Page 33 of Dancing With Death

She pulls me into a hug. “Good.”

I sigh as I relax into her hold. With so much going on in my life, I’m glad to see that hugging my sister still makes me feel better.

“Come on, let’s get you back to your dorm so I can have a chat with my mates.”

“Better you than me,” she says as she bumps my shoulder.

Once again, I’m struck with relief at having her here with me. It’s quickly followed by guilt because I should never be happy my sister is dead. Everything just seems a little bit easier knowing she’s here with me.

Chapter Thirteen

Audrey

Mondaymorningfindsmeassisting Nex with his classes. He’s still teaching the same relearning your magic and abilities class.

Besides telling me good morning, he hasn’t spoken to me at all. I’m already over it.

I had lunch with my mates, which was nice, but now I have to deal with my asshole mate again. Because I don’t want to deal with him, I drag my feet on my way back to his classroom, and I’m almost late.

Stepping into the room, my eyes immediately find Nex, who’s sitting at his desk. His eyes meet mine for a moment before he forces them away as he stands.

I scowl as I hurry to the front of the room and take his seat. He’s kindly left the papers I need to grade on his desk. I’ll do that until it’s time for the students to practice. There’s nothing I can do until then.

“Yes, Wren?”

My head lifts, eyes quickly finding my twin sitting in the front row with her hand raised.

She grins at me before turning her attention back to Nex. “Is it true that some students end up much more powerful than when they were alive?”

Nex’s shoulders tense, and I know he wants to glance back at me but refuses to allow himself to.

“Yes, Wren. There are some who will have more magic or abilities than they had when they were alive. The opposite can also be true. Some students find themselves with significantly less magic or it remains the same. No two students are the same—not even siblings.”

I smirk when Wren shoots me a wink. I’m not totally sure why she asked him that. She already knows it’s true. Not only did I tell her that, but I’m fairly certain Nex goes over it during the first class.

“Does anyone else have questions before I begin?” Nex glances around the room, and when no one raises their hands, he begins his lecture.

Class flies by, especially when I get to leave the papers behind to help anyone who’s struggling with calling their magic. All the students in this particular class have been here for less than a week, and only one of them has been able to use their magic so far. That means Nex and I stay pretty busy, but I do manage to help another student call on their vampiric abilities just before the end of class.

“Are you trying to cause trouble, Wren?” I ask at the end of class as she’s packing up her things.

She grins up at me. “Nope. Just reminding him you were in the room since he seemed intent on ignoring you.”

Rolling my eyes, I glance over my shoulder to find him sitting at his desk once more. “Yeah. He’s been doing that all day. He told me good morning just before the first class, but it’s been crickets since then.”

“You should talk to him,” she urges me, and I nod.

“I’m planning to, but not until after our last class. Thirty minutes isn’t long enough—especially since students tend to start trickling in just after the last class has been released.” I nod my head toward the door. “Case in point. Professor Novak is the ‘hot professor’ that they all want to flirt with. Although, apparently, Brenden is dealing with it now, too. Hopefully, I won’t have to scratch out any eyes or beat someone’s ass for hitting on what’s mine.”

Wren laughs. “Are you talking about Brenden or your reluctant mate?”

I shrug. “Why choose? Come on, I’ll walk you to your next class. It’s better than sitting in here while he ignores me.”

When I make it back to Nex’s classroom, it’s only two minutes until the next class starts. He’s already standing at the front of the room, so I move behind his desk and get back to work on the papers.

There are fewer people in this class as they’re nearing the end of their six months. Their finals are scheduled for Wednesday of next week, so there’s very little help needed from me.

As soon as Nex releases the class, he quickly starts to pack up. He’s probably trying to run away before I can talk to him, but I’m not going to let that happen.

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