Page 24 of Class Studies
Phantom pain made my fingers tingle. My heart raced. It didn’t matter what I said; there was no correct answer here. I squeezed my hands together in my lap. How could I possibly keep both of them safe?
Chapter 5
I rubbed my wrists, looking between the mages on either side of me. Should I double down on the lie or come clean?
Guilt ate at my stomach. Either way, one of them was getting hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d thrown Beryl under the bus to protect Ashe, only to find out later Ashe didn’t need my protection—unless he did. The blood drained out of my face. Any residual anger I felt toward the Gentle Giant melted. Why was he here? And seated with us like a student?
My hands shook as I reached out for the mages on either side of me. Their warm palms engulfed my chilled fingers.
I didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
Officer Keres suspected our lie. He sniffed it out like a hound tracking a fox, and I doubted he’d let it go. My overheard conversation between Beryl and Saffron weeks ago rang through my head. Beryl’s original harem had died, and though he hadn’t said it, he felt responsible for their deaths. His family stuck him here when he was five. Every teacher, even Professor Garnet, had failed him over the last seventeen years.
I couldn’t join that list.
When I squeezed both their hands, they squeezed mine back, filling me with confidence.
“Ashe did.” I opened my eyes and met Officer Keres’ gaze. “Ashe came to my room. He entered my Shell, and we made love. I lost control and started a transfer I couldn’t stop. I would’ve lost my hands if he’d not used my magic to overload the cuffs.”
Officer Keres studied my face. “And all this business with your scales?”
“What would I use them for?” I released my guys and held my hands up. “I can’t charge anything. I can’t work magic.” I let my honest frustrations fall out of my mouth to cover my lie. “I don’t have access to my old tools or supply chains. Even if I did, what would I make? Abe had me making mental barrier potions, but those can’t save me from being picked on. Or bullied on Mêler. I don’t even know what I am, much less what would help me.”
The men around me shifted uncomfortably. Across from me, Saffron dropped his gaze to the floor. I covered my mouth with my fingers, holding back real tears of frustration.
Officer Keres studied me. “And did he come to you of his own free will?”
I swallowed, unsure what was better for Ashe. “No, he didn’t.” I sighed. “Well, he came to help me of his own free will, but it wasn’t until I started transferring that we did the deed. He tried to stop himself, but that’s not how it works.”
Officer Keres glanced at Professor Garnet, obviously wondering how true my statement was.
“The Professor seems to be an exception,” I added awkwardly.
Officer Keres turned to the giant of an MA agent behind him before beckoning to Professor Garnet, who joined them.
My heart raced. Ashe set his hand on my knee and rubbed while Beryl wrapped one of his solid arms around my back, calming me. Right or wrong, my two mages were still by my side. I leaned into Beryl and set my hand over Ashe’s.
Saffron’s heavy gaze burned into me, but I didn’t have the heart to meet it.
Officer Keres’s whispering ended, and he cleared his throat. “I’m proud of you for coming clean about this, young lady, but it doesn’t change our goals in this room.”
I straightened out of Beryl’s arms, and Ashe removed his hand from my knee.
Officer Keres turned to Ashe. “You lied to me, your superior officer, and left out essential information from your reports. It makes me wonder if you’re leaving out more. I was disappointed to learn of Aphrodite’s socket from reading her paperwork and not from you.”
“I assumed you’d read her fucking file front to back.” Ashe grimaced. “Like you ordered me to do before you sent me undercover.”
The edges of Officer Keres’ lips turned white, but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge Ashe’s words.
“Aphrodite.” Officer Keres motioned to the professor who returned to his seat. “Professor Garnet’s been instructed to watch your thoughts, as accurate as that magic can be, while you create Beads of Will. Your peers will try out different defenses as we practice on them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to mess with more people’s will.”
“But you do.” Officer Keres gave me an overly patient smile. “Drugged or not, I saw your face. You loved using your magic, Aphrodite. Your fellow mages here are a lost cause. Beryl’s Aptitude score would be in the negatives if it worked like that. Tanwyn’s is the highest, though the ability to summon demons will never be accepted by society. He’ll be lucky to sell his body to a charging station.”
“A charging station?” I asked, looking at Tanwyn.
The tattooed mage paled and clenched his fists.