Page 171 of Obsidian and Frost
“Hey,” she greeted me.
“How are you doing?”
“Good. Much better.” Her bright smile faltered a little as the truth she hid so well behind her mask seeped out. “Taking it a day at a time, you know?”
I did know. Very well. “That sort of violation, especially by somebody you cared for in Rennick, isn’t something you can just shake off. It takes time. It needs healing.” I reached out and rubbed her arm gently. “You’re doing really well. Don’t put more pressure on it than that. You’ve cut off contact with him since we got him kicked out, you’re going to classes, you’ve applied to intern at the Guardian Movement’s Coven Unity Division.” It improved the curriculum, structure, standards, and governance of Covens across the supernatural world. After what had happened to her with Rennick controlling her lately with illicit magic, she wanted to join that division to work toward ensuring other magic-wielders coming up and learning were guarded against that sort of thing, and that others were taught much more in depth about the dangers of using those magics.
I didn’t blame her for wanting that, and it was actually a really powerful response to what had happened to her—choosing to make the world better through it. She really was trying to evolve beyond hermean girlreputation that she’d garnered at Maven Academy.
“Would you be up for getting a drink at that fusion bar down the road sometime soon?”
“I’ve wanted to go to that place ever since I set foot in here. But I… venturing to unknown places… it’s been strange and foreign to me for a while.”
“So you immediately discounted it, even though you wanted to do it?”
“Pretty much.”
“I get it, believe it or not.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
“Great,” she said, brightly. “I’ll message you in a couple of days or something?”
“Perfect.”
“Where the fuck is he?”
We both jolted at the sound of Sylas’ voice, as he burst through the crowds and came right up to me. He registered Kelsana there and how he’d made her jump. “Evening,” he said, forcing a politeness that he was barely managing right now given the state he was clearly in.
“I’ll… leave you to it,” Kelsana said, edging away, and eyeing Sylas awkwardly. That last part was because of her flirting with him initially, which she’d since moved away from after he’d had that talk with her.
As she took off deeper into the room to prepare for class, I focused on Sylas. “You’re talking about Lazriel?”
He nodded, frantically looking around. “He told me to meet him outside in the quad twenty minutes before class. Said he had something to discuss with me that I should brace myself for. He didn’t show.”
Ah. Got it.“He won’t be making it to class.”
“What? This is one of the classes he’s most been looking forward to. And it’s with his favorite professor, the Dragon-Wolf hybrid.”
“Something has come up, but he’s fine, I promise.”
He scrutinized me. “What’s going on, Velra?”
“He’s resting after enduring something… taxing.”
It wasn’t my place to say, especially because I hadn’t actually been told either. I’d felt it through the Soul Brand from Cassius—him and Lazriel…experimenting.
“Taxing?For Lazriel Thaine?” he mused to himself, that analytical, calculating mind of his working overtime. And all too quickly. “There aren’t many things that can impact him to that extent of requiring recovery time or—” Realization hit and his gaze snapped to mine again. “He’s with Cassius. It’s why you’re trying not to divulge details. You interpreted it through your connection to him. It wasn’t conveyed or publicized by either of them.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s certainly… something. One hell of a development, actually.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You think so?”
