Page 72 of By the Moonbeam and the Mist
The way he scowled at that last part made me feel like I was missing another chunk of context. And also made me want to put my fingers on his face, to smooth out the sudden harsh lines creasing his features.
I refrained, of course, and when I didn’t ask any more questions, Steeler hefted himself off my wall to loom over me.
“I will be right outside that same classroom where you first held a knife against my throat, little hurricane. If our plan goes sideways, if Lexington so much as makes your heartbeat falter…” He reached out and brushed his thumb right over the pulse that would be fluttering beneath my neck in real life before removing it again faster than I could strike him away. “…I’ll be there to end his before he can take another breath.”
My enemy. Coen Steeler was my Good Council-declared enemy who definitely didn’t have a strong jawline clenching with a kind of violence I found attractive. He definitely wasn’t staring at me as ifIwas the thing his world revolved around. And his thumbdefinitelyhadn’t sparked electricity against my throat when he’d—
God of the Cosmos, it was so much harder to control my thoughts in my own mind than it was in the outside world where I could distract myself with classes or conversations.
I clenched my own jaw and leaned closer to him, looking up into the smoky quartz of his eyes that could probably devour me whole if I drank them in for long enough. But I wanted Steeler tofeelexactly how steady and controlled my breath was against his lips.
I wanted him to know I could handle this all on my own.
“My heartbeat will not falter.”
Twenty minutes later, I was in the dining hall, asking the house cook for two plates of breakfasts—battered toast sprinkled with cinnamon and coconut flakes this morning.
I sat down, but didn’t touch my food, even when other Wild Whisperers filtered in with yawns and curious expressions shotmy way. Some of them waved, but when I waved back, I made sure to do it with a grimace before throwing my head back into my hands and massaging my temples—the Esholian Institute sign forI’m messed up right now so please leave me alone.
I simply waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Finally, I felt the air in the room stir as everyone was forced to look away. Felt the slimy presence of Lexington stride into the room, where he blinked down at the second plate of breakfast before me.
“What is this?”
Hurriedly, I dropped my blockade before he could sense even the thinnest veil of Mind Manipulating magic from me, expecting the thoughts of everyone else in the room to come rushing into my head.
Instead, I was greeted with silence. As if Lexington had smothered everyone’s thoughts as well as forced them to turn their heads away.
Trying not to look shocked, I pushed the second plate toward him, nodding at the chair across from me.
“You’re late. Better eat before it gets even colder.”
Lexington had always managed to catch me off guard before now. Now, I wanted him to know I’d beenawaitinghim. That I had the upper hand here.
Eyes slitting with suspicion, Lexington dragged the chair back, sat, and dove into my mind without further ado. As usual.
But this time… this time…
I tried so hard not to gasp.
Because I couldseeit this time. The outside world was a hazy film in the background, while this internal one was where Lexington’s monstrous form fell with a thud against my snowy ground.
He was ten times bigger than a black mamba but without the face or tail of one. Tiny bristles along his slick, fleshy body propelled him forward as he plunged through the gateway that led to my maze.
I refrained from sprinting after him and forced myself to stand perfectly still in the snow.
Garvis had told me Lexington wouldn’t notice anything strange about my internal presence as long as I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in here—like look him in the eye or run after him. The only difference now that I was a Mind Manipulator was that instead of a vague understanding of which memories he was observing, I couldhearthem play for him as he dug deeper into my mind. The sounds floated over my walls in tendrils of mist.
I shall be glad to watch the Good Council throw many more of you to sea after you fail your Final Tests,Mrs. Smetlar said.
You are adults, and it’s your own lives at stake if you don’t take this class seriously, Ms. Pincette said.
What use do we have for our carnivorous friends?Mrs. Wildenberg asked.
