It’s said that there are places in this world so deep, so dark, so… compelling… when you peer down into them, they literally beckon you to jump…
“L’Appel du Vide,”I say, just as Kirin did that day. “The call of the void.”
“Stevie, this isn’t—”
“Dr. Devane?” a woman calls from the doorway, startling us both. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m Casey Appleton from the APOA. I’d like to observe some classes today, and Headmistress Trello suggested I start with yours.”
“By all means. Come in.” Doc holds my gaze another beat, then turns to Casey with a welcoming smile. Rising from his chair, he gestures for her to take his place. “I usually move around when I lecture, so this seat is all yours.”
“He paces,” I cut in with a smile. “Kind of like a lion stalking its prey.”
Doc laughs, his eyes darting to me with a faux-warning glare. “This is Starla Milan, one of my morevocalstudents.”
Casey does an excellent job of maintaining her composure, as I’m sure she was trained to do in APOA secret-agent school. But her energy gives her away immediately—a spike of curiosity when Doc said my name, followed by a crushing sense of…
Sympathy?
Immediately my guard goes up. Does she know me? Knowaboutme? Is the sympathy for my dead parents? My dead friend Luke? My recent wrongful imprisonment? My outfit? Maybe she’s on Carly’s side when it comes to women dressed in leather jackets and gladiator sandals.
“Lovely to meet you, Stevie.” She smiles again and reaches for my hand. “I look forward to seeing what you’re learning about here.”
“Mental manipulation as a form of self-defense,” Doc supplies.
“Excellent.” Casey laughs, giving my hand a squeeze.
Her touch is warm and confident, and I relax. I’m just being paranoid. All that talk of dark mages infiltrating my dreams and murdering me in my sleep clearly has me on edge.
“Thanks for… um… your service,” I say, cringing at my awkwardness. What are you supposed to say to APOA agents?
Fortunately, I’m saved from figuring it out by the wave of students rushing in for class. I nod once more at Casey, then take my seat, immediately scanning the crowd for Baz. Carly and Emory are joined at the hip as usual, but he’s nowhere to be found.
A tiny bubble of disappointment floats up inside me, but I pop it post-haste. Baz is my fellow Arcana mage and friend, but that’s it. No more sleepovers, no more make-out sessions, no more red-hot, naughty dreams about the devilish man in the meadow…
No. The sooner my body gets the memo on this, the better.
You hear that, slut muffin? When it comes to Baz Redgrave—andanymage for that matter—there will be no more bubbles, flutters, fizzes, fantasies, hot flashes, thigh clenches, throbbing of any parts, or any other symptoms of lust-induced stupidity allowed. Violators will be subject to month-long orgasm deprivation, including those of the self-administered nature…
“By now you’ve all heard about the attack on campus,” Doc begins as the bell rings and the last student rushes in to claim his seat. “You’re also aware of the new security protocols, including visiting agents from the APOA.” He gestures toward Casey, who offers a quick smile and wave to the group. “Miss Appleton will be observing us today, so let’s show her what sharp, efficient minds we possess. Pair off, and let’s pick up with the role-playing exercises we talked about last week.”
I glance over to find Casey staring at me again, the same strange energy trying to wrap itself around me like a hug I don’t want or need.
Something about her looks so familiar, too, but I can’t figure out where I may have seen her before. Was she ever on campus before today, maybe meeting with Trello? Is she an alumnus? Maybe her picture is hanging in one of the dorm museums somewhere. I’ll have to do some nosing around later.
We finally get to work. With Baz being MIA, I partner up with another first-year—a soft-spoken mage named Wyatt I’ve seen around the Iron and Bone dorms but haven’t interacted with much—and we tackle Doc’s latest mind games.
Wyatt, it turns out, is obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons, and is therefore an excellent role player. We zoom through the exercises without a hitch, earning a rare compliment from the good doctor that leaves Wyatt beaming and my cheeks warm with pride.
It’s only after class ends and Casey wishes us a good day that I realize what else is bothering me about her, aside from the weird sympathy mojo.
Doc introduced me as Starla, but when Casey shook my hand, she called me Stevie.
That means she either heard part of my conversation with Doc before she interrupted us, or she already knew who I was before she got here.
I’m not sure which thought freaks me out more.
“Stevie?” Doc’s hand on my shoulder snaps me out of my pondering, and I look around to see I’m the last one here. “Everything okay?”
I rise from my seat, gathering my things. “Do you know that Casey woman? I feel like I’ve met her before. She looks super familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
