“And why on earth would you want to dothat?” he asked.
Was he serious? “Why would younotwant to do that? Do you mean to tell me you’re perfectly content with remaining a professor for your entire career without moving up?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. “I love teaching and I hate leadership. Being a dean sounds appalling.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say, surprised by the passion in his voice when he said he loved teaching.
It had been so ingrained in me not to settle, to always reach for the next best thing, I supposed I hadn’t allowed myself to accept others may not feel the same way.
“Don’t worry, Doctor Thornheart, I won’t get in the way of your ambitions.”
“That’s not what I meant, I—” I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to assume. I think it’s honorable that you enjoy teaching so much.”
“Do you?” He didn’t appear as though he believed me.
We passed under a low hanging branch. I ducked, the twigs catching on my hair. Straightening, I brushed myself off and turned to Liam.
Humor danced in his eyes as he held back a laugh.
“What?”
“Youhave something…there.” He gestured to my head.
I reached up, assuming it was a leaf, but Liam stopped me.
“Wait.” He reached his hand out and placed it on the side of my head.
“What in the world are you doing, Doctor Pendragon?”
“Just hold on a moment. I’ve almost got it.”
Withdrawing his hand, he held it out between us. A large iridescent insect sat motionless on his palm.
I gasped, clapping my hands together. “An avicularia! I’ve never seen one in the wild. Stop your horse!”
I couldn’t contain my excitement as I tugged my reins back, halting my horse and quickly dismounting. Liam stopped beside me, still holding the insect as he sat silently on his steed.
“Doctor Thornheart, what are you doing? You’re holding up the team.” Dr. Rosenshield approached. “Oh, look at that. An avicularia. Doctor Lovelace! Please come here. We must have you catalogue this.”
Emberly stepped off her horse and strode over, her sketchbook in hand as Liam remained as still as possible so she could draw the specimen. The rest of the party halted as they watched us document our find.
“These insects are extremely rare,” I said as I jotted down my observations in my notebook. “Doctor Pendragon, what size would you estimate this specimen is?”
He inspected the insect carefully, green eyes missing nothing. “I’d say about nine inches in length, four in height. Weighs approximately…a couple of ounces, it seems.”
“Excellent,” I said. “This is astounding. This insect can only be found in this particular jungle.” I turned to the two graduate assistants, Aaric and Sylvie, both standing on the ground holding their reins. “Do either of you know why?”
They stepped forward, eager to provide the answer. “Because they feed off the nectar of the silverflower which only grows here,” Sylvie blurted.
“Good,” I said.
“Why are they iridescent, Aaric?” Liam asked, falling into his role as teacher.
“They get their iridescence from the molecules in the nectar,” he answered proudly.
“Fantastic,” Liam praised.
Both students beamed and my heart warmed at their enthusiasm.
