Leo cackles with glee. “Alright, Novice Grayson Pearce. We’re coming.”
“No. Do not do that.” Grayson points a finger at them as he walks away, not even waiting for them to get out of the car.
“You’re no fun at all. What about if we call you Apprentice instead?” Finn yells after him.
“Or Beginner?” Leo adds when they catch up to him on the steps. “Ooh, what about Initiate?”
Scowling. Grayson leans in, whispering something into Leo’s ear, making the beta’s face go bright red. He follows it up with a hand on Leo’s ass and a hard squeeze that makes him jump.
“That’ll teach you,” Grayson says with a devious smile.
“How’s your butt, Leo?” Finn asks.
He’s not poking fun at his mate’s discomfort—he knows Leo likes a sore ass as a reminder of his mates’ pleasure. But taking the three (incredibly gifted) enigmas one after the other is no joke. Finn had checked him over in a medical capacity, and while he looked irritated, he was no worse for wear.
“I’m fine, thank you for asking in this very public place,” Leo groans, cheeks pink, his cinnamon scent ablaze with embarrassment. His gait, however, speaks of vague discomfort.
“Sorry.”
It’s difficult sometimes for Finn to turn it off—the information gathering, the need to care for his mates.
By this time, Grayson has pulled open the mahogany doors, and they step into a grand, circular space bathed in warm, ambient light that seems to emanate from the very walls.
The ceiling is vaulted and adorned with intricate murals of constellations. At its center is a breathtaking rendering of the moon, encircled by a flowing river of multi-colored light. It looks just like Grayson’s description of The Plain, giving the room a sense of vastness, as though the sky itself has been captured and held within.
In the center of the room stands a magnificent staircase, its banisters wrought from dark iron and entwined with living vines of ivy, pulsing gently with green light. The staircase spirals upward toward a second floor.
To the left of the entrance, a sleek wooden desk sits, manned by a smiling receptionist—an older woman with sharp, intelligent eyes that miss nothing.
Beyond the desk, corridors branch out from the foyer, each leading to administrative offices and various chambers of the school.
Finn is dumbfounded by the sensation of magic flowing overhim, a non-magical Were who has made the study of science and knowledge the cornerstone of his personal identity. It’s just that tangible.
Their footsteps echo over the marble floors, and when they finally approach the desk, the receptionist offers a smile and a slight tilt of her head.
Her left eye is a milky white, her right a brilliant black. Gray hair is swept up into a high bun, held firm with a golden moon stick-pin.
“I am Elysia Noctis. Welcome to the Florida Guild. May the light reveal your truth, and the shadows guard your path. In theeyes of the Goddess, you are seen and known, Grayson Pearce, Leo Costas, and Dr. Finn Merritt,” she intones. “Luminary Nimue will be here shortly to guide you to the Magister’s office.”
“Thank you, Ms. Noctis.”
Leo bows, and her white eye swirls and sparks. It’s quite a sight, and Finn wonders what she sees in Leo—and whether she has perfect eyesight from a clinical perspective.
He’s interrupted in his musings when they see Nimue enter the foyer from the corridor that runs deeper into the building, from behind the stairs. She is once again dressed in a long, caftan-style dress, this time in a deep aubergine.
“Grayson, my dear, we are so pleased you could join us. Finn and Leo, welcome. Dr. Parvolio is waiting for us in his office—this way.”
She loops her arm through Grayson’s, gold bracelets jangling in the reverent silence, while he and Leo follow behind, superfluous to their conversation about how Grayson has been managing his access to The Plain.
There are twenty-four steps from the foyer to the next floor, where the halls branch off in two directions. They take the right corridor and pass several offices with doors propped wide open. Finn tries not to appear nosy, but his curiosity gets the better of him more than once. There is one that looks like the laboratory in a horror movie, and another with a giant slab of stone, half-carved into a statue.
At the end of the corridor, there are two large doors, one of which is cracked open. There are several sticky notes stuck to the outside, and as Nimue knocks, Finn reads a few.
They look like jokes and riddles, with the names of students written underneath. Some even include words of encouragement for their Magister. One memorable one calls him smokin’ hot. Just seeing them gives Finn a warm feeling; if such an important person would stick his students’ notes tothe outside of his office door, he must be a good man. It means Grayson is safe here, and that goes a long way for Finn’s peace of mind.
“Ignatius? Our visitors are here. May we enter?” Nimue asks as she knocks gently.
There’s a crack of lightning and the scent of wood smoke, and for a second, Finn remembers his mates out in the world. He palms his phone in the pocket of his pants but resists checking their whereabouts.
