Page 88 of Self Studies

“Be careful, Aphrodite,” Roisin said. “Mages don’t like to get turned down. The institute’s memory is long. Everyone’s excited about the Aptitudes now, but once it wears off, they’ll remember everything. Those clasps.” We both looked at them. “They scare me. Only the strongest mages get put in those, but they also mean everyone knows you’re completely defenseless.”

I frowned, wondering if Roisin could read minds.

The large rectangle in the dirt didn’t have many dodgeball competitors left in it. After Saffron heroically sacrificed himself for the only woman in his harem, Mercedes took the win. I cheered, mainly because it signaled the end of GS.

Back in my uniform with my hood-up, I soon found myself in my favorite spot in the library.

Ghalen’s number magically ended up in my phone. I bit back a smile, pleased to add it to my collection. Unable to choose between Ghalen and Tanwyn and unwilling to admit I didn’t have any rations left, I made my excuses to both.

Surrounded by books, I settled in to do some studying. I’d gotten pretty far into my reading when Ram’s bulk made a shadow across my little corner. I peered up at him.

“Advisor Crowe has set aside some time for you right now. No excuses,” Ram said.

I nodded unhappily but shoved my books into my bag before returning my other to the cart.

“Practical Application of Mental Defenses,” Ram read the title. “I don’t think you’ll be needing skills like that, Lover.”

Instead of responding, I marched past him and out of the library.

Unbothered, Ram plucked my bookbag from my shoulder and moved too close to my backside. The quiet halls made the hair on my arms stand up. No sun streamed through the windows. I’d lost track of time in the library. It had to be the middle of the night.

I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. “Advisor Crowe’s working in the middle of the night?”

Ram grunted and prodded me forward. My unease only grew as our footsteps echoed through the quiet halls. I didn’t like the quiet.

“Welcome, Aphrodite,” Advisor Crowe said happily as I entered his office.

Low lighting made his collection of artifacts at the front of his bookshelves waver in shadow.

Ram shut the door and leaned his bulk against it.

I rubbed the clasps on my wrists with shaking fingers. “Ram said you had my new schedule?”

Advisor Crowe tsked. “Such a direct question for you. Do you remember your first time in my office? All you did was nod and smile. You were so perfect.”

I shrank into my hoodie and looked toward my bookbag. My phone tucked away in the pocket remained slung over Ram’s shoulder.

“I told you to trust Ram,” Advisor Crowe continued. “I told you the instructors only goal was to break you…and look at what happened! They broke you. Forced opinions into your mind. And now they’ve cut off your magic, left you completely defenseless.”

Something hot and sharp grazed my neck, between my breasts, and down my navel. I screamed and jumped back, directly into Ram’s arms. The massive mage tore my hoodie from my arms before clamping his hands around my shoulders.

Advisor Crowe stood from his desk. He casually walked to my front and pressed his hand to my mouth. “No need for that. Look at what they’ve done to your hair, even. I would’ve fixed it for you. You should’ve trusted me from the start. Ram says you told him ‘No’ twice. A week ago, that wasn’t a word you even knew. It hurt to say, didn’t it?”

I squeezed my eyes closed. It had been hard to say, but it hadn’t hurt.

“You’ll never have to say that word again,” Advisor Crowe promised.

Ram pinned my arms to my sides, and I went limp. Just like it had with the MA officer yesterday and when my fellow student grabbed me before that...Just like Damon had trained me to do.

“I was hoping to keep you here for a bit longer,” Advisor Crowe said. He moved back to his desk and opened one of the drawers. “But such is life. You’re too special. Everything I lose tonight, your power will rebuild stronger. Your master was an idiot: petty potions, small jobs, sex. The MA caught him because he sold a Draught of Solutions, not even an illegal potion, to an undercover agent who traced his magical signature. Every potion they traced to him had been used in murders, petty crimes, mind control, and financial manipulation. He did nothing with your magic.”

I flinched. That list didn’t sound like nothing to me.

Advisor Crowe ran a finger down my face making me tremble in fear and disgust. “The MA didn’t even know you existed until they burst into your apartment. Then they tossed you in here. In here!” He put his arms in the air like he’d won something. “The educators don’t even work here by choice. They’re all serving their sentences for their crimes. Idiots. I will not make the mistakes of the MA or your old master. With your magic, I will rise to the top. Mages will follow me as I reorder society. Natural Mages have controlled it for too long.”

Advisor Crowe pulled a red ball gag out of his dimensional pocket. My heart pounded in my chest. I tried to bite my lips closed. But I’d frozen, my legs going limp. I didn’t want this.

“Open,” he commanded.

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