Page 73 of House of Ydril

Sarya glances around nervously. “Leo’s family.”

There’s a stir and then a moment of silence before Faust says, “Interesting. Especially considering he didn’t even let me know he wouldn’t be coming today.”

“That’s actually my doing,” Sarya admits. To my surprise, she sounds nervous. “I found it odd that he wouldn’t let us in on it… So I told him that today’s session was canceled.”

Faust just looks at her for a second and then nods approvingly, making her beam with satisfaction. “I wanted to talk to you before I confronted him,” she adds.

“No,” he snaps as he starts getting up. The rest of them follow suit and so do I. “You won’t be doing anything about it,” he says. His eyes sweep over us all, lingering on me for a second. “And that goes for all of you.”

He waves a hand to dismiss us all and the rest of the group doesn’t seem too happy about it, but they obey.

As they follow him Faust out of the training grounds in silence, I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding in. My mind is racing so hard, I can barely think straight. It all makes sense, I think to myself as I start walking. Leo is in the Vipers and I always thought he was the one who tried to steal Moswen. Then, there’s also the fact that he’s an absolute dirtbag.

Of course it’s him, the person we’re looking for.

So I don’t go straight to the cafeteria, as I’d planned. Just as the rest of the group turns left to get back to the castle, I decide to walk to the House of Lilith instead.

I stop and almost let out a gasp when Faust appears in front of me. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demands.

I frown. “Wherever that vampire asshole is.”

“No, you’re not. We won’t be confronting him directly, at least for now.”

“What do you think, I’m stupid?” I hiss at him. “I’m gonna go follow his ass, not chat him up.”

“Leave that to me,” he snarls. “You and Nuala can keep looking for info on the stone.”

I want to say no, but it actually does make a lot more sense. I grit my teeth, force myself to nod and push past him to get back to the castle.

“Same time tomorrow,” he snaps after me.

I don’t say anything. I don’t even turn around. I just give him a quick exaggerated bow and I keep walking. And I don’t see the reaction, but I know he hates it when I do that.

Chapter thirty-two

I’mpantingheavilyandmy vision is blurred, making the track around the training grounds blend in with the rest of my surroundings. Still, I push through it and try to finish the third lap, casting magic all the way. It doesn’t surprise me that I manage to knock over every strawman I pass by. It’s the middle of March and I’ve been training with Faust for a while now, slowly perfecting my use of Air power.

But this time, when I try to use my other element, Earth, it almost makes me topple over when I see it’s worked. I tap the rune and see the ground before me do exactly what I wanted it to do. It shakes and then cracks, opening a huge chasm right before me.

I come to a stop just in time to avoid falling in and I see a few clumps of beaten earth roll down. I barely have time to process what’s happened before I see him appear on the other side of the opening, looking down into the abyss.

My lips curl into a victorious smile, but I wipe it off as soon as he looks up. There’s a flash of surprise in his eyes, but I only catch it because I’ve gotten pretty good at reading his perpetually expressionless face. Mostly because the majority of the time he’s spent training me, ever since that first session, could be described using two words. Awkward silence. But this morning, he seems pissed and is even more quiet than usual.

“I think you’re ready for the next step,” he finally says.

My ears prick up. “And that would be?”

He motions for me to follow him to the center of the training grounds. And then, to my surprise, he just stands there, pushing his legs apart and slowly cracking his neck. Every time I see him do that, a wave of heat washes over my entire body and I have to remind myself, once again, that this is the Little Prince I’m drooling over.

And just as I gulp, fighting not to let my eyes roam, he commands, “Try to attack me.”

My eyebrows shoot up. I didnotexpect this. “You sure?”

He just stares at me.

I grit my teeth. “Nevermind,” I say as I get into a position to attack.

And I know exactly what I want to do, but I hesitate. In a way, this is my dream come true. The fucker still hasn’t apologized for the incident at the Ball and he’s treating me as if I were some nuisance, which makes me want to kick his fucking butt so badly, I sometimes feel the need to scream. But even though he’s been training me for weeks now, the very thought of embarrassing myself in front of him makes me livid.

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