by LJ Swallow
Tobias sits on the desk and places his booted feet on the chair, less able to keep his authority when he's dressed like his students. Is the formal attire and manner he uses when teaching an act created to fool others about his age?
"No. This is about you. Explain exactly why you broke the academy rules and caused Andrei to risk his future at the academy by doing the same to help you."
I explain events to Tobias who listens impassively, even at the point my voice breaks when telling him I thought Jamie was badly hurt.
He holds a hand up to pause my burbled explanation. "Are you telling me you had no control over your actions?"
"I knew what I was doing once I took hold of Remi’s mind, but the desire to take control came from somewhere else. I didn't think—the magic just happened."
Tobias swears. "Then we need to work on this."
"How?"
"Your desire to protect your friends is good, and the reflex response will serve you well if threatened, but what if this happens publicly? We need to find a way to limit your uncontrolled responses."
"Such as?"
"I'm unsure. I will talk to Theodora." He sits opposite me and leans forward, elbows on his knees. "You cannot ask other students to fix your mistakes, Maeve."
"I didn't ask. Ash did."
"What? Does he know?"
"Ash is part of us, Tobias. Of course, we told him. I doubt he’d tell a staff member."
"That’s not good."
"Why?"
Tobias arches a brow. "Because his brother is an imposter and is here to cause trouble. Ash could hand him this information."
"You’re convinced Vincent is an imposter, aren’t you? Where’s your evidence?"
He snorts. "If I can hide, so can he."
The ex-Ravenhold inmate pretending he's an older professor.
"Do you believe Vincent is working for the Dominion?"
"No, I'm saying this isn't Vincent."
"But Ash—"
"But Ash, like others, is fooled."
"He can't fool witches and shifters as strong as the ones who’ve examined him. Ash tells me Vincent remembers everything. Things an imposter wouldn't."
Tobias shakes his head. "I have a theory about Vincent, but I don’t want to share this until I’m certain. Somebody is controlling his actions."
"You mean he isn’t working alone?"
Tobias’s lips tighten. "Once I have more evidence, I will ask for help. But if I’m wrong, I’ll make the situation worse."
"You’re hiding something, Tobias. Is that dangerous?"
He sighs. "You’re not in danger from him."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." He’s empathic, but this doesn’t take away the fear I’ve had since doubts were cast on Vincent. "You’ve met the man. What did you think of him?"
I chew my lip. "I saw him threaten Ash over his relationship with me. Physically. That isn’t the actions of a good person, but doesn't make him an imposter."
"Vincent is attempting to pull you apart. All of you—not just Ash and yourself. Watch his actions carefully. I’m watching, and his behaviour is insidious. You must keep your group together. Build on the trust. Between you all, we can reveal who he is." He chews his lips. "Especially with your talents, Maeve. You’re probably stronger than the witch and shifter interrogators who’ve tried."
My mouth parches. "You're asking me to get close to Vincent and look into his head?"
"Whatever you see will help. I’ve tried, but Vincent has a mental wall thicker than any I’ve encountered before. I’m hoping you can push your way into his mind." He drops to a gentle tone. "But don't tell Ash."
"We agreed, no secrets in our group."
"Even if the secret is to keep somebody safe?"
I slump back and drag a hand through my hair. Is Ash safe? "I don’t know if Ash wants to be around us, anyway."
"I said, stay close. Fight for him."
"Whoa. You make this sound life or death."
He watches me for a moment and taps his lips. "Why didn’t you come to me, Maeve?" His evasiveness raises the hairs on my arms, as his voice drops into the smooth tone that can entrap me. "Theodora told me about your vision. I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me."
"You were ‘indisposed’ that evening," I say. "I haven’t had a chance to speak to you since, but there isn’t much to tell."
He chuckles. "Apart from seeing me burn alive?"
"No! That isn’t what I saw. I don’t think."
