Page 123 of A Tower of Half-Truths
Mavery glanced at her right hand, which hovered beside her ear. That old habit had become so second-nature, she’d long stopped noticing whenever she repeated it. Evidently, Alain had caught on. Her stomach fluttered at the realization, but even that couldn’t distract her from the dull ache in that general area. She glanced at the mug. Tendrils of steam continued to rise from it, so her special tea was likely still too hot to drink. She sighed.
“I take it your afternoon was worse than mine,” Alain said. “I hope my mother wasn’t too hard on you.”
“No, your mother was fine. Well, ‘fine’ by her standards.” She looked at the dagger lying beside her mug. “I had a run-in with Neldren.”
“What!?”Alain cried, then rushed to her side. “How did that happen? Are you all right? Did he—”
She placed her index finger to his lips, quieting him. He grabbed her hand, held it to his chest as his eyes filled with concern. She explained how her encounter in the market had led to Neldren’s ambush outside the boutique. The longer she spoke, the more Alain’s face paled, the more tightly he clutched her hand.
“I knewI shouldn’t have let you go alone,” he said.
She shook her head. “I was fine…surprisingly. You were right, by the way. He was the one who took me to the healers that night. He never wanted me dead; he was frustrated about all the times I’d left him over the years, and so—”
“And so heshotyou for it? And I thought academics were a vindictive bunch.”
“I know what he did was extreme, but he apologized for it. He even returned this to me.” She pointed to her dagger. Alain’s eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, though its blade was hidden within the elegant sheath.
“You believe he was sincere?”
She nodded. “He seemed remorseful enough, and we both made amends that were long overdue. After all that, I don’t think he’ll come looking for me again. Though, as I once guessed, he offered that I join his crew again.”
“You can’t be serious!” Alain sputtered. “Please tell me youturned him down.”
“Of course I did! Why would I give up all of this”—her free hand gestured at the room before coming to rest on Alain’s cheek—“to go scrounging for coppers with the last person in the world I want to be around?”
He smiled as he leaned into her hand, then pressed his lips to her palm. The kiss was so light, yet so intimate, a swell of emotion rushed through her. Mavery swallowed hard, tamping it down long enough to speak.
“Now that Neldren’s no longer an issue, I suppose there’s no reason for me to continue hiding away here.”
“I can think ofonereason,” Alain said, his breath warming her skin.
“Oh? And what’s that?”
He turned his head, met her gaze. “I want you to stay.”
“I…” The swell of emotion returned, stealing her voice. She cleared her throat. “I would like that—quite a lot, actually—but are you sure? What about the Covenants?”
“Right, the Covenants.” He took both of her hands in his. He fell silent for a moment, gazing downward at their joined hands as his thumbs caressed her knuckles. “I suggested we talk about this after the presentation. I know that’s only five days from now, but I don’t want to wait. I’ve made my choice.”
She held her breath as she waited for him to continue. He looked up, and his eyes were filled with warmth, sincerity.
“I’ve decided I’m going to resign from the University.”
Mavery gaped at him. “Alain, you can’t—”
“I can, actually.” He smiled. “Trust me, this is not a decision I’m making lightly. And it’s hardly a new idea. There were several times during my sabbatical when I considered giving Kazamin my resignation. Assisting Declan with exams today reminded me of what I’ve always known: I was never cut out for this line of work, I simply chose the first one that was presented to me.”
“But if you’re not a professor, what will you do?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug, “but without the expectations that teaching brings, I will finally have the freedom to explore what Itrulyenjoy: the pursuit of knowledge itself. Thethrill of asking questions, of delving into research, of seeing an experiment come to fruition—even if it’s unsuccessful, or the results are not what I had hoped for.
“Because that’s the beauty of it: there’s always something new to learn, even from failures. And we will never know everything there is to know about spellcasting, about the Ether, about the universe. There is some comfort in knowing there willalwaysbe a thrilling new discovery somewhere out there.”
Mavery found herself enthralled by his words—as she found herself whenever he spoke so passionately.
“Whatever you discover,” she said, “I want to be by your side for all of it.”
“Nothing would make me happier.” He squeezed her hands. “And, since that pesky covenant only applies to professors, you can be by my side as my assistant—and as the woman I’m courting. Er, assuming that’s still something you want.”
