Dahlia Kirwan could not have escaped faster if her tail feathers had been on fire.
Even with The Plain dialed down again, he’d seen a future where Nix’s self-control had snapped—absolute disaster, playing out in violence and retaliation—but it had shifted just as quickly. It was probably for the best, given that they’re already in enough trouble without adding her entrails to the Water classroom’s decor and Nix living the next hundred years in a Were prison for violations of the Human-Were Alliance.
Not to mention the loss of life and limb once Jay tried to break him out with Rowan and Gideon and…yeah, it would have been bad, bad news.
A frisson of fear swoops in his belly, so strong it almost overshadows Nix’s burning anger, searing their soul at the close call. The thought of prison reminds him that it doesn’t have to mean a magically enforced cage with iron bars. It could be a Gothic castle school in the Swiss Alps, studying Time and being punished for shielding his true access to The Plain.
It didn’t matter that Grayson had been honest when he said he’d never made the ice staff before. He’d certainly never showna glimmer of Water Affinity beyond heating water in a mug, and he’s always assumed that had been because of his Fire Affinity.
Butthissure as fuck wasn’tthat.This was a fully-formed weapon. Unbreakable, harder than steel, and entirely made of the water readily available in the classroom’s air. It wasn’t just Water, either. Not that now was the time to tell Bixby that the staff had been a delicate mix of Air and Water and Fire.
It had just appeared out of nowhere. Bixby had been poking at Nix, and while Nix had bitten his tongue, his sweet vanilla sugar scent had shifted into burnt sugar. He knew Bixby couldn’t tell—or didn’t care—that Nix was holding back for only one reason: he was Jay’s representative. He hadn’t wanted Jay’s reputation ruined. But their soul had been brimming with simmering anger. That had made Grayson even more determined to let The Plain free, in some righteous defense of his mate, using the powers he’s brought to bear in every lifetime.
But Grayson was done making himself small, and while he’d let some of it free in his Air class, this was completely unfettered. He still prides himself on his control, but letting the full spectrum of The Plain flow through his every cell had been a relief. An irresistible lure he only indulges in at home with his pack or in his studio.
Schools like The Guild should be a safe place to master his skills and reach his full potential. A place where he can fully be himself.
Figuring out who that is has been on his mind more and more. Every day spent here with his teachers and fellow students has shown him that his future might be helping others do the same.
Just as Ignatius does with his novices in Florida, every minute the Master of Novices spent encouraging Grayson showed him that teaching might be the thing he’d been looking for his whole life.
In his Air and Fire classes, Knox and Xiu often let him assist other students. They didn’t have to; it wasn’t part of the magical curriculum. But they persevered because teaching and doing it well was for their students and themselves. Their genuine support made him feel free.
Now, though, that dream is in jeopardy.
He doesn’t need to understand the full scope of the Truthseeker tribunal to know that failing the test will not only put him on a plane to Switzerland faster than Luca can shed a pair of pants, but will also be an indelible mark on his reputation. The Guild won’t want someone who failed a test based on integrity anywhere near their children.
“You should go, Grayson.” Bixby interrupts Grayson’s doom spiral. He opens the classroom door, looking out and checking both ways as if he’s expecting someone to be lurking. “Professor Kirwan has a great deal of influence over our headmaster, and I wouldn’t put it past her to change his mind about detaining you.”
It’s an oddly protective sentiment, given the teacher’s earlier snide remarks.
“Thanks, Professor. I am sorry about the ice staff. I didn’t mean to—”
The smaller man smiles briefly, and it makes him look less toady. “It is I who should apologize. I was less than welcoming.” He adjusts his coat, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “And Nix, I am sorry about earlier. I won’t make excuses, but please know that the Guild instructors are under a great deal of pressure under the current administration, and it has brought out the worst in me. I fear I was not always so…”
“Bigoted?” Nix asks flatly. “Rude?”
Bixby coughs, face florid. “Yes. You are absolutely right. Hearing the headmaster’s remarks made me realize my own words and attitude weren’t so far off.”
Most people in the Nashville magical community in positions of power weren’t so quick to admit their flaws, certainly not to their younger counterparts.
“Thank you.” Nix raises a suspicious eyebrow. “You’ll do better?”
“Of course.”
Like the flipping of a switch, Nix gifts him a full smile, and Bixby looks startled by it.
“Good. I’d like to come again. I like the snow,” Nix says, looping his arm through Grayson’s. He’s already moving them toward the open door.
“Certainly, come anytime, Nix. I’ll look forward to it.” Bixby still looks a bit flummoxed, but gathers himself from the magnificent beauty that is his soulmate’s smile. “Grayson, I will see you at your tribunal. We will show them that you are merely an honest student coming into magnificent powers later in life.”
Grayson tries not to let his concern show. Because he may be coming into his powers later in life, but he has most assuredlynotbeen honest about them. Not at all. Andthatis only part of the problem.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Professor. Again, sorry, but we have to run.”
“Bye!” Nix waves as they head down the hall. “Turns out he’s not so bad. That’s good, right?”
Grayson doesn’t say a word. He needs to be outside right now. The walls are pressing in. He’d been so sure he was done hiding, and now he’s got The Plain pulled in so far that even Nix’s lips are pinched.
