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“Again.”

An hour later, we were both dripping in sweat and fighting for breath. Wolf blocked nearly every single one of my advances,but the ones that I surprised him with left him wide-eyed and smiling at me like he was seeing me fight for the very first time.

My muscles burned. My lungs screamed.

“Come on,” I said, hearing the chimes that our break was over. I jogged to my bag and picked it up, pulling out a small loaf of bread. I tore it in half, not even looking at Wolf as I held it out for him. We had been so busy training that neither of us thought to go grab any food from the dining hall. “Headmistress will kill us if we’re late again.”

Wolf didn’t take my bread for the first few seconds. In fact, I felt him approach me, but he stopped a foot away. I eventually turned to him, only to find him staring at the bread with his brows drawn together.

“What?” I breathed. “I didn’t poison it, I promise you that.”

“You should eat that,” he replied without meeting my gaze. “You need to regain your strength.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I pushed it in his direction. “You haven’t eaten all day. Take it.”

A few more seconds went by.

Did he really think I needed my strength? Or did he not want to share the bread with me for another reason?

Sweat dripped down his forehead, following the sharp lines of his cheekbones. His bright eyes glittered with a deep energy. I found myself wanting to know more about them, about the rare light that danced beneath them.

I threw the bread into the air. Wolf caught it against his chest with one hand.

“Come on,” I said again. “It’s time to get back to class.”

His features softened, something nobody else would have noticed, before he finally bit into the loaf. Thank the goddess. I truly did not have the energy to decipher any more of Wolf’s facial expressions today.

He followed me through the hallways back the way we came, not saying anything else as he ate the rest of his bread. It wasn’t nearly enough to fill my growling stomach, nor would it be enough to fuel my body after the weeks of torture I had been enduring, but it was better than nothing.

By the time we made it back to the classroom, I had mostly caught my breath. That didn’t stop the fact that Wolf and I both were covered in dirt and sweat.

And that, once again, we were the last ones to enter the classroom.

And all eyes, once again, shifted to us.

I didn’t think to wonder how the rest of the apprentices would take this, or how it looked that Wolf and I had shown up together—again—breathless and covered in sweat.

But the look of horror on Lanson’s face put the idea in my mind.

Did they think we…?

A satisfied laugh from Wolf behind me only confirmed my suspicions. The fae in the front of the room began snickering as well.

Hells.

I stormed to the back of the study room, face burning red, and took my seat. Wolf slid into his seat casually beside me.

“This isn’t funny,” I hissed at him. “I told you I don’t need to be drawing this type of attention to myself.”

He didn't even try to hide his smile. It was a deep contrast to the worry that dripped on his face just a few minutes ago. “I believe it may be a bit late for that.”

I rolled my eyes and sank into my seat, trying to disappear from the lingering eyes, trying to will the blood away from my cheeks.

Lanson was going to think Wolf and I were hooking up during the lunch break.

Half of me was mortified, angry that I would now be associated with Wolf even more than I already was.

But the other half of me saw that agony in Lanson’s eyes and reveled in it, wanted to sink inside and take hold of that pain, wanted to shove within it and make it even worse so he could feel even a fraction of the pain that I felt when he betrayed me.