Page 58 of Self Studies

“I think I made my point,” Saffron stated.

I didn’t hear anything else. A tear slid down my cheek. I didn’t know who Libby was or what happened, but the raw pain hiding under Beryl’s angry voice pulled at my heart. I clenched my fist over my chest.

Whatever happened, I wouldn’t abandon Beryl. His parents gave him up. As far as I could tell, the faculty pretended he didn’t exist, and now whomever this Libby was had died, leaving him. He needed a friend as badly as I did, someone who didn’t judge him based on his past like he didn’t judge me.

I finished my braid and quickly moved to the mirror to inspect my split lip and the bruise across my cheek from the kickball. They looked worse than they felt.

Both mages looked at me when I re-entered the room.

I found Beryl’s gaze. “If you’re up, I’ll be at your table.”

Beryl didn’t speak; he stepped forward and hugged me hard.

Saffron got my attention. He tossed me Alice’s hoodie. I tried to catch it but missed, and he shook his head.

He readjusted my bookbag on his shoulder. “Let’s go, Aphy.”

Pulling Alice’s hoodie over my head, I moved past Beryl and followed the Greek God back into the halls of the Institute.

Beryl didn’t move from his spot. He leaned against the door frame, his gaze following my every footstep as I walked away.

* * *

Saffron led us to an empty classroom. In place of desks, the center of the room had a series of blue plastic padded mats spread over the stone floor.

“Why would you bring her here?” Mercedes snarled.

Still dressed in her GS uniform, she eyed my bookbag on Saffron’s shoulder distastefully before glaring at me.

Trying to ignore my roommate, I looked around, wondering the same thing. With the last of my paperwork turned in, I’d assumed the angry Greek God would wash his hands of me. Although I didn’t regret our hate sex after Metaphysics, Saffron’s unhappiness rolled off his shoulders. Heat filled his eyes every time he looked at me and not the good kind.

The kaleidoscope of images only made my confusion about his personal life worse. We’d walked here in silence, not mentioning what happened. It pushed home how it wasn’t my business.

Instead of letting myself dwell, I looked around the mostly bare room—a collection of fancy sticks decorated the far wall. The sun streamed through two arched windows on either side of them.

Saffron turned to Mercedes. “I’m her liaison. It’s required she understand how a Coterie works.”

Mercedes pursed her lips and walked up to me. She had to lean down quite a bit to stick her face in mine. “It’s an Institute sanctioned activity. Lead and registered by a student. Ours is martial arts. Saffron’s our leader. You have to get an invite to join. It’s that simple.”

I nodded vigorously to get the woman to move out of my personal space. Mercedes seemed to realize she made me uncomfortable. She smirked and very slowly returned to her full height.

Saffron took my bag to a small stack of extra mats. I darted around Mercedes and followed.

“We workout for about an hour and a half,” he explained as he set down my bag. “Do you want to join us?”

We both froze.

Saffron’s eye twitched as if he regretted asking the question. Stiffly he turned, his fingers already calling his interdimensional pocket. The Alchemist t-shirt from our first meeting appeared out of it.

“Bad timing, bro. No newbies ‘til Aptitudes are over.” A male voice said from my right. I turned to the new arrivals. I recognized the fist-bumping friends from GS and breakfast. The one who spoke had terse buzzed hair. He gave me an awkward wave, and I returned it.

“Should I leave?” I asked quietly, turning back to Saffron.

The mage was in the middle of changing shirts. I tried not to drool as I pictured my ass pressed up against his rock-hard abs again.

He paused in his dressing. “You need to observe the entire Coterie.”

“Ah-okay,” I said, taking a seat next to my bookbag.

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