Page 15 of Wings of Ashes
The tall person she collided with reached out and grabbed her to prevent her from falling back. A shattering sound came from below, at their feet, and Nix felt her shoes grow wet.
“Damn it, really?” she exclaimed.
She had been walking on the right side of the hall. Didn’t this person know how walking traffic worked at the academy? She had never been clumsy before, so what the heck was going on with her walking into three people in one day?
“Wet shoes,” she muttered. “Perfect for winter, thank you.”
The hands clamped around her arms—which had been there to protect her—tightened so quickly, she yelped.
“Ow. Let me go.” She struggled to pull away from the strong grasp as she glanced up to see who held her so violently tight.
A tall, handsome man, who looked younger than any of the professors Nix knew, stared at their feet with a murderous expression.
She flinched at the burning rage playing across his features—scrunched eyebrows and a pair of captivating lips set in a firm line of displeasure.
She knew she should look down at what liquid wet her feet between them, but she was too mesmerized by his face. His skin had a silver sheen to it, nearly imperceptible, but she saw it glimmer slightly from standing so close to him.
His hair was a dusty silver, but not due to age. That was just the natural color. It was smoothed over flawlessly like his combknew how to mold the metallic-looking locks into a masterpiece with only a few swipes.
Behind a pair of attractive, debonair glasses, two silver irises matched his shiny yet stony persona.
But what stole all of Nix’s attention were the two, curled stone horns popping from his forehead.
“Oh my,” she whispered to herself in a dreamy tone.
“Do you know what you’ve just done?” the man rasped in a tone of pure, thick gravel.
She swallowed and peeked down between them. A glass vial had shattered at their feet; some kind of shiny red liquid covered the floor and her shoes. “Please tell me that is not blood.”
The enraged man scoffed harshly. “Blood would be more replaceable.”
Had he bled many people before? He certainly glared at Nix like he was contemplating doing so to her.
Shehadbeen bled before—by her captor.
“Look, I’m sorry about whatever that is, um,was, but I was looking where I was going—”
The man dropped his hold on her arms, stepped back, and completely side-stepped around her. He hastily walked down the hallway in the same direction she was headed. Oh. He had been coming out of the classroom when she knocked into him.
These old Gothic-architecture hallways needed to be made wider.
She grumbled to herself for her lack of awareness as she walked to History class with wet shoes.
When she entered the classroom, at least no one yelled out, “What the fuck? She is here for our penises!”
Already starting out better than potions class.
She then recognized a face. Mara.
“Hey!” Mara waved her over to sit at an empty desk beside her. “You made it.” She grinned. “We were worried about you.”
“Were you?” Nix asked as she accepted the seat beside her. After years of isolation, Nix had learned not to trust anyone.
“Yeah, we spent the rest of class searching for you in the forest when Bael abandoned you. He felt bad, by the way.”
Nix snorted in disbelief. “I’m sure he did.”
Mara shrugged and took a bright purple pen out of her bag. “I’m fairly certain Bael and Ryker are still wandering around the forest, looking for you.”
