Shadowborn Academy_ Year One (Dark Fae Academy #1) - G. Bailey Page 0,54
me uncomfortable and I struggle not to avert my gaze and get the hell out of there. I almost think I smell something strange lingering in the air, something sweet and tangy, but when I blink again, it’s gone.
“Has the missing student been found? I was getting worried, you see, sir.”
His eyes narrow. “Are you an investigator for the capitals? Are you a warden?” I shake my head and he curls the edge of his lip. “Then I suggest you stick to your own studies and get out of my office.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, nodding once and quickly getting myself the hell out of here. I try to shrug off the weird way the headmaster doesn’t seem to care about the missing student. That’s not very headmasterly of him.
It takes me a few wrong turns until I find Gage’s office. I knock on his office door three times before I hear him call me in. I like Gage’s office, how simple and warm it is in here. I still long to mess the books up a little, or move the cushion out of its perfect position on the chair. But I definitely don’t feel the urge to leave the instant I come in.
“How are you today, Corvina?” he asks, leaning against the desk, his arms tightly crossed. Every day Gage somehow looks more handsome, and today is no exception. Trails of light flicker through the window, shining on his hair and face, like the God of Light has blessed him somehow. His tight green shirt compliments his complexion perfectly, and at the same time, it’s tight enough to showcase his body.
And the six-pack I swear I can just about see.
“Why are you looking at me so strangely?”
“No reason,” I quickly reply, and his eyes look amused as he changes the subject.
“I wondered if we could talk about the new friends you’ve made in your time at the academy so far?” he asks as I sit down on the sofa, crossing my legs.
“I have Sage, but we have been friends since we met in the foster home,” I answer, knowing he won’t drop it. He nods, knowing I’ve picked the safest topic of all.
“I believe Warden Sabhain will be disappointed to hear he is not counted as one of your friends,” Gage comments as he pushes off the desk and comes over to me. Dammit, I should have known he wouldn’t be happy just talking about Sage.
“How do you know Zander?” I ask as he sits next to me, keeping a respectful distance I just want to close.
“We grew up in similar circles, and we were the only two that weren’t fans of the lives our parents live,” he explains. “Every Friday I chill out with him in his apartment and he talks about you. A lot.”
“And yet neither of you can escape your lives, huh?” I say, ignoring the end part of his comment.
“Why do you think we want to escape?”
“Call it a hunch,” I reply dryly.
“What about your friendship with Jonah Vicent?” he probes, his eyes flashing in the light.
“I wouldn’t call him a friend. He’s more of an enemy I have no choice but to keep close,” I answer, and it’s near enough the truth.
“You only tell yourself that because you don’t want to admit how similar you both are,” he says and chuckles at my frown. “At least that’s my opinion of why you and he are drawn to each other.”
I don’t answer that because it’s not true. Jonah and I are nothing alike.
He’s an asshole, for one.
And I know I can be nice…which I don’t think he knows how to do.
“Why don’t we do a fun exercise today?” Gage suggests into the silence. “Mediation is always relaxing. What do you say?”
“Sure, why not,” I can’t help but grumble. Meditation is the kind of nonsense Sage likes to do and forces me to join in, but I love her so I try not to protest too much.
“Come sit by the fire with me,” he says, walking over to sit by the hearth.
I follow him and cross my legs on the floor. “Just don’t start talking about chakras,” I warn.
He chuckles. “No, no. Just do me a favour and close your eyes. That’s it. Now take a really deep breath in through your nose. Think of yourself like a dragon. Take all that air into your lungs, and when you let it out of your nose slowly, yes, like that, it’s really fire coming out. Who are you