Page 60 of A Tower of Half-Truths
What’s taking her so long?
Perhaps she’d taken his advice and was currently engaged in a lecture. Or, perhaps she’d stopped by the University’s library and was lost within the pages of a book.
Or, perhaps she was informing Nezima of her progress. After all, compared to the first visit, Mavery had seemed far more eager to visit campus today…
Stop it.
That was one of his many half-baked conspiracy theories, nothing more. He needed to believe that she was here of her own accord, that she was truly working for him, that the embrace they’d shared had been as genuine as her reaction to the potion.
As he thought back on that moment, a fluttering sensation rippled through his chest. It had been so long since he’d last held anyone in that way—sincehe’dlast been held in that way. He’d certainly not received any warmth from his mother; hugging her was akin to wrapping one’s arms around a statue. Even when he was a child, her displays of affection had been, at best, perfunctory.
His stomach twisted into a knot. Had he returned Mavery’s friendly gesture with too much enthusiasm? What if he’d come off too strongly, and she was now avoiding him?
To his left, the doors of the faculty tower opened. At the sight of Mavery passing through the arched entrance, his stomach stirred again, but this time the sensation was lighter, more pleasant. In the midday sun, her hair was the color of wheat at harvest. She tucked a lock of it behind her ear as she approached him at a jog.
“Sorry,” she said, a bit short of breath, her cheeks flushed. “I got tied up chatting with Declan.”
He’d been fretting over nothing. Declan wouldn’t ever conspire against him. Well, not regarding anythingcareer-ending,at least. Alain could have laughed—or perhaps even cried—with relief, but he forced himself to retain his composure.
“How was the library?” Mavery asked. “Did you learn anything from the spell tome?”
“Did I!” He pulled his notebook from his satchel. “My appointment was limited to only an hour—something else Kazamin failed to mention. Thankfully, the tome itself was so short, that was just enough time to make a complete transcription.”
He’d brought a fresh notebook for this occasion but had only filled a quarter of it. Most of his writing was devoted to the incantation—Etherean runes that he knew Mavery couldn’t yet decipher. She skimmed past those and instead focused on the pages that were in Fenutian. The longer she read, the more her brow relaxed and the corner of her lips quirked into a smile. Alain recalled that she’d once mentioned something about knowing Fenutian…and then he winced at the asinine comment he’d made. He would have to find some way to apologize for that.
When she reached the final page, she closed the book and looked up. Her eyes glinted with a spark of inspiration that made them even more vibrant than usual. They were a spring greenthat, like a budding flower, had the hint of something even more brilliant beneath the surface, waiting to burst with life. Were he to capture that color in paint, he would need to add a touch of ochre, or perhaps…
She smiled at him with that slightly crooked smile, and his head swam as though he’d drunk an entire glass of wine in a single swallow. Gods, she was stunning. She was—
Oh, no.
No, no,no.
This line of thinking could only end in disaster.
Mavery was his assistant. Perhaps he could even call her his friend. But she wouldn’t—shecouldn’t—ever be anything more than that.
He cleared his throat, hoping he’d retained enough of his wits to avoid gawking at her like some lecher.
“Er…well?” he asked. “What does it say?”
“I’ll need to sit with this for some time, but from a quick skim, it seems to be some sort of treatise on Sensing. I saw the words ‘I’ and ‘my’ quite a lot, so he must have based much of this on his own experiences. That alone makes his tome worth its weight in silver.”
“Could you translate it?”
“His writing style is a bit antiquated, so it would take some time—and a dictionary. But yes, I think I can manage that.” She handed back the notebook. “What about the incantation? Do you think you can complete it?”
He nodded. “With heaps of modifications based on recent advancements in Etherean Studies. At least our late Fenutian friend has given us a head start.” He tucked the notebook back in his satchel. “Speaking of Etherean Studies, I’d say it’s about time for those lessons I promised you.”
Mavery pursed her lips, and Alain desperately searched for another place to focus his gaze. Her chin was still too close, staring at her nose seemed a bit rude, returning to her eyes was completely out of the question. He settled on her left earlobe.
“Didn’t you say that would happenafterI found all the library books?” she asked. “Last time I checked, there were still some left.”
He shrugged. “Close enough. If you’re to assist me with thisspell, you need to at least know the basics. Besides, when I made that stipulation, I was dreading the idea of teaching again.” He gave her a coy smile. “But I don’t dread the idea of teachingyou.”
The words slipped out automatically. Before he could fully consider what he’d just said, a pair of arms grasped him around the middle.
The quad dissipated.
