The rest of the oblivious college? They looked at me like they wanted to consume me. The Upper Line males glared with disdain, like I was something that belonged on their shoe because I was the Eleventh Line, but the girls? They looked at me like they wanted to eat me alive. I’d never struggled to get dates, but if I wanted to, I could’ve drowned in pussy since arriving at Boellium.
“Ricky!” a voice screeched across the room, and I hid my wince. Ephily Ingmire might’ve actually been the worst. She wanted my dick, but in the same breath, she always assured me that if we did fuck, she would be doingmea service since she was so much higher and more powerful than I was. The only reason I hadn’t used my powers to turn her away was because her acceptance got me into places a normal Eleventh Line conscript would be barred from. But every single moment was a lesson in the torture of vapidness.
Pasting a smile on my face, I looked over my shoulder at Ephily. “Hello, Effie,” I purred, making her flush pink.
“What are you doing, naughty little dirt dweller? Aren’t you meant to be out training?” she cooed, and I wanted to slam into her brain and tell her that calling me a dirt dweller wasn’t a term of endearment.
“Just getting some study materials from the library so I can catch up on the theory. I’m already behind,” I lamented, maybe with a little exaggeration.
She grinned. “You know, I could help you study. My learning method is very… hands on.”
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I winked down at her. “I might take you up on that.” I definitely wouldn’t. I’d rather chop off my dick. “I better hurry, the Librarian is expecting me.”
Ephily squeezed my bicep. “See you soon, Ricky.”
Goddess, I hated that name too. I moved away before she got some kind of idea about joining me, striding through the atrium and down to the library.
I was eager to see more of it. Ozryn’s own library was impressive, but nothing compared to the one here at Boellium. It was ancient and beautiful, filled with its own magic.
As I stood and stared at the doors, I realized they were a large relief map of Ebrus, separated by the Lines and powers. There were animals where the Third Line would live in the forests around Hamor, and snowfall over Fortaare. Huge, spiked landforms around Cyne, where the Fifth Line lived. Waves near the Seventh, and people playing dice near the Eleventh. My eyes automatically went to where my home was, up in Ozryn, only to see it blank. No, not blank, in undulating fog. Smooth but for some light dips and swirls that followed the grain of the wood. Hidden.
The library had known we were there all along.
I patted the door. “Tricky little library.” Pushing open the heavy doors, I stepped inside.
The Librarian was behind the circulation desk, and she looked at me for a long time. A lesser man might have squirmed under the attention. Finally, she sighed heavily, like I’d been found wanting. Man, Boellium War College was hard on a man’s ego.
“She’s in the back study area. I’ve given her all the relevant texts.”
I nodded my head respectfully. “Thank you, Librarian.”
Moving further into the darkness of the library, I schooled my face into something neutral, despite the excitement that was buzzing along my nerves. Avalon Halhed had somehow been unexpected, but still everything I thought she’d be.
Except she was also mesmerizing. And entirely uninterested in me, which made her even more attractive.
There was a large hound at the door, which glared at me as I stopped outside the room. It let out a low growl, and I dipped my head respectfully. The animal companions of the Third Line might’ve been the only southerners we actually respected. They were majestic and outside the scope of the Line system. Some fools might think that the animals were under the control of the Third Line, but they weren’t. They were partners. Companions. The animals had their own agenda, and their own love and respect for their companions.
“I swear on my life, hound, that I mean her no harm.”
He looked at me with eyes that assessed, that probably saw more than I would be comfortable with. Finally, he huffed and let out a low, warning sound. I didn’t need to be Third Line to know that he was promising painful retribution if I went back on my word.
I nodded. “Understood.” Stepping around him, I pushed open the door. I was unsurprised to see the Heir to the First Line with her.
Vox Vylan had been an interesting development, I was willing to admit. He had good mental walls, but I was the strongest psychic soldier in generations. He would’ve had to train since birth to even hold a flimsy shield against me, let alone something strong enough to keep me out. But what I’d found inside Vox’s head had perplexed me.
Mostly, there was self-loathing. Hatred for his family. But above all that, there was an all-consuming love for the girl across from him. Guilt for loving her at all. He was a danger to Avalon, and we all knew it. However, I couldn’t blame him for holding onto her light, especially if the few memories I’d rifled through were anything to go by.
Internally, I’d made my peace with the spare Heir of the First Line. I wouldn’t be so lenient with anyone else in his Line, though.
“Lierick.” Vox’s voice was pitched low.
“Vox,” I greeted back, then turned a smile on Avalon, enjoying the way her cheeks went pink. “Avalon. What are we reading?”
She cleared her throat and pushed a book toward me. “Historical accounts of pre-Line powers. If I can find out what we once were, maybe there would be hints about controlling it in there.”
It was a solid plan. I was more of a hands-on kind of learner, but considering she could literally alter the universe, learning everything we could first might be the better plan.
I took another book from the stack in the middle of the table. “I’ll start on this one.”Clan Magic in Northern Farming Practiceswas about as riveting a read as you’d expect, though the Halheds were very well respected at a time when one bad crop could spell death for everyone in your clan.
