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His hands flexed at his sides, almost as if they were itching to reach for me, to help me up.

I stood on my own, watching him carefully, noting the tension now swirling through his body, the almost jagged-edged feel to his aura.

Rhyan nodded at me and jerked his chin toward the doors. “Hit the baths. Meet me in our training room in thirty.”

I threw my hands on my hips. “I just ran for over an hour—after being hungover, which I’ve never done before. Plus, I completed three half-miles, each in under four minutes. I think you mispronounced ‘good job.’”

“I know you did,” he said darkly. His entire body stiffened, his stance protective yet distant, his eyes moving slowly back and forth behind me. I suddenly wondered if we weren’t alone. “Don’t correct my pronunciation,partner. Take a bath.”

Before I could respond, he was walking away from me. Only after he was gone did I see that coming down from the arena’s seating onto the opposite side of the track was Haleika and Leander, her apprentice. Shit. Had they seen us?

We hadn’t done anything illegal; no lines had been crossed between kashonim, between apprentice and novice. But Rhyan wasn’t supposed to go off training protocol or offer anything beyond the official Academy training. And I wasn’t supposed to receive any extra or special favors per the Imperator’s agreement. No wonder he’d acted so distant.

“Lyr?” Haleika shouted. Her voice was laced with shock.

“Hal,” I said, heart hammering. She sounded so genuinely surprised I was thrown. Had she not realized it was me? “What are you doing here?” I asked, carefully schooling my voice to sound neutral and innocent despite the sweat running down the nape of my neck.

“Extra practice. You?” She nodded tersely. Her brown curly hair had been braided, but there were curls falling out, loosened into waves that went in every direction, almost like…like someone had been running their fingers through her hair.

My mouth went dry.

“Same,” I said. “Since…my test is coming up.”

Haleika frowned. “Lyr, just so you know, if you ever want to run with us, you can. Just,” she fidgeted with her hands, “so you’re not alone when running.” She was speaking oddly, like the words were foreign to her or like she was choosing them extremely carefully.

Leander nodded vigorously, his blonde hair also looking slightly disheveled. He was paler skinned than most Bamarians, having come from Damara. And in this moment, his skin was red, his cheeks flushed. “If you ever want any extra help, your grace,” he said formally, “I know you’re Hal’s friend, and I’d be happy to do so. I don’t agree with the Imperator’s decisions at all.”

“Thank you,” I said stiffly, barely believing what I heard. “That means a lot.” It was a good way to make sure Tristan didn’t realize I was training with Rhyan. Maybe I could take them up on the offer and hope Haleika said something the next time she was with her cousin.

But by the Gods. Neither Haleika nor Leander had mentioned Rhyan. They were inviting me to run with them so I wouldn’t run alone, which meant they thought I was by myself.

They hadn’t seen him.

I glanced nervously at the stadium seating surrounding the arena. They’d been up there while we’d been running, and they hadn’t seen us. I took in their appearances again, how flushed and awkward they were both acting.

They’d been together, using the stadium seats as their cover. Haleika had had a very obvious crush on Leander during the process of kashonim being assigned. But once she’d been bound to him, she hadn’t said anything. Plus, she had a constant flirtation with Galen, who seemed to be…with her.

Auriel’s bane.

“I’m going to hit the baths,” I said. “I’m all,” I gestured at myself to indicate the sweaty mess I’d become.

“Let me know next time you’re coming for extra training,” she said.

“Of course,” I said. “Have a good run.”

CHAPTER NINE

Ienteredourtrainingroom wearing my hair in a wet braid down my back and a fresh tunic over new short-pants. After the bath, I’d switched to my sandals, my body still heated from the run. I closed the door behind me, locking it before I took a few steps in and set my bag down.

Rhyan stood in the center of the room, tensed, his arms folded across his chest so tightly his biceps were bulging from beneath his tunic. The veins in his forearm looked ready to pop.

“You saw them?” I asked. “Was that what caused the change in you?”

His jaw worked, but he nodded.

“They, um,” I paused. I’d been replaying what had happened over and over in my mind as I’d bathed, trying to work out what it meant and what I was supposed to do with the information I now had.

Haleika was having an affair with Leander—something that could get them expelled from the Academy at best. At worst, they’d be stripped of their power. And the procedure for being stripped…that almost always led to death. It had killed Jules.