Page 9 of Class Studies

The squat mage yelped in pain. “Fuck, cunt’s gonna be alone again.” He jerked his head. “We’re outta here.”

The two hovering goons stepped back, their arms up. Saffron put his boot on Cozbi’s hip and kicked him toward his friends. One of them caught their shorter leader before he face-planted.

Cozbi pointed at me. “You’re as good as ours, girl. Don’t fucking forget it.”

The three straightened their shoulders as if they hadn’t been in a fight and strolled down the hall. Only a few people hung out to watch, but the sound of phones beeping as recordings stopped made me cringe.

Gingerly, I picked myself up and slid to Saffron. Although he stood firm, swelling made his sculpted face lopsided. He held his right side with his left arm. We paused, looking at each other, before I wrapped an arm around his waist. My petite frame couldn’t take much of his weight, but I could at least try. “Thank you.”

Saffron grunted though he didn’t lean on me. “To the library?”

I frowned. “Am I that predictable?”

Saffron grunted again.

I squeezed him slightly. “No, let’s get you to the medical wing. What I was doing can wait.”

He gave me a slight nod.

Unsure who was supporting who anymore, we slowly made our way to the medical wing.

* * *

As we walked, our peers took pictures. Some tracked us with dark looks, while others pointed and laughed. I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Though this was normal for me, Saffron had been treated with indifference, if not reverence, by his peers.

I hadn’t seen the Greek God since my drugged-out orgy with him two days ago. It was hard to imagine him falling so far on the social ladder so fast and even harder to imagine he’d done it so we could be together.

Our uneven steps sounded hollow.

Saffron was still handsome, rich, and powerful. There had to be more to this than his breakup with Mercedes. I wanted to pry, but I also didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable. No, it was more than that. I wanted him to trust me enough to open up first.

“Thank you for stepping in,” I said an awkward amount of time later.

“Stop thanking me,” Saffron said sharply. “I’m an asshole.” He swallowed. “I got the shit kicked out of me. If you hadn’t stopped Cozbi’s magic, they’d have gotten you, anyway.”

I frowned at the floor while Saffron took out his phone. His thumb flew across the keypad before pressing send. Our speed slightly increased.

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Texting Mercedes?”

“No.” Saffron sild his phone back into his pocket. “Keith. Cozbi and I both used magic without approval on an unwilling partner. That’s usually three days’ worth of rations stripped and extra work detail. I’ve no idea if the sensors picked it up or not. That had to have been one of Cozbi’s big spells, though. He’s more muscle than magic.”

I bit my lips together. The sensors wouldn’t pick up my will, turning Cozbi’s magic off; I was ninety percent sure. My magic didn’t work anything like normal magic. For a moment, I considered turning myself in but shook my head. I didn’t owe the MA anything. So far, being honest hadn’t helped anything.

“Ah.” I searched for something else to say. “I’m glad you happened to be walking by.”

Saffron studied me. “I wasn’t. I’ve been looking for you since you didn’t show up at dinner. I figured you’d eventually go to the library, so, I waited.”

“Ah, I am that predictable,” I said, lightening the mood.

Saffron scowled. “You are. Something you need to change up. Especially if Ashe won’t be trailing you anymore.”

My heart squeezed, unsure what was going on with Ashe.

We walked the rest of the way to the medical wing in silence.

Nurse Norah took one look at Saffron and shook her head. “You’re fortunate someone’s been sneaking in here and charging my potions. Otherwise, I’d let you heal naturally from your shenanigans.”

As she eased Saffron into a bed, I scrutinized her face, determining if she knew Ashe and Beryl were charging her medical supplies with my magic in secret. If she did, she didn’t give me a sign. Although I knew she was one of the people working here to serve out her prison sentence, I struggled to see the bad in her. Like Alice, the nurse had been nothing but kind to me – even assuring me of my place and standing up for me when Alrick attacked me in the library.

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