Page 57 of Self Studies

But he’d not done any of that. Despite what everyone said, all he’d done since day one was protect me. I wanted to trust him. “Why does everyone say you’re bad news?”

Beryl sighed. “To get all Doctor Roy on you, my answer relies on two assumptions. One that you trust me to be honest with you, and two, that I understand what everyone believes ‘bad news’ is.”

I clenched my fists. Why couldn’t he just give me a straight answer?

“I’ve already taken all those moral philosophy classes and the shit they feed to you to be a better person,” Beryl frowned. “Too many times. I figured out how to get around the system and built myself something.” He stood and stepped to me. His sapphire blue eyes wavered as he quietly asked, “What do you think of me?”

I stilled. No one cared what I thought of them, but this mage did, and I’d accused him of murder.

A knock on his door interrupted us. He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss before going to open it.

“I know she’s here,” Saffron said flatly.

Beryl opened his door wide and made a dramatic welcoming motion with his arm. Still dressed in his GS uniform, Saffron scowled around the room. His disappointed gaze landed on me. “I have two more duties as your liaison tonight, and then you’re on your own.”

I didn’t let Saffron phase me. “Is one of them how to make changes to my Mêler?”

Saffron shared a confused look with Beryl before returning his attention to me. “No,” Saffron answered slowly. “That should’ve been taken care of by Advisor Crowe in your orientation. Did the two of you not set up your account together?”

I shrank into myself. Saffron thought I’d set all of it up, and I wanted to appear as that person. No wonder he hated me. He should too. I’d forced my magic into Professor Garnet and manipulated him twice. The image of Mercedes rocking a baby flashed in my mind. What was I doing?

“Beryl, where are my clothes?” I said, hugging myself.

Saffron’s usual scowl deepened, and I jumped off the table. Beryl pulled my uniform out of his dresser. It looked cleaner than it had when I took it off. I didn’t ask. I glided into the washroom and dressed.

The two mages hadn’t moved from their mini standoff in front of Beryl’s opened door when I came back out. I walked to Beryl and tried to return his hoodie.

“That’s for you to keep,” Beryl said, pressing it back into my arms.

“I can’t keep it,” I said. “You’ve had it for a long time. I can tell it means a lot to you.”

Beryl pressed the hoodie towards me once more. “You mean a lot to me.”

Saffron snorted.

I ignored him. “I don’t even have a pillow because the things around me go missing in the middle of the night or mysteriously run out of batteries. I can’t keep it.”

Beryl’s eye twitched. Behind him, Saffron clenched his jaw.

“I’ll see you around; thanks for saving me today.” I kissed him on the cheek and pressed his hoodie back into his chest.

Beryl squeezed the garment. “Breakfast, my table? I’ll make sure I’m up.”

“You can’t do that to her,” Saffron interrupted our moment.

To my surprise, Beryl flinched and rocked back on his heels. The two mages eyed each other.

I didn’t need to go into the washroom again, but I wanted to give the two men some space. Their beef with each other couldn’t be that big. Despite my good intentions, my curiosity got the better of me. As I rebraided my hair, I stayed close to the door.

“Mercedes is torturing her because of your attention,” Beryl said harshly.

Saffron grunted but kept his voice low. “I’ve realized that, very recently. Anything I do, will make it worse. Just like your attention will make her time here worse.”

“You don’t know that,” Beryl growled. “No one knows the criteria for the Aptitudes. Maybe her trying to save me will give her brownie points.”

“Like Libby?”

Beryl sucked in a breath. “Don’t say that name again,” he said, no longer trying to keep his voice low. “Don’t say any of their names, ever. You weren’t even here when they died, Boy Scout.”

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