Professor Thorne paired Aurelia with Cassian on Thursday.
She stared at the roster.
Then at him.
“No.”
Thorne lifted his head.
“A promising opening. Elaborate.”
“I’d like another partner.”
“Medical reason?”
“No.”
“Conflicting schedules?”
“No.”
“Then take a staff.”
Aurelia remained where she was.
Thorne lowered his voice.
“You don’t have to like him. You do have to tell me whether you can safely work beside him.”
That was a different question.
She considered it.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll assess the partnership after today.”
She accepted the staff.
Across the court, Cassian looked relieved.
Aurelia wished he wouldn’t.
* * *
“Cross the circle,” Thorne instructed. “Your partner prevents entry. No magic in the first round.”
Cassian took position.
“Aurelia—”
She moved.
Her staff hooked behind his ankle.
He hit the mat.
Nia applauded once.
Thorne blew his whistle.
“Vale. Are you defending territory or waiting for a portrait?”
Cassian rose.
This time, when Aurelia approached, he was ready.
He was good.
She had hoped irritation might make him careless.
Instead, he adjusted quickly, using his reach without overextending. His staff met hers hard enough to sting her healing hand.
She flinched.
He stopped.
“Your palm.”
“Continue.”
“It’s injured.”
“It’s cleared.”
Thorne approached.
“Show me.”
Aurelia did.
He examined the faint pink line.
“Grip pressure?”
“Manageable.”
“Pain is information, Moretti. You’re allowed to use it.”
He altered the exercise so she could hold the staff differently.
Cassian watched without speaking.
That helped.
A little.
* * *
The second round allowed limited magic.
“No elemental force above shoulder height,” Thorne said. “No direct strikes to the body.”
Aurelia called a thin ribbon of air around the circle.
Cassian raised a defensive field.
It was stronger than she expected.
She tested its lower edge.
He shifted.
She felt the adjustment through the moving air.
For a moment, the exercise became interesting enough to quiet everything else.
Then he stepped close.
His scent reached her.
The bond tightened.
Her attention slipped.
Cassian’s staff tapped her shoulder.
“Point,” Thorne called.
Aurelia stepped back, furious with herself.
Cassian lowered his weapon.
“I didn’t mean—”
“To succeed in the exercise?”
He stopped.
Across the court, Azalea gave Theo an apologetic look before sweeping his feet out from under him.
Nia shouted, “Romance survives impact!”
Aurelia almost smiled.
Cassian saw.
Something hopeful crossed his face.
She looked away.
* * *
After class, he waited beside the equipment rack.
“I’m not asking you to forget.”
“Good.”
“I’m asking you to hear an apology.”
She folded her arms.
He looked less polished after training. Damp hair at his temples. A bruise forming near his wrist.
“I judged you by your circumstances.”
“Yes.”
“I assumed the things I’d heard were true.”
“What things?”
He hesitated.
Aurelia’s stomach tightened.
“Say them.”
“That your parents sent you away because you had no wolf. That you were dependent on your grandparents. That you weren’t…” He stopped.
“Suitable?”
“Yes.”
The word hurt more when he admitted it.
Cassian looked ashamed.
He should have.
“Seraphine told me your family kept your situation private.”
“And you asked everyone except me.”
“Yes.”
Aurelia looked past him at the emptying court.
“I don’t know what you want me to do with that.”
“Nothing. I just needed to say it.”
For the first time, he did not ask for anything afterward.
She nodded once and left.
* * *
Seraphine waited near the stairs.
“You’ve been difficult to find,” she told Cassian.
“I’ve been in class.”
“With her.”
He glanced at her.
“You said the Morettis considered Aurelia unstable.”
“I said there were concerns.”
“Whose?”
Seraphine’s smile faded.
“People talk.”
“You spoke.”
Her expression tightened before softening.
“Cassian, I was trying to protect you.”
He thought of Aurelia’s injured hand.
Of how she had stepped back rather than let him touch it.
“From what?”
Seraphine took a breath.
“A girl who suddenly reveals extraordinary powers in front of an audience, after approaching the most eligible heir at the academy?”
“She didn’t approach me.”
Seraphine went quiet.
For the first time, he noticed how carefully she waited before choosing her next words.
* * *
That afternoon, Aurelia entered the archive with Nia.
They were looking for a textbook.
At least, that was what she told herself.
Then she found the academy’s equipment standards.
Practice basins carrying elemental channels were supposed to be inspected every week.
The basin in Hall Three had been stamped six months earlier.
Aurelia copied the reference number.
Nia watched.
“Textbook?”
“Adjacent concern.”
“Good. I was worried we were becoming predictable.”