Salvatore swaggers past us, earning a disdainful curl of Cadance’s lip. He only glances over for a second, but the glint in his eyes when they briefly meet mine leaves heat flowing over my skin.
With a pang through the thrum of our bond, I drag myattention away. I’m not supposed to be any more connected to him than I was yesterday.
We step into the main senior building with a rap of heels against the marble floor. Stella peers around us and lowers her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “Did you hear? The Hearsts have been asking around to check if anyone saw Kenneth last night. It sounds like he’s gone AWOL.”
Does her gaze rest on me for a beat longer than anyone else, judging my reaction?
Mia frowns. “Where would a guy like that go? It’s not like he was into partying or anything crazy.”
Her twin makes a scoffing sound. “He probably fell asleep studying in the library or something dull like that. Bet you we see him by lunch.”
Stella shrugs. “His parents seem pretty concerned. I mean, they calledmyparents, and he’s never been at our house except for tagging along with them for dinner parties now and then.”
Did they check in with my dad too? What will Aunt Daphne make of Kenneth’s disappearance when she finds out it was the same night I snuck out?
I guess that’s Future Me’s problem.
My gaze snags on a tall form with dark curly hair ahead of us in the hall. Grady Tadros.
Daphne’s comment about his family’s connection to Kenneth’s knife runs through my head. He or his relatives could still be players in this murderous web.
But I no longer have access to the main place I could spy on him. After I’ve been out of commission for a week thanks to the poisoning, there’s no way The Eclipse’s higher-ups haven’t realized Chuck, the attendant I was impersonating, has abandoned his job. I can’t show up at the exclusive men-only lucent club as myself.
I have to leave that avenue of inquiry to Byron.
As we file into the Defensive Magic classroom, I’mimmediately aware of the man in question just settling into a seat on the other side of the room. Byron’s presence quivers through my nerves from my bond mark without me even looking at him directly, tugging me toward him.
Sorry, bond. It’s not cuddle time.
I keep my eyes averted and sit down with my friends. But while I paw through my satchel for my class supplies, I weave a little spell through the ephemera around us.
A faint message will ripple across the notebook Byron has open in front of him.Library, Community Section, after school. -E
He lifts his gaze slowly to glance my way. I incline my head in a subtle nod and release the magic so the conjured letters will disappear.
I’m just straightening up when Professor Jovak ambles in.
I’ve always thought our Defensive Magic professor looks like exactly the sort of person who’d most need defensive skills—he couldn’t be less threatening. Cadance joked during an earlier class that he could be an overgrown garden gnome, and she isn’t wrong. He stands at best an even five feet, with a short white beard protruding beneath his round, ruddy cheeks. A bit of a pot belly fills out his bright red shirt.
And right now, his sweeping gaze jars to a halt on me.
His broad smile twitches and freezes in place. Just for a second, he looks more like a rabbit in headlights than a gnome.
My pulse skips a beat, and the moment passes.
Professor Jovak lets out a laugh that sounds genuinely pleased. “Miss Devine, I hadn’t realized you were already back with us after last week’s awful incident. I’m glad to see your recovery has been so smooth. We have something in the works that may help reassure you for the rest of your time at Luminary.”
He sets the book he was carrying on his desk and rubs his hands together. “All right, class. Ready to dig into defense?”
Chuckles and a few groans carry through the room. My heart eases into a gentler rhythm, but my stance stays stiff.
Itisthe first Defensive Magic class I’ve attended since my poisoning in the cafeteria. I can imagine the sight of me might have startled the professor with an unpleasant reminder of the crime.
But what does he mean about ‘something in the works’? And who is this ‘we’?
Six
Byron
