AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What did she throw at you?” I asked, pushing the glass doors open and walking into the inner campus. “And what did you do to deserve it?”
He tried to pass off his pride as innocence. Placing a hand over his heart, he declared, “Pencils! Freshly sharpened pencils thrown like godsdamned darts!” He checked over his shoulder like he was expecting Quinn to sneak up for another attack. “I was simply minding my own business on a harmless prank that may have involved replacing all of her office implements with glitter bomb replicas that detonate on touch.”
“Dear lord, you’re a menace.”
“I’m a breath of fresh air—”
“Clouded with poison and probably some kind of illegal drug,” I finished. “But I’ll keep my eye on Quinn. Clearly, she’s a loose cannon.” I really wasn’t sure, but if she was, I’d aim her straight at Razai.
“An absolute terror,” he agreed.
The campus was beautiful. The buildings were modern and sleek, every nook and pathway decorated or lined with plant life and colorful landscaping. Trees stretched their arms high above us, creating a picturesque walkway just about everywhere.
Razai explained, “The layout of the campus generally centers around the focus of study. Plant and animal-based studies are done by the arboretum and garden center. That is generally where the fae and earth-based angelic students attend class, unless they have elemental powers. Elementals have their own specialty tracks. Fire,” he pointed to the building closest to us and then moved on to the next three structures, “light, water, air. Some classes overlap depending on a person’s abilities. It’s not all cut-and-dry, and everyone shares space for general studies in math, sciences, and humanities.”
“And you work in the gym?” I guessed.
He waggled his brows. “Not just the gym. The training yard.”
This was the main goal of the tour, I soon found out. Razai didn’t care much to show me anything but his domain.
The training yard was a huge stretch of treacherous obstacles that climbed to the sky, strung across rope ladders and dangerous rock walls. Pits of sand and pools of muddy water dotted the expanse.
“This is my nightmare,” I stated in awe draped with thinly veiled dread. “My purest nightmare.”
Razai was positively glowing. “Her name is Betty.”
“You named your obstacle course—correct me if I heard wrong—Betty?”
He nodded. “Built her up over the course of ten years. She’s a beauty. My pride and joy.”
“I’ll give you two some space.” I backed away slowly but to no avail.
He snatched my arm and hauled me to the weapons room, which thankfully only had practice weapons out. Razai explained that all the deadly hardware was locked away in a safe only he and President Castile could access. Attached to the armory was a typical gym with weights and machines.
The campus impressed me, but the attacks hung over the grounds like a thick fog muddling my optimism. Even with my handicapped intuition, the tugging still pulled at me.
I stilled and paused Razai mid-sentence. “What happened there? In the locker room.”
“The showers, to be exact,” he clarified. “That’s where the third attack occurred.”
“That’s why I sensed—”
“Not here, Miss Valence.” The name said everything. We were still playing roles. He wasn’t confident that we were alone, and caution should lead us.
I’m glad that my intuition magic still worked, though. It won’t be easy to use, and it may not be as powerful, but I can still sense things. That’s good to know.
Razai made an odd, jerky movement forward. He stopped, pulled himself back with a tight frown, and then said, “I’m going to whisper something close to your ear in about ten seconds.”
“Um… okay?”
He held my gaze, brows lifting. “Five seconds.”
“Sure?” I agreed. What was with the countdown?
He waited for another beat and then moved into me.
Oh. He was preparing me for close contact. That was his version of asking permission rather than invading my space unannounced.
