She opened her mouth, probably to question the men, but paused upon seeing me, her teeth pressing together. She gave me a short nod and moved past, approaching the front of the room and calling everyone’s attention. I gave Hans a questioning look and he arched a brow in reply.
They took up positions by the door as I shuffled toward Noah, trying to keep quiet as the professor launched into a discussion with someone sitting right in front of her. I pulled out the chair and sat down, keeping a firm barrier over my emotions so that Noah couldn’t feel the nervous hum of energy that spun through me with a sickening whir. He moved his chair slightly away, as though annoyed that I had chosen to sit next to him, and I laid my bag gently on the floor, folding my hands in my lap. He didn’t look over. I reached out with shaking fingers and poked his arm. He jerked his head in my direction, a scathing remark clearly on the tip of his tongue, but it died as he made a choking sound and grabbed my retreating hand. I quickly pulled away, conscious of the windows around us and the other students in the room. I would have to act as though the messenger were watching at all times now.
Noah shifted his seat next to mine, the backs of our chairs meeting up and forming a barrier from behind as he slipped a hand beneath the table. I felt a touch against my leg, moving gently to settle over my thigh, palm facing up. My throat was suddenly too thick for speech. I turned to the front of the classroom just as the tears gathered in my eyes, warping the image of the professor’s face into a flesh-coloured blur. I reached beneath the desk and laid my trembling hand in Noah’s, my fingers naturally fitting between the gaps in his. He gripped my hand so hard that pain shot up my arm, making me wince. He glanced sideways, taking in the bandages tied off at my wrist, and his grip eased immediately, his face pulling into a scowl. The bitter joy in my heart only swelled further, forcing a new torrent of tears to track down my face. The professor glanced over, blinking a few times at my silently crying face. I could tell that she was about to ask what was wrong, but I didn’t want the other students turning around and noticing, so I shook my head, imploring her quietly. She hesitated, but eventually turned away, engaging another person in conversation. As it grew time for the study group to end, I flexed my now-numb hand and Noah released me. I quickly gathered up my things and slipped out of the room before anyone else could even notice that I was there.
“Seph, wait.” Noah was right behind me as the door fell closed, pulling my shoulder so that I spun to face him. Hans and Andrei took a few more steps until they were behind me again.
Noah swallowed several times, his electric eyes flicking over my face before settling somewhere over my shoulder. Behind me, I heard a familiar throat clearing.
With a sigh, I waved a hand over my shoulder, indicating the silent giants. “That’s Hans and Andrei. They’re—”
“Klovoda agents,” Noah interrupted, “I know. We’ve met.”
One of the giants grunted, but it was a friendly-sounding grunt, and Noah quickly turned his attention back to me. I didn’t want to be waylaid in the corridor because people were beginning to stare and whisper again, so I grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him after me, heading back in the direction of the administration building, since I had a few hours break until my next lecture. Noah came along with me easily, but he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I knew that he was alerting the others. My stomach flipped again and I stumbled for a moment before regaining my footing and walking even faster.
“Do you…” I swallowed, biting the question back as we passed from the busy corridors to the quieter admin area. I couldn’t stomach the thought that I had bonded to him and he still didn’t remember everything.
Noah suddenly decided to take the lead, pulling me up a staircase, and down a corridor. He didn’t prompt me to finish my question, merely dragged me along and then stopped without warning, causing me to smack into his back. I didn’t exactly expect it to be a soft collision, but his body was hard enough that a sharp pain ricocheted from my nose upwards, and I hopped back, clutching at my face. He rolled his eyes a little, a smile quirking his lips, and then he was pulling me into a room, slamming the door solidly behind him.
I saw the silhouettes of my two giants just outside, and then heard Hans grumble, “Guess we’ll just wait out here.”
I glanced around the room—an office, it looked like—but I didn’t have time to take in any details because Noah was pulling me into his arms, crushing me into a hug that stole my air supply and curled warmth into my nervous stomach. He wasn’t ranting and raving and pulling out his hair as I had expected, but there was a slight tremble in his limbs, and he seemed to be even more tacit than usual.