Page 47 of Bonds of Magic (Vesperwood Academy: Incubus #3)

When the bell tolled the end of Fourth Hour, the students broke up into little eddies of activity.

I’d assigned some to clean the mats, others to drag them back into a pile in the corner of the room.

By their sophomore year, I’d let them do that with magic, but for now, it was all elbow grease.

I had to show Clara Tuttle where the extra cleaner was, and when I got back to the main room, Cory was gone.

Without saying goodbye.

I rolled my eyes at myself. Who did I think I was? I’d explicitly told him this was nothing more than physical. I didn’t think I’d need to remind myself of that fact too.

The only students left were the ones putting the mats away, which included Rekha, Adenike, and Meredith today. They walked over to the side wall to pick up their bags and coats, and Rekha gasped, loudly enough for me to hear it from the other side of the room.

I turned around, alert for danger, but there was no threat. Rekha was putting her vocator back on her wrist, and I could see from where I stood that it had lit up, indicating she’d received a message.

“Ooh, who’s messaging you?” Meredith asked.

“Who do you think?” Adenike said with a snort. “It’s from her not-so-secret admirer.”

Rekha shot them both a sharp look. “Don’t call her that. She’s a professor.”

“Yeah, and she’s cozying up to you like she wants to ask you out.”

Rekha rolled her eyes and tugged her sleeve down over her vocator.

“What are you doing?” Meredith asked, pushing her sleeve back up. “Check it now so we can see too.”

“You guys need to get your own lives,” Rekha said drily.

She looked around the room. I picked up a clipboard hanging on the wall and began to walk along the racks of weaponry, ticking off an imaginary list. Behind me, I heard the gentle chime of Rekha’s vocator, and then heard an excited inhale of breath—probably from Meredith.

“It is from Professor Molina,” Adenike said.

I froze. So Teresa wanted something from Rekha, did she?

That at least confirmed my suspicions that something was going on.

Professors were supposed to use the formal communications network when communicating with students, not message their vocators.

If Teresa was communicating with Rekha personally, that meant she didn’t want anyone else to have the chance to see her messages.

“Come on,” Rekha said after a moment. “I don’t want to be late.”

Which didn’t make any sense—freshmen classes were over for the day. Unless she was meeting Teresa somewhere. I waited until the girls left the gym, then grabbed my own jacket and set out after them.

I kept my distance as they walked through the woods back to the manor. No need to let them know I was following. Once we got into the manor, though, I moved closer. There were enough students passing through the halls now that if I didn’t stay close, I would lose them.

The girls were still talking animatedly as they stepped into the manor’s entrance hall, its two massive stone staircases curling up either side of the room. Rekha’s group headed up the right-hand stairway, and I was about to follow them up the left one when a hand touched my shoulder.

I turned to see Isaac standing behind me.

“Noah,” he said, his voice cool. “Walk with me for a minute.”

I glanced back at Rekha’s group as they reached the top of the stairs, then looked at Isaac. “Now? I’m kind of busy.”

“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important,” he said, though his voice was as calm and measured as ever.

A little bubble of open floor had appeared around us as students veered away to give the dean some space.

“This is important too,” I said. “It’s about that thing you asked me to look into.”

“I understand. And I still request that you join me. Your concern will keep.”

“I’m not sure it will,” I muttered, but Rekha’s group was out of sight, and Isaac was already heading back towards his office, clearly expecting me to follow. What other choice did I have?

“This had better be important,” I said, as soon as I stepped into his office and closed the door behind me.

He sat down at his desk and gestured for me to take the seat opposite. I folded my arms and remained standing. To be honest, I would have loved to sit down. I was dead on my feet today. But I didn’t.

“Teresa is interested in some of the freshmen,” I told him. “I still don’t know why, but I think she’s planning on doing something with them—or to them—tonight.”

“Tell me more,” Isaac said, as though we had all the time in the world.

I described the message Rekha had received—the bits of it that I knew, anyway, which weren’t much.

“She said she didn’t want to be late, though,” I concluded. “I really think I should go check on her. Or Teresa.”

“You will have plenty of time to do that,” Isaac said. “But you’ll be no use to anyone if you collapse in the process.”

I blinked. “What?”

“It’s been eight days since your last trance. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re still standing. I’m not sure how many hours you have left in you, but I’m not taking any chances. Sit down and let me help you.”

