Page 10 of Class Studies

I purposely didn’t look at Ram’s still husk lying in a bed across the room. Did she still think I was worth protecting after doing that to another student?

Saffron grunted in pain, and my worries fled my mind. I hurried to the side of the bed opposite Nurse Norah. Saffron stripped off his shirt to reveal his sides and stomach, covered in red scuffs and fresh bruising.

Nurse Norah sucked in a breath. She lightly traced a rune across Saffron’s stomach. “You’re bleeding internally.” She shook her head. “Alienating Rimmed Mages, right after ditching your harem, might not have been a wise decision.”

Saffron stiffened. “The two are unrelated.”

I raised an eyebrow, but they didn’t fill me in. I was getting tired of feeling left out. Leaning forward, I tried to get Saffron to explain by staring at him, but the Greek God grimaced in pain, and I let it go.

Nurse Norah tutted, her spell fading from Saffron’s bruised skin. “I’ll need to fill out the paperwork for a healing potion and charge it to your account.”

Saffron gingerly pressed his swollen face. “I can afford it.”

The nurse nodded and disappeared through a side door.

Saffron shifted his hips and leaned back on the pillow. I tried to help him, but I didn’t know what to do. I’d never seen anyone beaten up like this before. My hands fluttered uselessly between us as my heart bled for him.

Saffron reached out and stilled my hands. “It’s not a big deal. I’ve had worse.”

I shook my head and rested a hand on his shin. “Nothing’s a big deal to you! Even if things get too intense with Professor Garnet, you snort and pull back. You dropped Mercedes like a stone, and you’d been with her your entire life! Things can be a big deal, Saff.”

Saffron scowled and pulled his leg away from me. “Like things are a big deal to you? Mercedes tortured you, yet you didn’t come to me once.” He glanced at my stomach before clenching his fists. “Our child died inside of you, and you moved on. You spent your entire life serving a mage you never talk about.”

My knees wobbled. I leaned heavily on the bed, the bruising on my side ached dully. Memories and emotions ripped through me. Those three things couldn’t be more different, but I didn’t like talking about any of them.

A tear ran down my cheek, and I scrubbed it away. “The future’s always better than the past.” I met Saffron’s gaze. “I hate my master, but I loved him. I know what he did was wrong, but I live with my memories of how happy his love made me every day. What do you want from me, Saffron? Do you want to hear about my orgasms as he raped me? How I begged him if I’d gone more than two days without transferring?”

The blood drained out of Saffron’s face. He reached for me, but I leaned back. “I didn’t even know I was pregnant.” I glared at him. “I didn’t lose our child; I woke up and was hit in the face by something I didn’t know was even possible.”

“I didn’t mean—”

I clenched my fist. “You watched Mercedes torment me. You even threatened me yourself over hurting Professor Garnet. Why would I come to you?”

Saffron’s bumblebee yellow rims darkened. His injured body hovered between protecting itself and preparing to lunge for me. The thick tension in the air made it hard to breathe.

Saffron slumped like I’d hit him. “You wouldn’t. You’re right.” He scrubbed a hand through his blond locks. “I fucked everything up here as thoroughly as I did back home.”

He shook, the power of his emotions rocking his body. Despite my anger, I had to hold myself back from wrapping him in my arms.

“I killed my little brother.” Unshed tears shinned in Saffron’s eyes. “I destroyed my family, and in trying to fix it, I alienated the only friends I had in this world.”

The door Nurse Norah went through rattled but didn’t open.

I unclenched my fist and eased myself into a cross-legged position at the end of the bed. Though anger still echoed through me, I wanted to understand Saffron, and I didn’t want to think about my past.

“I’m sure you’ve read about the plane crash.” Saffron waited for me to nod before continuing. “We’d been fighting, the entire family.” He picked at the blanket under him. “I don’t even remember what it was about anymore. I got so mad, and suddenly our private jet tilted, and the sun came through my window. All I remember was glorious heat sinking into my skin. The world suddenly seemed brighter, crisper, somehow.” A smile played at his lips before his face contorted in pain. “And then the heat became too intense and spilled out of my limbs, magic as hot and concentrated as electricity fried the plane. My parents used their big spells to hurl us out of the emergency exit and slow our fall.”

Saffron folded his hands and began rubbing his thumbs together. “I don’t remember grabbing my little brother. But I curled myself around him as we hit the water. A bubble surrounded us. I don’t know if I created it or my parents, but it kept us afloat.” He rocked slightly. “Only, the magic inside me still raged, spilling out of me, frying sharks and fish within thirty feet of me. The bubble burst, and I lost my grip on my brother. I tried to reach him.” He squeezed his eyes shut before whispering, “but stopped.”

He rubbed his thumbs faster and focused on his hands. “I’d already fried him.” A single tear slipped out of his left eye. “The minute I touched him with my magic so out of control, I electrocuted his little six-year-old body.” Saffron violently shook before looking up at me with lost eyes. “Six years old, and his own brother killed him. I so badly wanted to protect him, but I was the one who hurt him.”

Whatever bad blood existed between Saffron and me didn’t matter. I crawled to his side and wrapped my arms around him, placing my hands over his to still his thumbs.

Saffron didn’t lean on me, but he didn’t pull away either.

“I thought by staying away from you, I could keep history from repeating itself. But at the same time, I wanted to be there for you.” Although he didn’t cry, tremors shook his solid frame. “It was only you, facing four mages that first night. We were trying to intimidate you, and you brushed us aside and focused on what you wanted. It was so simple, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.” He took a deep breath. “And there you were, outside of Director Flemmings’ office, dressed in those oversized gray sweats, making you look like a child, talking about the board games I’d not played since my brother’s death.” A final tremor shook his frame before taking a second long deep breath. “My heart melted. The smallest flame for a future I’d not even considered lit in my heart.”

Saffron attempted to control his thick hair falling into his eyes. “And then you were pregnant.” He tugged on his locks, still not looking at me. “I thought the wild magic that destroyed my life had destroyed my future—my entire family’s future. Even when we’d been trying, Mercedes didn’t conceive.” Saffron looked up at me. “You’re my ray of hope.”