Page 49 of Class Studies
Beryl slapped his palm against his forehead.
“Do you feel abnormally drawn to Aphrodite?” Officer Keres asked, addressing Tanwyn.
The summoner’s gaze burned into me, and butterflies filled my stomach. “No more than usual.”
I pressed my hand against my stomach as the butterflies collided together and bounced around. Tanwyn and I were friendly, maybe even friends, well, until my socket. The number of times Tanwyn had come to my rescue flitted through my head. I brushed the pillow under my butt.
“There is no pull from a transfer,” Ashe added. “It’s like needing to take a piss.”
Beryl licked his lips. “Hot.”
Ghalen snorted, and the odd tension in the room relaxed, though the lust surging through me didn’t.
Officer Keres motioned to Professor Garnet, and the professor pulled out his gem. Red mist floated to all of us, two darker clouds absorbing into Saffron and Ashe’s gems. Officer Keres was rewarding us with rations. Weird.
No rations drifted toward Tanwyn, and I bristled. “No extra for Tanwyn?”
“Tanwyn didn’t volunteer.” Officer Keres held his hands out. “I’m not the enemy here. And I’m not trying to destroy this Institute, only clean it up.” He looked around at all of us. “Whether you want to be or not, you’re the leaders of this place. Other students look up to you and will mimic your behavior.” He held his hands out. “I know my start here was rough, and not knowing what the mages under me were doing isn’t an excuse for what happened. But let me help you.” He paused and eyed each of us in turn. “You’re done for today. Enjoy your longer than usual break.”
I shook my head and gripped my braid.
For every bad thing Officer Keres did, he did something good. I believed him when he said he hadn’t known what his subordinates were doing. Most of the MA had enforced the rules and done their jobs. One of which was getting rid of the black market: probably a good thing overall, but Beryl brought in positive along with the negative. And Beryl himself wasn’t as amoral as Officer Keres insisted.
I clenched my fists. And now Metaphysics was my personal testing ground. I hated experimenting on my friends, but I loved learning to control my magic.
The hypocrisy in everything was maddening.
Ghalen stood and took out his phone. “Hey baby, I’m done early and skipping GS today; gather the girls and meet me in our lounge?”
He slid out the door. The bright outside world lit up the dim Sphérique momentarily before casting it back into the faint blue from the runes lighting it.
The remaining mages didn’t move, still arrayed on opposite sides of me. The air pressure pushed and pulled as they waited for me to choose a side.
Professor Garnet watched me with a slight smile playing on his lips. I shot him a dirty look. He shouldn’t be enjoying this.
Instead of moving to either set of mages, I reposition my pillow and lay on my back, studying the containment runes covering the ceiling.
Officer Keres pulled Professor Garnet aside, and their murmuring bounced around the sphere. Beryl’s chuckle joined it, along with whispering from Saffron and Tanwyn.
My clit pulsed, reminding me of the amount of magic that had gone through me in the last hour. I looked to either side of me again, but no one had moved.
They wanted me to choose, but I wouldn’t.
I took out my phone and found Tanwyn’s number. Even though he’d put it on my phone weeks ago, I’d never once messaged him. He’d added a way to remember him next to his name. It was rather adorable.
A: I’m really sorry.
Tanwyn (white dog): Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t a big deal, but you were terrific standing up for me.
I wasn’t so good with compliments. I gave the summoner a nod before switching my texts over to Saffron.
A: I have something I need to do before GS.
Greek God: I’ll join you.
A: It’s not a good idea. You need to look good to your parents, right?
Greek God: …