“Eight days.” I shook my head. “No, it hasn’t been that long. I saw you last…”

I trailed off, realizing suddenly that I couldn’t remember my last trance. It shouldn’t have been hard to figure out. But my brain felt so foggy today.

“Eight days,” he repeated. “Now sit down before you pass out. You look like you’re on death’s door.”

Did I really? Maybe that was why I was so tired today. How had I missed that?

Maybe you’ve been too obsessed with Cory to think about anything else , whispered the voice in the back of my mind.

I sat heavily in one of the chairs in front of Isaac’s desk. “I didn’t realize.”

“I could tell.” He folded his hands. “I know I’ve asked you to take on extra work, but I don’t want you to do it at the expense of running yourself ragged.”

“It’s not too much,” I said quickly. I didn’t want him to take me off the case now.

“Teresa’s up to something, but I think I can figure out what.

I’m working on getting Sheridan to trust me, but I’ve already figured out that someone else is looking for him out there.

Oh, and he has outstanding gambling debts at the Angler’s Rest. And Hans—last night—God, was it only last night?

—I found him in the woods trying to raise an earth spirit and force it to lend him power. ”

“I suspected as much,” Isaac said, “when Cinda and I spoke late last night. He didn’t tell her what had caused the injury, but a perusal of his room found copies of texts from Isabeau of Greenhollow and Tomás Elías Navarro del Monte, both of which detailed rituals for the binding of elemental spirits.

They’re in the third library to keep them out of the hands of our less advanced students.

I did not realize I needed to worry about our faculty as well. ”

“Well, Hans has never been the brightest bulb in the box. He said that maintaining the wards sucks power out of the wardkeepers. Is that true?”

Isaac nodded. “It does, and I consider that a feature of the incantation, not a drawback. It ensures the wardkeepers take care to keep the enchantment in working order, so that excess energy doesn’t get siphoned off to no purpose.”

He gave me a stern look. “But that’s not the only thing I was referring to.

I also charged you with giving Cory lessons.

I know that must be an added strain. A drain on your time and resources, as well as, perhaps, your emotional composure.

I don’t want you making any reckless decisions because of that. ”

My heart thumped. Was Isaac saying—did he—did he know ?

“If those lessons are taking too much of your energy, causing you not to think clearly, then perhaps we need to cut back on your teaching schedule. Cory needs you as a teacher, but the other students could learn from Leon. I can’t have you ruining your own health.”

Oh, thank God. Isaac meant I was being reckless with myself . Which, I was. And with Cory too. I probably ought to tell Isaac. Or at least stop it.

But instead I just smiled and said, “It’s fine. The lessons have actually been going better than I expected. He’s making good progress.”

“Really?”

Isaac sounded mildly surprised. About Cory’s abilities, or my teaching skills? Maybe I didn’t want to know.

“He’s able to hold onto himself within a dream now, to remember that it’s a dream and who he is. He’s even been able to find the dreams of specific people, and influence events within them. Well, he did it once, anyway.”

“And you’re not finding the experience too taxing?”

I worked hard to keep my gaze level, my voice calm. “It’s been okay.”

“I confess to some surprise,” Isaac said. “Given how strongly you fought this in the beginning.”

“Yeah, well. Maybe I should apologize for that.”

He waved it away. “No need. Natalia has informed me of Cory’s breakthrough in spellcasting. It would appear that he’s more than just an incubus. He’s a witch as well.”

“He mentioned something about that,” I said vaguely.

“This hasn’t caused any difficulties with your lessons?” Isaac cocked his head to the side like he expected me to say magic had turned Cory into a raging lunatic or arrogant prick. But Cory was the same person he’d always been. Sweet, kind, and sensitive.

God, I was fucked. But Isaac didn’t need to know that.

“It’s been fine,” I reiterated.

“I’m happy to hear that. And I’m happy to send you back out to your investigative endeavors. But we must take care of you first.”

Dammit.

I’d chalked up all my weird feelings today as a reaction to last night with Cory. But if I’d really gone over a week without one of Isaac’s trances, then he was right. I was about to fall on my face. And every minute I sat here protesting was a minute I wasn’t using to keep track of Teresa.

With a sigh, I stretched my hand out to Isaac. “Let’s get this over with.”