What if he can access my elemental gifts? I wondered, following Zephyrus down the stairs. “Does my collar keep Shade from tapping into my earth source?” I asked out loud. “Or is he wearing one, too?” The thought of that actually had my lips twitching. Oh, I really hope they collared him…
Zephyrus paused to glare at me. “Were you over there daydreaming while I’ve been speaking?”
I grimaced. He had been talking. And, uh, yeah, I’d not heard a word of it after his supply list comment.
The look he gave me confirmed that the answer was written across my face and he didn’t approve. His hand wrapped around my throat, his opposite palm going to my hip, as he pushed me up against the wall. My feet awkwardly found purchase on one stair, holding me upright while he captured my gaze with a lethal stare.
“When I speak, you listen. Understand?”
I swallowed. He stood over a foot taller than me, just like Kolstov. And Zephyrus also possessed the muscles of a man who had spent most of his life hardening his exterior.
Warrior Blood, I recalled from our earlier conversation. While I didn’t know the complete definition, I could garner the importance of that distinction. Along with his comments about being a Guardian.
My Guardian.
This was not a male to piss off, and yet… “Do you manhandle all your students in this manner?” I asked him, tilting my head to the side.
His chest crowded mine, and his thighs—holy crap, those thighs!—pressed me harder into the wall. “I don’t know. I haven’t started my new job yet. Ask me again next week.”
“You’re a new professor?”
“Headmaster,” he corrected. “And yes, it’s a recently assigned post.” His tone held a note of bitterness to it.
“What was your previous post?”
“Why are you so chatty today?” His grip tightened around my neck. “I think I preferred your moping from last night.”
“I was not moping,” I gritted out, my eyes narrowing. “Let me go.”
“Make me.”
“This is not proper behavior for a professor.”
“Headmaster,” he corrected again. “And I haven’t technically started yet. Right now, I’m just your Guardian. Which means you’ll do whatever I tell you to do, whenever I tell you to do it.”
“And you make that point by strangling me?”
His lips curled into a cruel smile. “Trust me, this is nothing compared
to what I can do.”
I believed him. Yet, for whatever reason, I didn’t fear him. His callous exterior presented an ominous front, his cold green eyes just as harsh as the rest of him, but my instincts told me to push back.
“I might be weaker with this cuff around my neck, but I’m still a Royal Fae. That said, I apologize for daydreaming. I was thinking about how my bloodline is tied to Shade and wondered if that means he can access my gifts, too. If he can tap into the earth source, I have much larger problems than buying books or school uniforms.” Which I guessed was part of his list.
A glimmer of respect brightened his emerald orbs. He released me and stepped back, his cloak billowing around his ankles. The lapels were laced with green ink that sparkled beneath the firelight. I studied them, wondering what they meant, when Zephyrus turned on his heel and continued down the stairs.
“The collar around your neck should prevent him from accessing your elemental gifts. It acts as a door, and when it’s clasped, that door is shut and blocks your soul from accessing the elements. Which means Shade is also locked out.” He reached the bottom level and glanced up at me. “Satisfied?”
“Now you’re starting to sound more like a professor,” I quipped, giving him a smile. “Thank you, Headmaster.”
His pupils flared, heat momentarily sparking in the emerald depths. “Hmm” was all he said before turning again and leading the way outside.
Rather than lead the way toward the main gates, he took a left that directed us into the heart of the campus. Fire flickered on lampposts, gently lighting the charcoal-stoned paths. Obsidian bricks and other types of rock provided the foundation for the buildings, and gothic arches and stained glass lent the scene a palatial appeal that I had to admit was quite pretty.
Burning thwomps and other foreign plants graced the grounds, including black flowers that reminded me of roses and a series of purple-laced ivy that glowed with fiery bugs.
I bent to get a better look, only to be yanked back by Zephyrus. “Don’t.”