“Shit, they’ve started already. Just stay behind me. When I open the door, there’s going to be a bit of a vacuum, okay? And…I’m not going to be dialing back The Plain today. I’m done doing that.”
“Fucking right, you are,” Nix kisses him hard on the lips. “And later? If she wants a piece of you, she’s going to have to come through me.”
“Nix, that’s not—”
The door opens, and a willowy, blonde woman of about seventeen pokes her head out. “Hey, Grayson. You’d better get in here. Professor Mehta is about to demonstrate external shielding.”
Neither Nix nor Grayson mentions that Grayson’s been shielding since Florida.
“Thanks, Zoe. This is my mate Nix.”
“Oh, cool. Love your shirt.”
“Oh…uh…thanks,” he says, looking down. He narrowly avoids a face-palm when he sees he’s wearing hisIt’s Bitch O’clockt-shirt under his sweater at a school filled with teenagers. He’d not chosen it consciously when he’d gotten dressed, but perhaps his subconscious had been sending a message.
“You have to let them in for this to work, Zoe.” The melodious voice comes from inside the classroom and sounds like it’s being carried on the wind. “Grayson, you can make up for these lost fifteen minutes before class tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, Professor,” Grayson says with a nod. He throws his bag on the bench inside the door and pulls off his jacket. Leaning in, he whispers, “That’s Professor Knox Mehta. He’s a Luminary with a high-level Air Affinity. He’s really chill.”
The professor is tall and lean, in a flowing robe in every color of the sky, from the palest blue of a bright summer’s day to the frosty grey-white of a winter storm. His shoulder-length hair is white, pin-straight, and it sets off his brown skin. His eyes are grey, but so light they’re almost white, and they sparkle with mischief.
He floats closer, his robes trailing behind him like fog. “Thank you for the resounding endorsement, Grayson. Who have you brought with you today?”
Grayson takes Nix’s hand in his, and their bond snaps and crackles as Grayson lets The Plain flow to its maximum. He musthave been holding it down for so long that Nix hadn’t noticed the tiny nuances. It feels incredible, and it makes him shiver.
“This is my soulmate, Nix Rhodes, Professor.” Grayson draws Nix in at his side, and Nix doesn’t take his eyes off the teacher for a single second.
He isn’t much older than they are, if his unlined cheeks and youthful demeanor are anything to go by, but Nix isn’t going to be fooled by an attractive face ever again.
A swirl of air tickles Nix’s hand in welcome as the handsome professor shows his respect bynotoffering his hand to a Were’s mate on a first meeting. It shows the teacher has done his research, and Nix feels his muscles unclench a little.
“How nice to meet you, Nix. I understand from the email I received this morning that you will be observing Grayson’s studies on behalf of your pack alpha today?”
“If you don’t mind? I won’t be in the way.” It’s a courtesy only, because Nix is staying, even if the teacher minds. He expects that there will be teachers throughout the day who won’t appreciate Nix’s presence at all.
“I look forward to it. It’s not very often we get to show off, isn’t that right, students?”
The students laugh, and it’s easy to see why the teacher is so well-liked.
“Now, as you probably know, this is a senior-level Air Affinity seminar. We work on developing our own natural inclinations, but we also work to improve those areas the Guild feels every magic user registered with an Air Affinity should know. Today, we will be ignoring the latter completely and having some fun instead.”
“See? Chill,” Grayson chuckles.
“Nix, if you will sit behind the blue line over there, we will get started. Today, we will talk about defense shields, and then for the last ten minutes, we will work on controlling minute airflowto mimic weather patterns.” He gags at the last task, no doubt because that sounds boring.
The two-hour class flies by, and the swirling vortex of air currents in the three-story room has Nix clutching Grayson’s jacket tighter around his shoulders. Despite the cold, it’s easy to get swept up in the Professor’s easygoing, charismatic way of teaching.
At one point, he demonstrates how to channel energy from The Plain to create an air shield, then encourages the students to try blowing past each other’s defenses. Laughter echoes through the space as shields ripple and gusts fly in all directions.
“Excellent, Grayson! How large can you make that shield? I suspect you’ve been practicing!”
Nix chuckles under his breath, knowing exactly how large a shield Grayson can make while also creating searing fireballs at the same time.
Zoe flops down beside Nix with her water bottle. Her hair is a tatty mess, but she seems happy, too.
“He’s a great teacher,” she murmurs, cheeks pink. “He’s the youngest Luminary in the US.”
Ah. Zoe has a crush on her teacher.Nix can see the appeal.
