Elias.
We rejoined the day. The corridor felt tighter than usual. Three second-year vampires leaned against the stone near the stairs and watched everyone pass. Their eyes followed her for a breath too long. Kael shifted his weight on the landing, ready to materialize behind them if they moved. They didn't. They measured. They filed away. The school is full of little accountants of weakness.
In Spell Theory, Professor Soren asked a question about dynamic wards, and I did not look at her longer than necessary. I feel the gravity around her and I avoid it. I do not have spare gravity to give. At the end of class, she said my name and asked me to stay. I pretended not to hear and left with the last group. Adrian was waiting near the door, reading a notice she already knew. Her face was blank in that way that says, not now. I took the stairs with her without making it a pair.
Rowan intercepted us at the bend. "Sunshine, how's the homework I didn't assign you?"
"Burning," she said.
