“I think you’ll live.”
Theo rubbed his hands together. “Only one more lesson of the day—honestly, I didn’t think it was possible for this stuff to get more boring but it has.”
“Actually,” Adelaide came forward to burst his bubble, “there’s two more. Astronomy is after dinner. The new guy teaching it is delicious.” Adelaide sighed dreamily.
“You know him?” I asked.
“Yeah. He’s been gone a while but he’s back. Theo knew him.”
“I did?” he asked stupidly.
“Yeah, it’s Finn.”
Theo blanched. “I never thought he’d end up back here. He hated it here.”
“Maybe it was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” she reasoned.
“Have most of the teachers been here a while or do new ones come along a lot?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Most are like Jessamine and move from place to place. Donovan has been here for a long time but he’s a rarity. Most of the adults don’t stay long unless they have to, but once they take a position they’re locked in for a year. A lot of kids get dumped here because they lose their parents or it’s safer for whatever reason so you’ll almost always see more of them.”
“Believe me, I’ve seen plenty come and go over the years,” Theo muttered. “Most don’t like living so far removed from society like we do. It’s safe, but it can be lonely.” Theo stopped outside a door. “Here we are.”
“What are we learning next?”
“Magical control,” he droned as I stepped inside the room.
This room wasn’t like any of the others. It was large with stone walls and the floors were covered in mats like gymnasts used.
“Sit down,” boomed a large man as he came into the room. Everyone sat down on the floor except for Theo. The doors slammed closed behind the man. He didn’t even touch them.
“I am James Beauregard—you can call me James—and in my class, you are going to learn to control your powers.” He hopped up on the top of his desk and drummed his fingers on his knees. He wore a nice navy suit and pale blue button-down shirt. “You can think of this as a gym class of sorts,” he explained. His salt and pepper hair was brushed back from his face and the same colored hair covered his cheeks and chin. He looked more like a banker than a gym teacher.
“I think he’s wearing the wrong clothes for a gym class,” Adelaide muttered. I ignored her. I was getting used to her funny commentary.
“You’re going to sweat in this class. Therefore, there are dressing rooms provided for your convenience.” He pointed to opposite sides of the room. One had a door labeled Gents and another labeled Ladies. “You will need to bring your own dress down clothes, however.” His gaze landed on Theo in the back. “Mr. Meyers, how wonderful to see you again.”
“Not that wonderful, James,” he mumbled.
“I see you still have the same attitude.” Theo saluted James. He laughed and shook his head. “I’ve been informed of your special situation with Miss Pryce and therefore I expect you to participate in class. You’ll be Miss Pryce’s partner. As protector and charge, you should be able to work together.”
“I don’t need to learn to control myself,” Theo snapped.
“Ah, but Mr. Meyers, you’ve never exactly mastered control, have you? Besides, if you and Miss Pryce are going to be partners, for lack of a better term, you need to learn to work together. This class is as much about working together as learning to control oneself.”
“Whatever,” Theo sneered. “I’ll participate if it means you’ll shut up.”
“Excellent,” said James with a slight smirk like he’d expected such an answer. He hopped off his desk and walked around the circle of students before stopping in the middle. “Maybe you have learned some control after all. You seem … calmer.” Sarcasm dripped like sticky syrup from his words. Theo was the farthest thing from calm. Anyone could see the anger boiling under the surface. “Since you’ll be participating I’d appreciate it if you would help me with a bit of a … demonstration.”
“You betcha.” A challenge glimmered in his gray eyes. He shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the floor. He rolled his shoulders back and forth and then strode forward to meet James in the middle. “You’re on, James.”
James grinned in challenge.
I heard a few of the girls commenting on Theo’s impressive physique. I hated the jealousy I felt. Theo was my protector and that was it. He didn’t like me like that; he wasn’t even allowed to like me like that.
I hated that I found comfort in that thought. I should have wanted him to have a life but the thought of having to see him with another girl tore me up inside. I knew I shouldn’t care. More often than not Theo made my blood boil. He was always pushing my buttons and I pushed his. And the fact remained; if he wasn’t stuck with me he’d be off with some bimbo like Naomi. Theo would never look at me and see someone like Naomi. I was just me. Gap-toothed, child-like Mara.
I looked up and met Theo’s gaze. He was so gorgeous but there was so much more to him than his looks. The Theo under the surface was the one that called to me. I enjoyed the moments when he was being honest and bearing his soul instead of throwing around a cocky smile and making a rude comment or suggestion. But I needed to let go of this silly crush and look at Theo as no more than my protector.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and focused on the two men preparing to fight.
James shucked his suit jacket and laid it on his desk and then proceeded to remove his tie. I had to agree with Adelaide; he definitely wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for gym class.
“When you’re coming into your powers,” explained James, “you are very volatile, and it does not take much for you to have a magical … catastrophe, we’ll say. Sometimes a simple insult from someone will set you off. In here, you will learn to handle difficult situations while keeping your magic in check. You definitely don’t need to lose your cool if you come face to face with a member of The Iniquitous one day.” The students laughed softly but I didn’t. I could clearly remember the night Theo and I were attacked, and it was not something to laugh about. “I want you all to watch closely as I provoke Theodore.”
We all sat, riveted, and I held my breath. Theo had a temper, I had witnessed it many times, and I was curious to see how he would handle this man. He had seemed fine when fighting The Iniquitous and the grindor but something about James and even Donovan seemed to stir a restless energy in him.
“I hear you were responsible for getting your charge kicked out of Donovan’s classroom. That’s not good.” James clucked his tongue. Theo tensed and clenched his fists. The man’s lips tweaked. “Obviously, you’re not quite as volatile as you once were. Maybe you did learn something in my class.”