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He tilted his head. “Are you upset I’m an apprentice?”
I swallowed thickly. “No.”
He squinted. “You are.”
My cheeks flushed with heat. “I’m not. Anyway, I have things to do. Edmund gave me the day off, and I have a date with a piece of cake and a book.”
He smirked. “Lucky cake… and book.”
I shook my head, heat creeping over me again. My stupid body was betraying me. “Good day, Viktor.”
He chuckled. “Good day?”
“I mean, well, have a good day.” I shook my head and stood to leave.
“If you change your mind,” he called after me, “and do want to get me out of your space and into those woods, I’ll be in my room, to which you’re welcome anytime.”
Chapter Eight
Looking through my closet, I ran my hand along each vintage white, black, or green dress. I really needed to open up my color palette. I pulled out a pair of black pants and a flowy white top, finished the look with a black waist belt, and tied my hair back. Today would tell how good he really was.
I leaned down to stroke Benji’s head. He’d curled up on my bed, taking over my pillow. He purred appreciatively, turning his head to look at me as I left my room to meet Viktor in the atrium.
Maddox locked himself in the study with every ancient book written in Lor and a high-level grimoire, trying to help as much as possible from the mansion. I, on the other hand, was stuck training Viktor until Naomi came that evening. Naomi would have come last night, but their grandmagician had been called off to do something for the caster coven, and they came first in the hierarchy.
I’d awoken with a new attitude after mulling things over last night. I decided I wouldn’t hate Viktor for becoming an apprentice. It was silly for me to assume he’d become keeper any time soon. We still had years of work to go through, and no matter how good he was, he couldn’t beat the volume. Learning Lor, an entire new language, would take at least three years for anyone. I’d let anxiety and doubt get the better of me. Like Dora had said, I should be glad the coven has expanded, something she’d reminded me of again when they left late last night.
“Good morning,” I said.
“You’re in a good mood. Considering.”
Considering I found a body or considering our chat last night? My sunnier self decided he meant the former. “There is no point dwelling on the past. We have work to do.”
“Dismissing the past doesn’t make problems go away.”
“Okay, Ensmich.” I chuckled. “Oh, he’s a well-known philosopher,” I said, realizing he probably had no clue whom I was talking about. “Was always on about peace and understanding one’s self, etcetera.”
“All I’m saying is you can’t run away from what happened. I know how it feels to find someone dead.”
“He wasn’t my sibling though. No offense.”
“It doesn’t matter. It leaves a mark. You’re telling me you’ve not had one nightmare since?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. My sleep had since been dreamless. Usually I dreamed vividly, in a sea of colors, but since the incident, everything had been gray and numb. “No.”
He arched an eyebrow, disbelief in his stare. “Right.”
“Are you ready to train, or are we going to stand around and chat all day?”
He gestured toward the large stone table, where a ruby ring sat. It was the piece I’d had the most trouble with since I’d arrived. “This is the blood ring. The curse inside of it causes temporary insanity. Its effects are watered down on those of us with dark magic, but it still will make you question your sanity. Your job is to, well, not go insane.”
“I thought we were transferring curses to other objects.”
“Nope, we have to tame some before we can keep it contained in an object, pushing the curse to see us as its master, in a way.”
“Do I just put it on?”
“Yes, but please be careful.” I flexed my fingers instinctively to touch him but decided against it. The ring brought back my darkest memories, and from what Viktor had told me, the curse would have a field day with him. “It will make you face your worst fears.”
