just the four of us and only a handful of other students and admins around, the dorms and school buildings grow quiet. Well, the five of us. Roman’s still around too, since he doesn’t really have family to go visit either. I sneak into his room and spend time with him, since the guys are all studying for tests and special third-year projects and all that. But he’s busy with grading and lesson planning too, so even though I could happily spend an entire day naked in his bed, I try to give him breaks so he can work.
I was so ahead on my homework going into the holiday that I don’t have much to do. Turns out being unpopular and hated by the school for half the semester actually makes you really fucking productive.
Go figure.
I know I should probably relax for the week. It’s been a crazy semester, and I should use this chance to unwind and take it easy.
But I don’t feel like relaxing.
I want to investigate.
Look, some asshat is attacking students, and I nearly took the fall for it. Alyssa’s out for my blood like never before, people are running scared, and that bullshit is just not gonna stand. I don’t appreciate bullies and never have, and this is my goddamn school.
It was a gradual process, my falling in love with Griffin Academy. But it happened. The same way I fell in lo… er, started to care a lot about the men in my life.
The longer I’m here, the more I appreciate the importance of this place, and I’m not going to watch it be attacked. There are other types of magical academies all over the country, but this is the only one that trains Unpredictables. It’s our only safe haven. And if the last semester with Johnson’s freak-out at the Trials proved anything, it’s that we’re not completely safe in the rest of the magical world. Our protected bubble here is threatening to burst, and there are people out there who hate us and would possibly rather see us dead than let us wield our magic among them like equals.
So, a practically empty school? Sounds like a great time for me to do some digging and find out who might want to steal students’ magic, and how, and why.
Of course, I’m not planning to do all of this alone. I’m not the idiot chick in a horror film, thanks. I’m going to get backup.
On the third day of break, I find Cam and Asher in the library. It’s where they’ve practically been living the last few days, now that classes are out and they can devote all their time to studying. Cam’s a laidback guy and full of energy, not the type you’d expect to find in a library, but he’s been plugging away faithfully. Both of the guys have had me grill them with flashcards and stuff.
Dmitri could probably use my help too, but God forbid he ask me for it.
Damn it.
Anyway, Asher and Cam have taken over one of the tables in the deserted library, Cam bent over a thick tome and Asher diligently tracing runes over an object that looks like an extra thick dinner plate.
I walk up behind them just as Cam’s chin slips off his hand and he almost face-plants on the book.
Yup, he was totally dozing off.
Looks like it’s the perfect time for them to take a study break. I sidle up and plop down into the seat between them, and without even hesitating, they both reach out an arm to touch me. Cam’s hand lands on my thigh, his warm palm sending a delicious tingle up my leg, and Asher’s fingers thread through the back of my hair.
It’s one of my favorite parts of this thing developing between us—how easily and how often they touch me now. It’s casual and automatic, and my skin reacts to the contact every single time. It’s as if at any given moment, our bodies would rather be touching, so whenever we’re near each other, it’s the most natural thing for them to do.
I lean into Asher’s hand, letting him massage my scalp even as his other hand keeps tracing runes on the large disc.
“What are you up to, Sin?” Cam asks.
“Oh, nothing.” I wrinkle my nose. “But it could be something, if you guys are finished cramming…”
“We’ll never be finished,” he says, in the tone of someone announcing the zombie apocalypse.
“Pretty sure there are scientific studies on why it’s good for your brain