Page 36 of Self Studies

I dropped my pencil and looked down at my five-word answer: ‘What is five-paragraph form?’

“Now, Aphrodite,” the proctor snapped.

I stood so fast I hit my thighs on the table and winced. The woman barely spared me a glance. She came forward and piled up my tests on top of the lapbtop. “You’re to report to your advisor in two hours to collect your new schedule.”

The woman’s dramatic layered robes billowed as she swiftly exited the room.

Saffron’s light steps entered moments later. “How’d it go?”

I tugged on my braid. “It’s only placement, right?”

Saffron grunted. “I’ll drop you off in the library until dinner; we’ll pick up your new schedule after that. Don’t leave the library.”

I sucked in a breath and eyed Saffron. If he was so keen to get rid of me, maybe he shouldn’t have come at all. If he noticed my unhappiness, he didn’t show it.

Once again, I found myself following his backside down the halls. At least it was a good view.

Usually, I could sit still for long periods, but that was pretty much all I’d done today. After lossing interest in a second book, I ignored Saffron's command. I wanted to walk the barrier again, and no one could tell me not to—especially not another overbearing mage.

Alice gave my hoodie a quick magical wash before I made my way out of the building. As it turned out, Alaska had longer days during the summer and almost no daylight during the winter. Being the end of summer, the early evening light still blazed like mid-day.

I focused on the brilliant horizon and the crisp air refreshing my lungs. I’d not seen any animals yesterday, but maybe I’d spot something today. I missed the antics of the stray cats who lived outside my old window.

Footsteps crunching on the packed dirt and gravel didn’t register until they were right behind me. Before I could turn, a hand clamped down over my mouth. Something hard hit my shins, kicking my feet out from under me. Instead of hitting the ground, an arm clamped around my stomach. Although logic told me to fight, my body went limp.

My attacker pulled me into the shade of one of the buildings. The cooler air made me shiver as I struggled to get a full breath.

‘You need me to protect you,’ Damon’s voice echoed in my thoughts.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to focus on anything, but my brain scattered, and my body stayed limp.

“If you scream, I’ll gut you,” a woman’s voice said from in front of me.

My eyes shot open. The person who grabbed me still held me, and now a second person stalked forward.

Broad and dressed in a student uniform, a vicious smile played on her dark lips. Her hips rolled with every step. The tip of a large sharp knife dented one of her fingers as she played with it. I closed my eyes again. The hand across my mouth squeezed painfully before releasing my mouth.

“Breath, slut,” the woman demanded.

Her command didn’t help my short, jerky breaths. The woman stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face. Hot metallic blood filled my mouth. My next inhalation pulled the thick liquid down my throat and into my lungs.

I choked on it and started violently coughing. The person behind me dropped me, and I fell forward – my palms biting painfully into the ground. A meaty hand thumped me hard on the back.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, but whatever,” the woman said.

I managed a few normal breaths. The hand stopped its motions, flattening out and running down my back before rubbing across my rear. My body stayed frozen, and my mind went numb. It always hurt less if I stayed relaxed. I’d learned that the hard way. I didn’t want to remember that lesson.

The hand squeezed my butt.

I didn’t want this.

“She’s not even runnin’ from it,” the gruff voice of my first attacker said. One of his fingers pressed into my butt-crack through my skirt. “That get-up she pranced around in...” He smacked his lips. “A little cum in her cunt ain’t gonna fuck-up her scales, right?”

“Assuming she’s actually got them,” the woman pointed out. “If she were that powerful, she’d be fight’n us, not grinding her pussy against your bumbling fingers.”

I tried to shake my head; I wasn’t doing that. The woman squatted down in front of me as the man lifted my skirt. Cool air brushed my ass. I began shaking, but I still couldn't move.

The woman carefully slid the knife into my mouth, forcing me to meet her gaze. Cold steel nicked my lips as the point of the blade came to rest against my teeth. I clenched my jaw shut.