Page 42 of Bonds of Magic (Vesperwood Academy: Incubus #3)

“That’s up to you,” I said. Of course I was going to tell Isaac—but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m definitely taking you to see Cinda, though. I’m not letting you walk around like this.”

And I wasn’t stupid enough to try to fix Hans’s wounds on my own, like I had with Cory. God, that seemed like ages ago. Back before he and I had…

No. Best not to dwell on that.

Something Hans had said tickled the back of my mind.

“Sheridan,” I said to Hans. “Do you know what university he was at, before he came here?”

“ Univerzita Starobylych Umění .” Hans’s lips twisted. “They think they’re so much better than Vesperwood. Better than the other European universities too. Didn’t even give me an interview when I applied for an open position there.”

That agreed with what Sheridan had told me. But I was surprised Hans was talking so freely. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken advantage of that. But I did.

“You applied there?” I asked. “Did you apply anywhere else before you came to Vesperwood?”

“What do you think?” Hans said.

“I think Vesperwood is a fine place to work.” I hoped that was a neutral answer.

“It’s a laughingstock,” he shot back. “The only magical university to accept paranormal students, stuck in an intellectual backwater. No one else takes us seriously.”

“That seems a little harsh. I thought some of the faculty here were the best in their fields.”

“They might be smart. Or powerful. But they’ve all got something wrong with them. Some reason no other university will take them. Believe me, no one wants to work here if they could be somewhere else.”

That was interesting. I’d been with Isaac since the beginning, from the day he decided to resurrect the school. I knew he took it seriously, and I’d never wanted to be anywhere else. I guess I’d never paid attention to our reputation in the wider magical world.

“Not like the other universities are so much better,” Hans continued. “A professor was murdered at Univerzita Starobylych Umění and they still haven’t caught whoever did it. They say it was an accident, but we all know better.”

I hadn’t heard about that either. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the politics of witch academia over the years.

“Bellwether College is running out of students,” Hans continued.

“Refuses to modernize their curriculum, so no one wants to go there. Even Vesperwood’s better than what they offer.

Seishin no Mori Daigaku is drowning in debt.

If they’d sell their land, they’d be okay, but they’re so attached to tradition.

Oldest magical university in Japan my ass.

Who cares if you’re the oldest if you can’t keep the lights on? ”

He kept on grumbling about his grievances and other universities’ faults as we finally made it inside the manor. I was only giving him half my attention, until he said something that made me stop dead.

“What about Cory?” I asked. I wasn’t even aware Hans knew who Cory was.

“Hmm?” Hans blinked at me. It took strength of will not to wince at his face. His eye socket wasn’t just full of black pus. It was smoking slightly, and it smelled acrid.

“Cory Dawson,” I said. “You mentioned him and Erika Martinez. The two students who were attacked in my class.”

“Oh.” Hans seemed dazed, though that made sense with the blood loss and the pain. “Just that it doesn’t make sense. Why attack students? And freshmen at that? What threat did they pose?”

“Do you think the attack came from another university?” I asked. “You never mentioned that before.”

“Did I say that?” Hans shook his head, and I wondered how clearly he was thinking tonight.

At least he didn’t seem to have any special interest in Cory. Or think much about him at all. That was a good sign.

But now I was thinking about Cory again, and I felt that same old fear swirl in my gut. He wasn’t out in the woods tonight. He should be in his room. But Cory did a lot of things he wasn’t supposed to, and he wouldn’t tell me half of them.

I felt like an overprotective father. But from the sound of it, Cory hadn’t had one of those growing up. Maybe it was time for someone to worry about him.

Besides, there was still this mysterious woman running around the area. I didn’t know what she wanted with Sheridan, and until I did know, I considered her a danger. I decided I’d stop by Cory’s room after I dropped Hans off with Cinda.

Just in case.

The halls were empty of students as I walked from the infirmary towards Cory’s room. The lights had dimmed into soft balls of glowing gold that made puddles of light but left shadowy spaces in between. The manor had a ghostly aura, and I felt like an intruder as I stole through the corridors.

My footsteps sounded loud, even on the worn carpets that ran along the center of the hall. I told myself I was being ridiculous, but I sped up as I walked, that knot of worry growing in my gut. Cory was fine. He was fine . There was no reason to think otherwise.

I’d picked Cory up at his door multiple times now, but tonight, I couldn’t stop feeling like I was trespassing. For all I knew, he might be asleep.

Open the door quietly and make sure he’s there , I told myself. Make sure he’s there, make sure he’s breathing, and then close it before he wakes up .

I put my hand on the knob and twisted it gently. The door pushed open. I stuck my head in the room, and immediately heard a crash and a squawk. Light blossomed, Cat flapped angrily at my head, and Cory sat upright in bed, one hand gripping the knife I’d given him.

He was holding it correctly for throwing.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I said soothingly. “It’s me.”

Cat turned away from my face at the last second in a flash of wings and rage. They swooped back to the foot of Cory’s bed and perched there, glaring at me with beady eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Cory let the knife fall loose in his lap. He glared at me too, and looked almost as murderous as the bird. “What the fuck?” he snapped. “What are you doing?”

“Checking in.” I was taken aback by his anger. I knew he was pissed at me, but this seemed a little much. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, other than the heart attack you just gave me, I’m fine.” He was still glaring. “Jesus, what hell is wrong with you?”

“What?” I blinked.

“Why can’t you actually leave me alone, if you’re going to leave me alone?”

This didn’t seem like a conversation to have with half my body out in the hall. I slipped inside his room and closed the door behind me. I was still confused.

“Come again?” I said.

“I get it, alright?” he said. “You don’t want me, fine. But you don’t need to come here and rub it in. ‘ Checking ’ on me right after hooking up with your boyfriend.”

“My what ?” I took a step towards him. Cat fluffed their wings ominously, warning me off.

“That guy,” Cory said. “In Pointe Claudette. The one you were with in the bathroom. The night we met.”

“Lew?”

“Great.” Cory’s voice was bitter. “Now I have a name to go with the mouth that was sucking you off. I feel so much better.”

“Cory, he’s not—” I broke off and laughed. This was what Cory was mad about? “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“But you’re hooking up,” Cory protested.

“No, we’re not.”

“Don’t lie. I’m not a child you have to pacify. I can handle it.” He looked down at the knife in his lap, but he didn’t seem angry anymore. Just sad. “I know you went to Pointe Claudette tonight.”

“I’m not lying.” I took another step towards the bed, angry raven be damned. “Yes, Lew and I have hooked up in the past. But we’re not doing that anymore.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Cory, we’re not.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. Cat hopped closer to Cory, a barrier of wings and talons between us. I stared at Cory over the bird’s head. I wanted to get closer. To hold him.

“Why?” Cory said finally, looking up at me.

There was only one answer I could give.

“We haven’t hooked up since the night you and I met,” I told him. “Because God help me, Cory, I only want you.”