Turned out there was no physical application, but a helpful student worker gave me the web address so I could fill the digital form out later. Penny and I stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. More like early evening, since it was getting close to 6:00.
She nodded toward the cafeteria way off in the distance. “You meeting your sister and friends for dinner?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You want to join us.”
Her expression turned wistful. “Wish I could, but I have a prior commitment.”
I couldn’t resist teasing. “You didn’t make a date with Mage-Boy while I wasn’t looking, now did you?”
She rolled her eyes. “One. As if. Two. I wish. But three. No. It’s a family thing.”
Now that kind of commitment I could understand. “Sounds a lot more boring than a date with Mage-Boy, but I understand. Maybe we’ll run into each other at lunch tomorrow?”
/> A smile lightened her indigo eyes to a brighter shade of purple. “You can count on it. See you then!”
I waved and we parted ways; me hoofing it all the way back to the cafeteria while she headed off who knew where. My thoughts had already moved on to nerves over potentially seeing Zane in the cafeteria with all of our friends and even more nerves over the possibility that I wouldn’t see him. That had me rolling my eyes and picking up speed. Only one way to know for sure.
Chapter 9
Sadly, I did not run into Zane at dinner, although I did have a pleasant meal with Misty, Cayenne, Trey, Delvon, and my new friends Miranda and Adri. When I casually remarked on the absence of both Steph and Zane, Trey mentioned that they were pulling an early evening shift covering the front desk so would have to grab a later dinner.
Hmm, guess that means his couple of hours turned into a little longer than expected.
I shrugged pragmatically and focused on enjoying the good food and pleasant company. It was actually astounding just how delicious the cafeteria food was. Blew the stuff we’d been served back at Gloaming Public High School right out of the water. Then again, that school had to operate with a way smaller budget than Eternal Academy did.
It turned out to be a good thing that Zane wasn’t there by the time I finished my meal. An unexpected yawn took me by surprise, and Misty smiled sympathetically. “You should head back to the suite and get a head start on sleep. I know you haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
She left the rest unspoken. That my troubles sleeping had started the same day that Mama and Daddy had told us the truth about our stolen birthright. I kept having uneasy dreams and outright nightmares about beating hearts that ticked like time bombs, our murdered mother, our coerced father, and the wicked witch who’d ruined both their lives. She would have completely ruined ours, too, had it not been for the sacrifice and love of our adoptive aunt and parents. And the fact our biological father had gotten them that warning just in time for us to escape our own assassination…
A Witch’s Beating Heart Page 10