"I would hope not." His mouth quirks at one corner. "The vision is worrying, though. Theodora has requested extra security and investigations into the school grounds, but this has speeded up my need to find out Vincent’s real purpose." I nod and his eyes widen. "Maeve. Are you still suspicious of me? I caught something from your thoughts just then—you believe I’m connected to the fire."
"I don’t know what to believe about anything, Tobias. Including you."
"Believe what Theodora tells you."
I straighten in my seat. "Why were you at Ravenhold?"
He blinks. "Because I broke the law and needed rehabilitation."
"Don't evade my question."
"Don't ask me, Maeve. I can't tell you."
"But you have to."
"Why? You don't need to know."
"I do, if you want me closer to you."
He slides his chair away from mine and it scrapes on the slate floor as he stands. "I thought we’d established that closeness isn't a good idea."
I've no clue why I said that to him. But the night in the room, almost pressed together, was more. Something exists that I don't understand, the forbidden drawing us closer, instead of repelling.
"Stay with your other guys, Maeve. Between them, they're right for you. I'm not." My heart thrums as his quiet admission "I want us to keep a distance, but I need you to trust me. Believe that I’m helping. Forget about Ravenhold."
I stand to face him. "But are you dangerous? If you are, I shouldn’t be alone in a room with you, Tobias."
His eyes drop to my mouth and I moisten my lips, desperate for him to tell me—but scared what his secret might be. Tobias pulls on his bottom lip and I spot the struggle on his face that matches the one happening inside me.
"Are you dangerous?" I whisper.
I reach into his mind and my head lurches as if I’ve hit my forehead against a wall.
"No. And keep out of my head."
"You’re confusing, Tobias. On the one hand you ask me to trust you, and on the other tell me to stay away."
"We need to keep boundaries, Maeve, and if you push against them, I’ll be tempted to cross them."
"I don’t push."
"Not deliberately, no, but even standing with you now, the intensity from you feeds me and heightens my senses too. I don’t want you to hate me, but disliking me would help."
"I do dislike you," I mumble.
"Yet your body radiates the opposite."
"So does yours."
Tobias breaks the tension by turning away and moving behind a desk, adding a physical barrier between us. "I can’t be distracted by you, Maeve. I have a job to do and once I’m finished here, I won't stay around." Before I can speak, he hastily adds, "I need to speak to Andrei about his dumb behaviour too."
"Conversation over?" I ask indignantly.
"Maeve. This is fucking hard. Back off."
I reel at his loss of composure and harsh words, as if he’d taken both hands and shoved me in the chest. "Wow."
His shoulders droop and he adds more gently, "Could I speak to Andrei, before this becomes any more heated?"
I clench my teeth, chest tight with hurt at his rejection.
"Sorry," he says softly. "Do you see how control is easily lost? I can’t cope with what you do to me."
I take a shaky breath. "Don’t be harsh to Andrei," I say. "He wants to protect me too."
"I know." Tobias walks towards the door. "So many protectors, Maeve. Perhaps one day, we'll learn why. Hop
efully before the Dominion do."
Chapter Twenty-Four
MAEVE
I return to my room, still wearing my sports clothes and ready to collapse into bed. Our dorm room door opens onto a scene I didn't expect. Jamie sits on my bed with his head in his hands, and Amelia crouches at his feet with a small, brown, glass pot in her hand. Her face is still pale, eyes surrounded by dark circles.
One simple academy team challenge turned into a disaster.
And again, this is my fault.
"Is everything alright?" I quietly close the door behind me. "Jamie?"
"He threw up." Amelia wrinkles her nose. "I've told him, he needs checking out."
"I'm fine," he mumbles."
"Jamie! You could have a concussion." I sit and pull a hand from his face. His clammy skin is slicked by a sheen of sweat and he's pale.
"I told Amelia to fetch something stronger. I can't go to the infirmary, can I? They’ll ask questions."
I rub a tired eye. "Is there anything stronger, Amelia?"
"I could mix some lavender with dragon’s balm—the salve stops the pain, but the tincture should heal the wound and stop any swelling."
"Great! Where's that?" I glance around the room.
