Page 68 of Class Studies
Tanwyn hooked the chair next to Ashe with his food and sat. “I don’t think I will.”
Saffron smiled and pulled out the remaining chair on his side for me. I slipped into it and focused on my lunch.
“Fucking shit, Saff,” Ashe growled. “Now, look what you’ve done.”
Saffron shrugged. “I didn’t break our deal.”
I looked at the ceiling, hoping whatever my possibly three boyfriends had agreed on would be written there. It wasn’t, and I looked back down with a groan.
“With the lies spreading about my Golem.” Saffron clenched his jaw. “Aphy has a target on her back.”
Ashe slammed his fist on the table. “That’s your god damn fucking fault.”
Saffron ignored him. “Tanwyn was happy enough to take the risk and do some guard duty. With his magic, he can stand up to anyone in this place.”
My eyes widened. Tanwyn winked at me before pretending to shine his nails on his shirt. “I make contracts with other beings.”
I studied the tattoos covering his visible skin—contracts with other beings. “You don’t have limitations.” I sucked in a breath. “You call your demons, and they do magic without drawing on yours.”
Tanwyn pointed the finger at me and pretended to shoot. “Bang on.”
Ashe growled possessively, turning his full attention to me. “How was your fucking morning, Kitten?”
“Ah, it was fine.” I gave Ashe a reassuring smile and took a bite of my BLT. The Gentle Giant eyed me, obviously looking for more, but I wasn’t about to reward his possessive behavior.
“Three more students got invites to Teddy Tederwinkle’s reenactment,” Tanwyn said, freeing me from Ashe’s gaze.
Saffron grunted. “That’s nine so far.”
“Ten.” Ashe picked up his fork like he wanted to kill someone with it. “An MA agent got an invite last night.”
The three mages froze, and I swallowed my bite. “I’ve no idea what’s going on.”
Tanwyn took a sip of his water. “You know there’s a recruiter for Global Tech here at the moment?”
I nodded.
“He’s selecting mages for a reenactment.” Tanwyn fanned out his fingers. “The Battle of Brian the Bold.”
I racked my brain. “Was that the guy who got killed by a talking pig?”
Saffron grunted. “It was, and the fight was the defining moment separating Natural and Rimmed Mages.” He scowled. “Why would a recruiter from a technology conglomerate want to recreate it here? Of all places?”
“It gets worse.” Tanwyn traced one of the tattoos on his forearm. “He’s only inviting a few people to lead the reenactment and claiming he can only recruit from that top group.” Tanwyn’s eyebrows knitted together. “His invites seem random. It’s not me or the powerhouses of the Institute. It’s mostly students who aren’t good enough to be good but not bad enough to be called the bottom of the barrel. It’s changing the dynamics of power.”
I took a sip of water to wash down my bite. “Changing the dynamics of power? Like changing people’s magic?”
Saffron sighed like I said something stupid. “No. The social structure. Students who aren’t usually bold are getting bold, and people who didn’t have hope now have hope.”
I studied the layers of my BLT. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Ashe reached across the table to rub the top of my head. “It fucking should be. But we don’t know Tederwinkle’s intentions. Combined with the fear someone’s spreading about Saffron’s Golem taking away people’s magic.” He scratched his beard. “This place is a god damned powder keg. It’s mostly Rimmed Mages angry at the fucking system set up by Natural Mages. Fear’s a powerful motivator for action. This reenactment could be the spark blowing the entire fucking thing.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Or it could bring the students together? Like the faculty did after the ‘chemical leak.’”
Saffron snorted.
I focused on my sandwich, trying to remember the rimming of Tederwinkle’s eyes. “He’s a Rimmed Mage, right? Maybe he’s looking out for the students?”