“Okay, but what about Olive and?—”

“I already had a quick word with your flight unit. They’re part of your team and seemed happy enough to keep quiet.” His expression turns stony. “As for that little creep who dared to kiss you, he’d best keep his mouth shut.”

I open my mouth to protest his claim that Theo’s a creep. Close it when I notice his body stiffen. As much as his show of jealousy inspires a tiny thrill within me, I’d rather not push him, and I’m pretty sure Theo would agree. “I’m sure he will.”

“Good.” His demeanor softens. “You really should be proud of yourself. You’ve come a long way since day one. I’ll be the first to admit that I had my doubts about your ability to succeed here, but you proved me wrong. A rare event for me.”

I pat his chest. “You know, you really need to get that modesty issue checked out. As in, I think somebody stole yours.”

He traps my hand beneath his. “Deflecting another compliment, I see. I guess that just means I’ll need to give you more until you get used to them. For example, you make the sweetest, sexiest little moans when I touch your?—”

With a yelp, I clap my free hand over his mouth. “Okay, okay, I get the picture. Didn’t you say it was time to go?”

He nips my finger to get me to remove my hand. “So I did.”

Thorne leaves the playful, passionate, and sweet lover persona in the cave. With every step toward campus, I can feel him detaching himself from me more and more. By the time we meet with Torno and Resnick to relay the incident, his aloof, grumpy instructor mask has returned in full force.

His act is so convincing, even I’m tempted to believe I’m nothing to him but an annoying student.

Doubts surface, but I push them away. I don’t like leaving things this way, but with faculty observing, I have no choice other than to smile and bear it. At least Helene’s presence in our dorm room keeps Olive from pestering me with questions. Later in my bed, Thorne’s words replay in my head. I’m startled to realize that I’ve shown huge improvements beyond flying, strength, weapons, and magic. With the lowered doses of magic suppressant, my dizzy and weak spells have declined too. That alone bolsters my confidence.

In fact, now that I think about it, my dizzy and weak spells seem to disappear and weaken in direct proportion to my dosage. Is it possible the remedy caused them in the first place? And if so, did my mother know?

Betrayal rises in my throat, flooding my mouth with bitterness. No. I can’t believe Mother would do something so awful. And for what purpose? What could she possibly get from making me believe I was too fragile to leave home?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Those nagging worries still circulate when I’m under the shower the next morning. I lather my hair as yet another worry crosses my mind. How will Instructor Thorne…Sterling…react when I show up for my lesson, considering what happened between us last night? After everything we shared, will he put his walls back up and act like nothing happened?

Surely not.

But what will I do if he does?

I’m not naïve enough to believe he’s in love with me. It’s not like he tries to pretend. Still, what we shared was open and honest. Real. For a short time, the world fell away.

Heaving a sigh, I rinse my hair and quicken my pace. Sterling may have treated me like a princess last night, but the last thing I want to do is tempt fate and risk his irritation by being late.

After I clean my teeth, get dressed, and braid my hair, I leave the dorm and try to steady my racing heart. When that doesn’t work, I steel myself for whatever comes next since I have little choice to do anything else.

The morning, at least, is perfect. A mild breeze glides past, stirring the scent of fragrant flowers and dewy earth. Given the early hour, no one is milling about.

My steps slow as I approach the alicorn stable. Sterling’s not waiting for me outside as he sometimes does, impatiently tapping his boot.

Anxiety swells in my chest.

Is he having second thoughts about last night? Ashamed he stooped to the level of fraternizing with a student? Decided not to waste time on someone so much less experienced than him?

Get a grip. You didn’t even sleep with him yet, and already you’re losing your damn mind.

As my uncertainty builds, I tell myself he has to be in the stable. Last night aside, we have a lesson, and he’s not one to shirk a commitment.

Resolve steeling me, I step inside the building.

Strong arms clasp my waist then tug me into the shadows of an empty stall. My back hits a hard, muscled chest. The scent of leather and soap invades my senses.

He’s here.

My heart pounds in my ears, so loud I’m certain he can hear it too.