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“Call it a gut feeling.”
I huffed. “Mages have all kinds of gut feelings.”
“And they always come true.”
“Ms. Lazarov, Mr. Hamelin!” My heart jumped when Professor Maat called our names. We both sat up straighter. “Are you done catching each other up with the latest gossip?”
“We apologize…” Klaus started, but the teacher cut him off with a gesture of her long, dainty hand.
Nefertari Maat was a sphinx. An ancient creature with the head and the upper body of a beautiful woman, the lower body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Not that we’d ever seen her in that form. Just like GC, she was a sort of shifter. When she took the form of a woman with legs and no wings, she was tall and graceful, with long limbs that made you wonder how the hell she managed to move like the rest of us. Her golden eyes and golden hair, her tanned skin and high cheekbones – they all spoke of the noble race she belonged to.
She fixed us with her breathtaking eyes for a second longer, eyebrows furrowed, then returned to the white board. I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I could swear she was going to take a bunch of worth points from both of us, but she didn’t. I stuck my head in my notebook, drawing what she’d drawn on the board.
“I want you to study this map and read the bibliography on the Nine Spheres of Heaven. I know it’s two big, consistent books, but you’ll have to read them in three weeks’ time. The second week of November, we will visit Heaven for the first time, and I want you all to be ready. It’s going to be a one-day field trip, one of many. I don’t want you wandering about and getting lost. So, study study study until you know your Spheres like the back of your hands. Understood?” She took a moment to look around the classroom, then nodded in satisfaction. She’d gotten our attention, alright. A field trip to Heaven? Hell, yes! “Now, for next time… Sheba, prepare a presentation of the First Sphere, Lorna, you’re in charge of the Second Sphere, Klaus – the Third Sphere, and Mila, you get the Fourth Sphere.”
Great! As if we didn’t already have a fuckton of assignments for the other classes! It was as if each professor thought his or her subject was the most important and had precedence over everything else, including out personal lives. Huh. How I’ve changed. A year ago, I would’ve been grateful for the extra work. But a year ago, I didn’t have two hot-as-sin boyfriends to keep me up all night. I smiled to myself, making sure to cover my mouth with my textbook, so Mrs. Maat wouldn’t notice.
“Professor, could I prepare the Fifth Sphere for next time?” Sariel raised his hand.
She cocked an eyebrow. “No, you may not. Four will be enough for one class.”
“Then maybe for next week?”
She shook her head as she sat down behind her desk. “
Let’s leave the Spheres to the students who haven’t seen them before. I bet you know your own home very well, Sariel. Don’t worry, you’ll get the chance to earn some worth points next semester, when I’ll make sure you’ll present at least one Circle of Hell.”
Sariel pursed his lips and cast his eyes down. I studied his profile for a long moment, wondering what could be going on in his head. Since he’d saved me, we hadn’t gotten the chance to exchange a single word. He was keeping away from me, just like before, pretending nothing had happened.
“I wonder why he couldn’t find his uniform jacket afterwards,” I whispered to Klaus.
“Really? That’s what’s eating at you?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange?”
He sighed. “What I think is strange is you suddenly thinking about him so much.”
“You’re right. It’s stupid.”
Lorna was sitting on the other side of the classroom, which was something she had never done before. Even if Sariel hadn’t allowed her to sit next to him these past two weeks, she’d still made a habit of sitting right behind him. Breathing down his neck – literally – had been her latest hobby. Now, that was a thing of the past too. The only one who was still allowed to sit next to Sariel – or talk to him, for that matter, – was Francis. But Francis didn’t have Geography with this group of students.
The bell rang, and we all hurried to gather our things. I had to make a dash for the north tower to grab my scythe for PE. Having PE with the VDC was weird as fuck. I was the only girl there, and sometimes I felt like Mrs. Charon tended to go easy on me. I hated it. I was just as capable as the guys, and even though I knew she was trying to be nice, I wanted her to treat me like she treated everyone else. I could bet she didn’t go easy on the RDC, MDC, or NDC girls. Just me. She’d developed some kind of liking to me, and that made me wonder whether Headmaster Colin had told her something. But I couldn’t worry about each and every person I interacted with, or I’d become legit paranoid. I’d been paranoid enough the year before, and it had been exhausting.
Pazuzu caught up with me as I took two steps at a time.
“So, are you coming to the party?”
“What party?”
“Some of the girls are throwing something for Mabon. In the woods. I think Sheba and Sammy. They’re like best friends now, and they’re organizing this thing that’s supposed to be rad.”
I frowned. “No one invited me, so no. Not going.”
He stopped in his tracks for a second, then recovered and rushed after me.
“I’m inviting you now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really, Paz? Can you do that? It’s not your party.”