Amelia stands. "Nicole has some. She's our ‘go to’ for stronger potions and such. She’s the only one with the skill to make them."
"Which is why it costs a lot, Amelia," groans Jamie, and he blows hair from his face.
"And you're one of my best friends. I don't care."
"I'll pay you back," he calls after Amelia, who's out of the door before he can protest any further.
Jamie slides from the bed to the floor, swearing. His hair is thick with the salve Amelia smeared on the back of his head.
"Can I persuade you to get checked out properly?" I ask and slide next to him.
"I'll be fine."
"Arseholes," I mutter and stroke Jamie's hair from his face for a closer look at his eyes. Again, my rudimentary first aid skills help—his pupils are normal-sized. He isn't seriously injured.
"I shouldn't be proud of you, but I am." Jamie touches my cheek. "You and your mad mind control skills."
I smile back at his teasing. "Using them is a bad move for me, though."
"Ash and Andrei sorted the situation. It's cool." He pauses. "Or not? What did Tobias say."
I chew a nail. So much, Jamie. "Not much. I think he’ll tell Theodora, but nobody else."
Jamie reaches out for a cloth filled with ice discarded on the floor and holds it on the back his head. "This didn't need to happen."
"I know," I whisper. "I was stupid."
"No. This." He points at the wound on his head. "I had a way to protect myself, which Tobias took away."
I slump back against the wall by the side of the bed. "Don't talk about the pendant again."
"But the pendant worked and I felt safer. More in control. The most confident I’ve ever been."
And that's the problem. But I don’t voice this. Amelia told me how Matt became obsessed with Blackwood magic, and how good this made him feel. Jamie claimed he stopped at the pendant—and I believe him—but was the short time he wore the necklace enough for magic to take hold of his soul?
"I understand."
"Do you?" He blinks at me. "I stand by everything I originally said. For all I know, I've a death mark on me. Someone may be planning to kill me, Maeve."
"Jamie." I gently turn his face to mine and the fear hidden in his eyes delves into my heart. "Magic isn't the answer."
He snorts. "You have magic that protects you."
His hand trembles where he holds the ice and he shifts the pack to a different part of his head. "Tobias told me he'd destroyed the pendant, so there's nothing I can do without the book."
"Good. I don't think Amelia would cope if she lost you to Ravenhold too."
"That would never happen."
"And Amelia told me that's what Matt thought." I stroke his face. "I would blame myself if we lost you."
"What? Why?"
"If I’d never told you about the event I saw, you'd never touch Blackwood magic. You’re making bad decisions because of me." Like Ash's brother made decisions based on a future-sighted witch's vision. "I need to stop what happens, not you." I choke up as I say the words.
"Maeve..." He touches my face too, and I'm startled when he runs his thumb below my eye to catch a tear I'm trying hard not to shed. "Life in the paranormal world is complicated, that's why we need to do what we can to help. It's better that I know."
"Is it?"
"There's a reason, I’m sure." He sets down the ice pack and his cool fingers tip my chin. "A reason you saw me. That you felt a connection before we met."
I swipe my eyes with a hand. I sense what he means, deeply. "I think so."
Jamie rests his forehead on mine and his clammy skin sticks against mine. "I struggle, Maeve. I thought we'd be more when I felt the spark between us, but you were always out of reach. Now, Ash..."
"Ash is struggling, Jamie."
"He's a bloody idiot."
I slide a hand around to the back of Jamie's head and he takes a sharp intake of breath. "Crap. Sorry." I drop my hand.
He moves his face away and takes my hand, moving his fingertips lightly across my palm. "I'll let you keep me safe, if you let me keep you safe too."
The light touch leaves tiny buzzes on my skin and I close my palm around his fingers. If we sit here with thoughts and hands joined, are we risking a vision? Neither of us has the strength right now.
What exists in this moment is a desire to care for each other, to stay connected. This started as a friendship forged by a frightening vision, but he now holds a place for me in his heart—and he has a place in mine too.
