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“It will be fine. Stop stressing,” I whispered, grabbing his wrist to stop his anxious fidgeting.
Deus twisted his arm around, intertwining his fingers through mine. He gave a gentle squeeze, and my heart jolted.
I looked down at my own desk, focused on my notes, and tried not to think about how good his fingers felt sliding against mine. It was comfortable, but at the same time, his touch made me hyper-aware of every inch of space that separated us.
I’d gone from trying to maintain an ice-queen persona to fighting against the urge to cling to Deus. There was no denying I was losing the battle. I was going to need to figure out if there was a way I could accomplish my goals and have Deus.
When the bell rang at last, we stayed behind and watched Mackenzie dole out grades to the other groups. I didn’t want to let go of Deus’s hand just yet, but when everyone else had filed out, we shuffled to the front.
“Seta and Amadeus.” Mackenzie folded his arms and smiled. “Ninety-eight. Very good.”
“Yes!” Deus hissed.
I chewed on my lip. “What happened to the other 2 percent?”
Deus’s eyes widened. “Seta!”
“I took off the points because you looked a tad uncomfortable up there. Relax, be confident in yourselves. Then you’ll earn your full marks.” Mackenzie looked between us. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. You picked a difficult topic that isn’t well published in the academic world, and you were able to do quite a lot with it. It was clear you both worked hard. Seta, even with your natural advantages, you went above and beyond. The two of you work well together, and I look forward to seeing what you bring me next.”
The professor’s words took root inside of me, growing until I thought I’d burst with pride at his praise. I didn’t even try to stifle my smile as we thanked him and set off to enjoy the rest of our day.
“You know he’s going to want us to top that with the next project, right?” Deus stuck his hands in his pockets, his shoulders relaxing for the first time that morning.
I already had another project in mind, but it was one I wanted to present for independent study.
“Well done, partner,” I said, turning toward the dormitory. “It was a pleasure.”
Deus laughed. “Where are you going?”
My mood dimmed slightly, and I grumbled, “Alchemy homework.” It was my least favorite course.
“We don’t have alchemy ‘til Monday. Come on.” He reached down and grabbed my hand, acting as though it were natural and something we did all the time. “We’re celebrating!”
“I’m tired of socializing.” I dug in my heels.
“You’ll enjoy this. I promise.” The gentle glow of Deus’s skin, the mischievous glint in his blue eyes, the sexy smile on his lips—all worked to unravel my resolve, and it whipped away on the wind as though it were nothing more than sea foam.
I let him lead me down the gravel path toward the back of Slaymore’s Victorian layer-cake-style administrative building. But instead of going inside, he took me around the side, through a grouping of birch trees that bent over the path, creating a tunnel.
Wind whipped through the branches, and I held my sweater closed. “Where are we going?”
“When was the last time you went off campus?” he asked.
Off campus? I didn’t realize Slaymore students were allowed to visit places off campus.
“Stop frowning.” Deus chuckled. “You’re really going to like this!”
We emerged from the birch onto a narrow cobblestone road that was lined on either side by a brick wall. A tall gate shimmered with magic at the end of the path, and beyond it, I spotted a long row of quaint shops.
Amadeus placed a hand on the gate and pushed. “It only opens if there aren’t any mundanes around to see it,” he explained. “And once we’re out here, no form shifting.”
“Obviously.” I rolled my eyes but surreptitiously checked that my cuff was in place, and we stepped out.
When I’d passed Slaymore village on my way to the academy, I hadn’t given it much thought. Every place on land seemed mundane compared to the wonders of the sea, so I’d never considered it might have shops that appealed to me. But after spending more time on land, I had to admit the half-timber houses were cute.
They were painted in chipper yellow and blue hues, and each house was bursting with fall flowers in gardens and window boxes. Most of them appeared to have shops on the bottom floor and living areas on top.
We walked past a plant nursery, a jeweler, and a baker before Deus stopped in front of a leaning, three-story house.Books and Brews, the swinging metal sign shaped like a book declared.
