Page 33 of Heartflame

“Enough,” I said, my voice shaking. “Enough to know that something is seriously wrong and that you’re trying to figure out how to handle it without getting yourself in trouble.”

She leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers beneath her chin in that familiar gesture. “This is the problem with asking favors of intelligent students,” she said quietly. “They tend to stumble onto things they shouldn’t.”

“I already knew,” I said, my mind suddenly made up. “I was with Aeron when the Purity Front attacked the wards. I saw them.” I leaned forward in my chair. “And Aeron’s grandfather swore both him and me to secrecy.”

Professor Blackwood looked shocked. “Elder Thaddeus was on campus?”

I shook my head. “No. Aeron has a crystal ball that allows them to speak directly. Through the wards somehow.”

Professor Blackwood’s eyes widened slightly, the only visible crack in her composed exterior. “That’s not possible. The wards should block all magical communication.”

“Well, apparently they don’t,” I said, feeling a strange mixture of relief and dread at finally being able to tell someone about this. Underneath it though, I felt like I was betraying Aeron as well. “He contacted his grandfather right after we got back to his dorm. Told him everything we’d seen. And Elder Thaddeus told him to keep quiet about it. He said panic wouldn’t help anyone.”

She was quiet for a long moment, her fingers still steepled beneath her chin. When she spoke again, her voice was careful. “Did Elder Thaddeus say anything else? Anything about what the breaches mean? Or who’s behind them?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “He just wanted us to stay silent. To not report details to security because they’d know more than us anyway.” I paused, considering whether to tell her the rest. But I’d already come this far. “He also said he’d be in touch with Aeron. Like he was expecting to have answers soon.”

Professor Blackwood stood up and walked to her window, gazing out at the campus below. “That crystal ball is troubling,” she murmured. “If the wards can be bypassed that way, then Thaddeus has purposefully left a hole in them without telling anyone. Although, the rest of his directions to you align with what he’s telling everyone else. I can only assume familial attachment caused him to leave a gap in the wards so he could speak to his grandson.”

“There’s something else,” I said, without being prompted. “I… I don’t like spying on Aeron.”

Professor Blackwood glanced back at me with one eyebrow raised. “Then why tell me all this? Why share what you saw?”

“I just…” I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. But I also don’t want to hurt Aeron.”

“Why? I thought you disliked him?”

“He… He saved me,” I heard myself say. “When the ward breach happened. He came running after me. And if he hadn’t… if those things had gotten through the wards while I was froze up…”

“I understand,” Professor Blackwood nodded. “You like him.”

“No I don’t,” I said defensively, but even I could hear the lie in my voice. “I just… I feel grateful toward him.”

Professor Blackwood turned back from the window, and there was something almost sympathetic in her expression. “Sure. If that’s what you need to tell yourself. But you risked coming here, risked exposing what you’d overheard, to protect him from suspicion. That suggests your feelings run deeper than simple gratitude.”

I wanted to argue, but what was the point? She’d already figured it out. Hell, Lysander had figured it out in about three seconds. Probably everyone on campus had figured it out except me.

“So what do I do?” I asked, feeling helpless. “I can’t spy on him. Not now. Not after—” I stopped myself before I could say anything incriminating.

“Not after what?” Professor Blackwood asked, settling back into her chair.

I felt heat creep up my neck. “That’s not relevant to the current situation.”

“Perhaps not,” she conceded, though her lips quirked slightly like she was suppressing a smile. “But it does change things from my perspective. If you’re emotionally invested in Mr. Pyre, then your observations would be biased, anyway. That makes you less useful to me as a spy.”

“So we’re done?” I asked, hope blooming in my chest. “The favor is off?”

“Not entirely,” she said, holding up a hand. “I still need your help, but in a different capacity. I need you to tell me anything you find out about Elder Thaddeus’s intentions or the Purity Front. Everything Aeron has said about his grandfather’s plans, his concerns, his fears. I need to understand what Thaddeus is thinking, what he might be planning. Can you do that without it feeling like a betrayal?”

I considered it. Reporting on Aeron’s personal conversations still felt wrong, but at least it wasn’t active surveillance. At least it wasn’t him finding out that I’d been watching him, cataloging his movements, looking for inconsistencies in his story.

“I can try,” I said finally.

“That’s all I ask,” Professor Blackwood said. “And Quill? Be careful. If Elder Thaddeus is as worried as I think he is, if the breaches are as serious as the evidence suggests, then Aeron might be in danger. The Purity Front might be looking for a high-profile target to make a statement.”

A chill ran down my spine at those words. I’d never considered that Aeron might be a target. That by being close to him, I was in more danger than ever.

“What should I do?” I asked quietly.