Page 21 of Obsidian and Frost

I took the note and pocketed it, while Lazriel glared at the wall, muttering a slew of curses to himself under his breath.

“Well, that was unexpected.”

“Unexpectedisn’t exactly the word I’d use.”

I stroked his arm and he turned to me.

“Are you all right?” I asked him.

His jaw tightened. “Fine.”

“Lazriel.”

He pulled away and grabbed my suitcase and hauled my bag over his shoulder. “Let’s get you situated.”

I stared at him for a moment, then I inserted my magical key into the door.

The moment I turned it, a wave of golden light shot up all over the door and the walls, and then the door blew open.

“A really cool way to first access a dorm space.”

“That it is,” he said, clearly humoring me, because he’d been here for three years already, so it had to all be old hat to him at this point.

We walked inside together and he set my suitcase and bag against the inner wall.

I took in the space.

Those familiar arches stretched into high ceilings above, a whole shadowy effect that really fit the whole Obscura Circle thing well. A stained glass window cast a silhouette of a winged creature over the space. Beneath it was a desk of twisted dark wood with an antique journal ready and waiting for my input. There was a four-poster bed draped in heavy black velvet. It was absolutely stunning. A bronze candelabra flickered, giving off a mythic vibe that I loved. There was a gargoyle statue and a suit of armor standing on guard with the Obscura symbol etched into it—a moon pierced by a dagger.

“Does your dorm look like this?” I asked Lazriel, turning to face him as he gazed around as well.

He smiled out at me and it was less restrained than it had been for a few moments there after the whole note thing. The heavy-handed note thing. I needed to look into that—and soon. What was Sylas playing at?Washe playing? Was there some game afoot here?

Thankfully, Lazriel’s deep voice brought me back to the moment as he told me, “There are some elements that are similar. The heavy woods, the upholstery, curtains. But there are some differences too. I’ll show you sometime soon.” He smirked. “For the record, that wasn’t a come-on.” He pulled something from his pocket and held it out to me.

I looked down at his palm to see a glinting black shard.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s a token. It will give you access toThe Fade. It’s a magical party realm temporarily generated by the fourth years here. It’s in a couple of nights. The entry point changes constantly, but this will guide you to it.”

“Wow, this is really something.”

He nodded, and then an intensity took him as he told me, “I’ll be there. If you come, we’ll hang out, spend some time together.Like a… date, if you want. If you don’t, no worries, and I’ll see you the very next day. No pressure, all right?”

He wanted me to be absolutely sure because he couldn’t stand the idea of me blowing him off again in any way.

I took the token from him.

“I understand.”

“Good.”

He leaned in and kissed the top of my head. “Have a good night. You have a few days to settle in before classes. If you need anything, or just want to hang, you have my number from our Crossborn work, so just shoot me a text.”

“I will.”

He smiled, hesitated for a moment, then walked on out, closing the door carefully behind him.