“So… how are classes?” Alexi would have loved to go back to reading the file, but he’d have to wait. He realized he had been so obsessed with Kain and the Duke cases that he had forgotten about everything and everyone around him. Each morning, he waited for Kain to shower first and leave the room, so he could go about his own morning routines, get to the cafeteria after the blond had already finished his breakfast, then find a secluded place to go through the files. One of the reasons for which Alexi hated Kain’s unusual clinginess was that it made it difficult for him to sneak the files out and study them properly. Thankfully, Mikal, Kain’s demon father, was keeping him busy today. Seeing Sophie sitting right across from him reminded him he was a mentor now and, like it or not, he had responsibilities.
“Fascinating!” The excitement was obvious in her eyes and voice. “I’ve already learned so many things. I can’t believe it! And it’s only the first day.”
Alexi smiled. “I’m glad you like it. You remind me of myself when I first came to Lure. I always went to the library after classes.”
“I’ve looked around a bit. Anahit and Tarini gave us some rather consistent reading lists for the courses. Especially Tarini.”
“Yeah, dear ol’ mom can be quite demanding.”
Sophie’s eyes went wide with curiosity. “Really?”
“Mhm…”
“Wow!”
Alexi studied her for a second, then decided it was time to talk about the private sessions they were supposed to have at least once a week. Dread rose in his chest when he realized he’d have to remember the most common methods mentors used to guide their apprentices. He feared his experience and the fact that he hadn’t mentored anyone in years would do Sophie more harm than good.
“Listen, have you talked with Kain yet?”
“No…”
Alexi sighed. Just as he had thought. Kain had completely ignored his role as her mentor in the past three days. At least Alexi had a good excuse. What was Kain’s excuse?
“We should schedule the first meetings and try to know each other better.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But you guys seemed very busy these past couple of days, and I wasn’t sure how we had to go about it, anyway.”
Alexi bit down on his lower lip, feeling a bit guilty. “I’m sorry. It’s…” He threaded his fingers through his disheveled black hair. “It’s been a crazy week. I’m swamped with these cases, you see…” He motioned to the huge pile between them.
“Oh. Sure, no problem. What are they about?”
He hesitated. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to tell her he was studying old case files. What if she casually mentioned it to Kain? Would he suspect anything? No. He was such a paranoid fool. Kain had no idea Alexi had an interest in the Duke cases. How could he?
“I’m sorry, they’re classified.”
“Of course.” Sophie smiled embarrassed. “Silly me.”
He returned her smile and remembered why he had liked her so much. She was lovely and easy-going. He wondered if she was the submissive kind. He couldn’t be sure. She had fought the power of his aura so well during the Ceremony. “All right, let’s talk about the sessions. We’ll have to talk to Kain as well, and see if we can find a day and an hour which are convenient for all of us.”
“How do these sessions work? No one has really explained anything to me and I was, well, kind of scared to ask.”
“No, no, never do that. If you don’t know something, you must ask. We all know this is entirely new to you, and we don’t expect you to simply know something or learn about it by yourself.” He placed his elbows on the table and rested his head on his palms to rub at his eyes and temples. “Shit, I really am the worst mentor. I should have come to you the next day after the Ceremony. I’m such a moron. I got carried away with my stupid research and let you worry.”
“Don’t say that.” Sophie reached over the table to touch his arm. He might have been trying to reassure her, but all he managed to do was make her feel worse for having expected him or Kain to pay attention to her when they were obviously so busy. She had to remind herself over and over that they weren’t like the other cambions at Lure Academy. They were two friggin’ legends.
Alexi slapped his open palms on the table. “Tomorrow evening, after classes. The Red Chamber. How’s that?”
Sophie’s face lit up. “Yes, that sounds great.”
“Perfect. I’ll tell Kain later, when he comes back from Oriens. He’ll have to clear his schedule because this is important.”
The smile on her lips grew so big that it almost hurt her face, but she couldn’t help it. What she had been dreaming of while tossing and turning in her bed was finally within reach. Tomorrow evening, Sophie would have the two hottest cambions at Lure all over her.
?
After her first day of classes, Sophie was starving. She had left her bag, along with some books taken from the library, in her and Lamia’s room, and now she was heading to the cafeteria. Lamia must have been there already.
Somewhere on the way to the cafeteria, May joined her, running to catch up.