to take breaks from studying. It helps you to relax and retain the information better.”
Cam gives me a look through squinted eyes, like he thinks this might be bullshit but doesn’t know enough about neurology to dispute it. I give an over-the-top pout and bat my eyelashes, making him crack a smile. He enjoys theatrical dramatics.
Asher fucks up the rune he was tracing somehow and curses, hanging his head in his hands. “Ugh.”
“You guys need a break. Seriously.” I grab each of their hands and tug. “C’mon. Please?”
“Fine,” the blond-haired mage groans, getting to his feet. “But if we fail our classes and you’re stuck with us for another whole year, you’ll have only yourself to blame.”
That actually sounds amazing. I can’t even stand to think about being here without them in my third year, so the idea of keeping them around makes me smile. I’d never want to hold them back though, and I know they’re way too smart and driven for that to ever happen. They’re going to graduate with flying colors.
But in the meantime…
I pull them toward the door, still holding each of their hands.
“What are we doing?” Asher asks.
I grin. “We’re going to find out who’s been stealing magic.”
Chapter 19
Asher is the responsible one out of the three of us, so of course he has some reservations about us poking around campus to try to find the culprit.
“What if we get hurt?” he points out. “What if we get in trouble?”
“It’ll be fine,” I assure him.
Honestly, at this point, how could it possibly get any worse for me if I do get in trouble? After having the whole school suspect me of the thefts, it’s hard to worry too much about something like getting caught snooping around.
“If worse comes to worst, we can say we snuck off to have sex,” Cam points out with a wicked grin.
I bust up laughing, and Asher rolls his eyes but cracks a smile.
These guys are two of the very best people to be around if I want to relax. Roman’s not high-strung or anything, but he’s a very passionate and intense person, like Dmitri in his own way. Asher and Cam are both more laidback—but in different ways. They balance each other out. Asher’s calm and collected, but relaxed, while Cam’s energetic and always has a joke ready.
It’s really nice.
We start by going through the classrooms where the incidents occurred, just to see what we can find. I don’t know what we could stumble upon that the professors and admins didn’t discover when they inspected the rooms after the attacks, but you never know.
“We should check the registry,” Asher says. “See if we can find a link, a student who was in each class.”
“But whoever did this just had to be on campus, right?” I counter. “Or maybe in the same building as whoever they were stealing magic from? The culprit could’ve done all of this from the bathroom, for all we know.”
“Fair enough.”
We finish going through our large combat classroom and move on to another room on the third floor where first-years have their Theory of Magic class.
I really wish we had Dmitri with us. Cam and Asher are bantering back and forth, and I love it, but I’m so used to seeing them with their other friend as well. I’m not sure where he is at the moment—he’s been spending a lot of break away from everyone, and I don’t know if it’s because of his family or school or me, or some combination of all three.
We go well together, all five of us. Or we seemed to anyway, in the little time I was awake at Roman’s house. I don’t know what to do to get that back, to have Dmitri join us again. He and I are still in this silent standoff. He’s not willing to say anything to break the silence, clearly, and neither am I.
I know what I’d like to say. I’d like… well…
Look, I’m not the begging kind. I’ve never chased after a guy in my life. I never knew a man who was worth it before, and besides, I wasn’t going to sacrifice my dignity like that. But I admit that what I really want is to ask Dmitri if we can work things out, if we can repair things somehow or grow to a better place.
Even if I was mistaken about how much he cares for me, it doesn’t change the fact that I care for him. A lot. We’ve spent