The room door slams open. "She drives a hard bargain," mutters Amelia. "Twice as much as I paid last time."
She pauses and stares at where our hands are joined. What's worse is I spring away from Jamie as if caught doing something I shouldn't. "Anyway, come on Jamie, let's get this on your head." She deftly unscrews the lid and scoops gloopy white cream from the jar. "Before you pass out and Maeve has to give you the kiss of life."
"Ha ha," he mumbles as she smears the cream on him, biting her lip in amusement. "Ouch! Be gentle."
I watch the two friends, smiling at their antics again, relieved I have such good people around me. Is Tobias right? Is somebody coming between us? Because keeping strong will be difficult when secrets are hidden and we walk the precipice between truth and lies.
Chapter Twenty-Five
MAEVE
The last couple of mornings I’ve met Ash outside the Gilgamesh building, but he texted me this morning to say he’d meet me at breakfast instead.
Confused and a little hurt, I wait for him in the main hall, promising Amelia that I’d meet her in class.
He steps in with Vincent, and when I walk over, my happiness at seeing him plummets. Ash doesn’t smile but glances at his brother, who looks between us before arching a brow at Ash.
Ash barely spoke to me at last night’s games. Has Vincent won?
"Maeve, isn’t it?" asks Vincent.
He knows damn well who I am. "Yes."
"Bad luck on the performance in last night’s challenge. I’m sure your team will improve with practice."
"I’m sure."
"What happened to Jamie? His face looked a little worse for wear." Vincent chuckles and my hackles rise. "Ash told me he walked into a tree in the dark."
I expected Ash to tell Vincent a story that lowers Vincent’s suspicion, but seriously? He could’ve chosen something less obviously a lie.
"We were banned from using witchlight magic, and Jamie couldn’t see where he was walking in the dark," I say with a sweet smile.
"Poor kid." Vincent doesn’t return my smile.
Ash mirrors Vincent’s stance with arms crossed and chin tipped, a miniature version of his brother. A strange tension hangs between the three of us. Ash denied hi
s brother disliked me, and I thought his attitude was to witches in general, but I can feel his displeasure at my closeness to Ash.
Hell, I saw how he feels.
"Are you coming to class?" I ask.
"Soon. Vincent needs my help with something."
"Oh."
Vincent blows air into his cheeks. "We’re in a hurry, Ashley. Now."
Ash darts a look between us and mouths ‘sorry’. I step forward to give him a hug before he leaves, but he turns to follow Vincent.
Amelia and Jamie are already in class when I arrive, and I glance over to where Andrei sits with his Petrescu group. His eyes linger on mine longer than usual and he gives a small smile to acknowledge me. I hesitantly smile back.
Class starts and I keep one eye on the door as we pull out our potions books. Mine and Amelia’s are stained in places from spilled potions and notes in the margin. Jamie’s brow creases as he runs through the list.
"Where’s Ash?" asks Amelia
"With Vincent."
Jamie makes a humph noise and stands. "I’ll grab some ingredients. Light the burner, Amelia."
Amelia watched Jamie as he wanders across the classroom then pulls out a match to light the flame. "Do you have the glasses for the potion?"
I bend down and pull three cylindrical glass containers from the cupboard, along with the spoons and scales.
"He doesn’t trust Vincent," says Amelia. "They’re going to come to blows if this continues."
"Do you trust him?" I ask.
She shrugs. "I’ve hardly spoken to him."
"Do you think Vincent knows about last night?" I whisper.
"Andrei dealt with the situation, as you know." Amelia chews her lip. "He’s a different guy around you."
I glance back at Andrei. His dark fringe sweeps into his eyes as he looks intently at a book Katherine shows her group. His long fingers spin his phone around on the table and heat fills my body as I look at his hands.
Since we sat together, I’ve daydreamed about more. The strange promise we’ve made to see each other again, as two people who hide in the dark. Each time he helps us, Andrei moves closer to the centre of our group, and each time he holds himself back.
What will it take for Andrei to relent and trust us?