Dmitri doesn’t say anything, but he hovers in the periphery, and the look on his face is one of fierce approval. I mean, he probably would’ve preferred it if Kendal took Alyssa down with a roundhouse kick rather than with words, but he still looks supremely satisfied with the result.
It makes my heart twinge a little. I wish I could tease him about how bloodthirsty he is. I wish we could joke around and banter like we used to. The silence between us has stretched on for so long that it’s starting to feel insurmountable. It’s starting to feel like the new normal, and I hate that more than anything.
Before my mood can spiral into a nice deep, dark depression, I wrench my gaze away from the dark-haired mage and look back at Kendal, determined to at least foster this little seed of friendship.
“We were all going to head over to the dining hall for lunch. Do you want to come with us?”
She still seems a little flustered by the guys, but she blinks and then nods, grinning shyly.
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
Kendal’s shutdown of Alyssa shifted something.
If you’re thinking it made Alyssa into a nicer person, sorry, but wrong guess. She seems to hate me just as much as ever—but what is different is that she starts keeping it to herself. Maybe it’s because she knows she doesn’t have as much support for her vitriol as before, since most of the school seems to have taken my side after Hardwick’s speech and Kendal’s outburst.
It feels good. I feel vindicated and so relieved not to be the object of everyone’s suspicion anymore. And even though Dmitri hasn’t forgiven any of the people who ganged up on me in our Combat class—and honestly, I don’t think Cam or Asher have either, although they’re a lot more subtle about it—I decide to try to make a fresh start.
I mean, sure, I’ve already been at this school for almost a year and a half and am about to hit the midpoint of my training, but it’s never too late to try, right?
Over the next couple weeks, I make a concerted effort to be a little more friendly and outgoing. I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard, and I’m still not that great at it. I’ll never reach Cam levels of friendliness, and I really don’t want to, but I at least learn a few more people’s names and join in some conversations in the hallways.
It helps that nobody else has lost their magic since Tandy, so the grand total of magic-less students in the infirmary still sits at five. As days go by without another attack, people start to relax a little, although an edge of anxiety still permeates the entire school.
My determination to be friendlier to people is put on a bit of a hold when Thanksgiving break rolls around, because campus almost completely clears out for the holiday. I think more people go home than usual this year because they want to get away from whoever’s stealing magic.
Originally, Maddy was supposed to come to Griffin Academy so we could spend the week together, but now that someone’s been attacking people, I don’t think it’s smart. I can’t put her in danger, no matter how much I want to see her. She goes to a friend’s house instead, and I get to hear about the good time she’s having when we call and text.
Maddy’s never had a problem making friends, and I’m so glad. I feel a twinge of sadness—that old fear that she’ll forget about me, that she’s flown the nest and will never come back—but overall, I’m just relieved that she’s somewhere safe for the break.
The campus goes eerily quiet, since most of the students are home and a lot of the faculty are too. The professors still have work to get done, like grading papers and planning exams, but they’re doing it off campus with family, visiting parents, that kind of thing.
All of the guys stay at school. Cam doesn’t have a family to go home to, and I think Dmitri would rather set his hair on fire than go see his folks, which… I understand better now than ever. Asher explains that it’s just too much to try and get his family all together for Thanksgiving.
“My parents are fine with me staying here,” he tells me. “We have a big gathering for the winter solstice, anyway, and that’s in a month. So I’ll see them all soon.”