silent for the rest of the walk, pensive, and I wondered what he was thinking about.
“You’ll see,” I told Adrian, my tone teasing. We were nearly back on academy grounds. Elias thought it best to portal just outside the perimeter of the ward and walk from there, so we didn’t frighten anyone in the middle of the night.
Cal blew out a breath, wincing a bit as the movement jostled his still-healing gash in his abdomen. “I’m beat.”
“Me too,” Adrian admitted. “It’s going to suck finding new territory far enough away from Atlas’ pack.”
I grinned. If they accepted my offer, they wouldn’t need to. Not for a while, anyway.
The nerves set in and I tucked my hands into my pockets, an icy finger of cold tracing a line up my back.
Elias cleared his throat and I realized we were nearing the edge of the tree line. This was where he would leave us. He had classes to teach in the morning, after all.
“Give me a minute?” I said to Cal and Adrian, bowing my head as I passed them to go to where Elias waited several yards away.
“Thank you,” I said. “For coming with me. I’m glad I could be there for them.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes when he said, “Of course. I’ll always be there when you need me, you know that.” His dark blue eyes wandered, and I realized what I was seeing there was discomfort.
I brushed the back of his hand with my fingertips, itching to do more, but with an audience, and in the shadow of the academy, I couldn’t. I wondered how long we’d have to wait before this—before us—didn’t have to be hidden away. I didn’t think I could stand it for another three years until I graduated.
“Goodnight, Harper.”
I nodded and Elias pulled his hand away. His jaw twitched just before he turned, a sadness deepening the lines of his face.
“Goodnight,” I called after his retreating form, my chest aching. I felt lighter when I saw Fallon bounding out of the bushes, his silver-tipped tail bobbing as he darted in to welcome his bonded witch home. Jumping and rolling in the dew-dampened grass. Pawing at Elias’ legs. But Elias didn’t stoop to pat him, and the little fox took a hint, trotting along with him quietly, instead.
“Hey,” Cal said, coming to wrap a thick arm around me. “You okay?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”
He didn’t seem convinced and gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze before he let go in favor of taking my hand. “Lead the way.”
The contact soothed the aching and lent me the bit of added strength I needed to see this night through.
Five minutes later, we were around the other side of the academy, entering the sparser forest on the other side there. I’d worn a short path walking back and forth from the academy to the abandoned tool shed in the couple weeks since my return.
“It’s not much,” I explained as we approached the simple brick structure. “But I added some improvements to make it as comfortable as possible.”
Cal and Adrian shared a look between them before they turned to me with furrowed brows.
“What is this?” Adrian asked, and I couldn’t read his tone.
I stepped up to the door and placed a hand on the new brass handle. “It’s your new temporary home. If you’ll have it, that is.”
I opened the door and reached inside to flick the light switch on, holding my breath as they stepped over the threshold.
I’d borrowed the money from Bianca to do it—she knew that with my new inheritance coming in just over a month, I was good for it. And besides, since she turned eighteen herself last week, she’d gotten access to the whole of Sterling’s estate when she did.
Neither of us would ever want for anything again very soon.
“Do you…” I hesitated, afraid to hear what they thought. “Do you like it?”
The space wasn’t large by any means, but with the improvements I’d made, it was livable. With Granger’s permission after days of begging and my promise that I’d take full responsibility for them, the work began.
Bianca helped me arrange everything. The work had to be done by witches since no humans were permitted to step foot anywhere near the academy. The trouble was in finding a couple handy ones who were willing to do the job and keep quiet about it. Turned out there wasn’t anything money couldn’t buy—including silence.
What was once a dusty old room that smelled of mildew, metal, and rotting