Page 42 of Savage Torment

“Me?” I breathe, and he cocks his brow.

“They’re your two closestfemalefriends. They don’t come close to me,” he adds with a wink, pulling me closer against his side. But when he notices the puzzled look on my face, he elaborates. “I don’t want them to do something foolish that could hurt you down the line.”

I may not even be here then.I suppress my initial thought, but it lingers in my mind. I definitely won’t survive if my mind constantly wanders to the negatives instinctively.

“I’ll come find you for lunch, okay?” Wylder murmurs.

I rub my lips together nervously, recalling what happened in the dining hall at breakfast, and my stomach twists. “I’m not sure if?—”

“I’ll sit outside with you if I need to. Damn, I’ll get them to set up a whole table just for us in the dining hall if necessary,” he declares, dropping his arm from my shoulders to face me directly, placing a hand on either side of me as he looks mestraight in the eyes. “But please, Polaris, don’t push me away anymore. It’s tearing me apart.”

I gulp as his words floor me once again, and he leans forward to press a kiss on my forehead before disappearing into the crowd of students filtering off in every direction.

Any chance I have to decipher how he makes me feel vanishes when I hear someone clearing their throat, pulling me from my thoughts. I find Professor Juniper giving me a pointed look from her position at the classroom door.

Her arms are crossed over her chest, her circular glasses resting on the tip of her nose and her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. None of this is any different from usual, except for the way her lips purse in distaste.

“Playing games with other factions isn’t a good idea, Polaris.”

My eyebrows rise in shock, but instead of allowing embarrassment to creep up my spine and take control, I meet her disapproving stare with one of my own. “I didn’t realize that was any of your concern.”

I try to step around her to enter the classroom, but she blocks my path. “It’s not. But as a member of the Serenity coven, I?—”

I lift my hand, cutting her off before she continues to spew her opinions at me. “I’m going to stop you right there because I don’t need your advice, nor do I want it.”

I’m trembling inside as I push past her and enter the classroom. Bryony is already in her seat, but she’s too busy whispering with Foster to notice the drama I’m caught up in. Instead of letting the stress linger, I drop into my seat with a huff and pull out my grimoire.

When Professor Juniper closes the classroom door and takes her usual spot at the front of the class, ignoring me, I feel relieved.

A thrill pulses down my spine knowing that I stood up for myself. Or was it because I didn’t want her to speak poorly aboutWylder? Either way, I feel empowered. Now, if only I could execute that level of attitude and confidence with everyone else.

“Again, Polaris.”

My breaths rasp between clenched teeth, my chest rising and falling in quick, sharp pants as exhaustion clings to every inch of my body.

“I can’t.” It’s hard enough for me to say the simple words, never mind what she’s actually asking.

“You have to,” she snaps back. She’s not handling it calm and collected now. No. Her anger and lack of control are fully visible, and I’m at the center of it.

It seems my earlier attitude toward the professor has come back to bite me. We’re no longer taking private lessons in her back room. Instead, she has me on full display in front of the entire class.

My shoulders sag as I struggle against the chokehold my magic has me in, but that doesn’t matter to Juniper. “Do as I taught you. Read the room, Polaris. Feel it, feel everyone,” she calls out, her shadow looming over me as she circles around, making me even more of a spectacle for the room as everyone watches.

The desks have been pushed aside and used as seats for the other students to watch my torture, which is precisely what this is.

“I’m trying,” I grind out, and she scoffs.

“Not hard enough.”

I want to cry. I’m sure the sweat dripping down my face probably makes it look like I already am, but I’m not. I don’t think.

The sand in my hand isn’t enough; I feel like I need to immerse myself in it, and even then, it won’t magically compel me to do what she wants.

Completing another lap around me, she comes to a stop within my line of sight. Her nostrils flare as she purses her lips and points a finger in my direction. “As a mind witch, as the center, you must be able to control your ability to read the room.”

Anger boils through my limbs.

“All I can sense is you,” I snap back. It’s the truth. I’ve definitely learned something today, but it’s just not what she wants. Maybe she knows I won’t be able to reach the peak she’s demanding; she just wants to watch me suffer trying.

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