Thornhill Academy. Chapter 112

The halls of Thornhill hum with the usual morning noise: students chattering, spells sparking in the air, the clatter of boots on tile, but Tessa and I might as well be in our own world. She hasn’t stopped talking since we left my dorm, and I’m honestly impressed she hasn’t run out of breath yet.

“So there I was,” she’s saying, eyes gleaming as we turn the corner toward the courtyard. “Covered in glitter, half-drunk on moon wine, and Rynor is looking at me like I just personally invented oxygen. Next thing I know, bam—mate bond. Just like that. My life turned into one of those stupid romance ballads.”

I laugh, adjusting my bag over my shoulder. “You sound like you’re complaining.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining,” she says quickly, flashing the mark on her neck again. “I mean, he’s hot, loyal, and gets all shy when I touch his horns. What’s not to love? But, babe, you—” She stops dead in the middle of the hallway, throwing an arm across my chest. “You need to start talking right now. I leave you alone for one weekend, and you go and collect five mates? Five! That’s not a mate bond, that’s an intervention waiting to happen!”

I can’t help but grin at her expression of half disbelief, half admiration. “It wasn’t exactly planned, Tess.”

“It never is! But five? That’s like… mate bingo! You’ve got the sweet boy, the dangerous boy, the broody professor, the demon king, and—.” She narrows her eyes. “Cage? As in, Cage Cage? That psycho with the superiority complex and the murder stare.”

I groan. “Don’t remind me.”

She gapes. “Oh, I am reminding you. Loudly. How the hell is he one of your mates? Did the Fates roll dice when they matched you?”

“Feels like it,” I mutter. “Honestly, I don’t get it either. He hates me. Or—he did. Now he’s pretending to be nice. It’s… weird.”

“Weird,” she echoes, still glaring. “Try suspicious. That man wouldn’t know genuine affection if it bit him in the—”

“Tess.”

She stops, pressing her lips together. “Right, sorry. I know, I know, you’re trying to play nice. But seriously, Ally, keep your guard up with him. He’s Council-bred, and that kind doesn’t change overnight. You said he showed up yesterday? What did he want?”

I hesitate, glancing at the students as they file past us. “He said he wanted to talk. To make peace. He even came in for dinner with me, Kael, and Evander.”

Tessa’s eyes go wide. “Oh, that must’ve gone so well.”

“Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it,” I say, laughing softly. “Kael nearly growled himself hoarse. But Cage, he was… calm. Too calm.”

Tessa hums, clearly unconvinced. “Yeah, that’s not good. That’s plotting calm. Snake calm. Please don’t fall for it, Ally. He might be your mate, but that doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.”

Her tone sobers me a little. Because she’s right. Every instinct I have around Cage feels split in two, half of me wary, half of me wanting to trust, like the bond itself can’t decide which side it’s on.

“I’ll be careful,” I promise, though it sounds weaker than I mean it to.

“Good,” Tessa says, looping her arm through mine as we start walking again. “Because I swear to the Fates, if that man hurts you, I’ll personally hex his pretty face into next week.”

I snort. “You say that like Kael wouldn’t get there first.”

“Oh, I know Kael would. But I’d make sure what’s left of him regrets it.”

We both laugh, the tension melting just a little as the classroom doors come into view. Tessa keeps talking about her weekend, about moonlight vows and bruised lips and how Rynor nearly fainted when she kissed him in front of everyone, but my mind drifts. Five mates. A bond that feels both a blessing and a curse, and one enemy who’s pretending to be my friend. The Fates really must be laughing.

By the time we reach the classroom doors, I’ve almost managed to convince myself that the day might actually go down nicely. I’ve got Tessa back, my friends are fed, Rhaziel’s promised to return later—it’s fine. Everything’s fine. Until I walk into the lecture hall.

“Oh, crap,” I whisper.

Tessa pauses mid-step. “What?”

I stare at the name scrawled across the board in elegant, too-familiar handwriting. *Professor Cassian Hill.* Of course. Of course this would be today.

Tessa’s grin is immediate and wicked. “Ohhh, this is great, you going to play naughty school girl?”

“Shh!” I hiss, elbowing her in the ribs. “He can hear you.”

But apparently, he’s not hearing much of anything, not me, at least. Cassian stands at the front of the room, tall, precise, the lines of his shirt crisp enough to cut glass. He’s writing on the board, explaining something about channel stabilisation, and his voice is perfectly calm. Not cold. Not warm. Just… nothing. He doesn’t look at me once. That shouldn’t sting. It shouldn’t. Except it does, because I can feel him through the bond, steady and restrained and locked tight behind whatever mental barricade he’s built overnight. It hums faintly, like a heartbeat muffled by stone. And then, as if the universe has decided this moment needs to be even more humiliating—Cage. He’s already there, sprawled in his seat near the middle row, arm slung over the back of the chair like he owns the place. When he sees me, that grin spreads slowly and deliberately across his face.

“Well, look who finally decided to join us,” he drawls, loud enough that a few students turn to look.

I grit my teeth. “Hi, Cage.”

He pats the seat next to him like he’s offering me a throne. “Saved you a spot, sunshine.”

Tessa chokes on a laugh behind me. I shoot her a glare that says *do not even start.* I take a seat beside him anyway, because I am determined to find out what he's up to.

Professor Hill turns slightly at the sound but still doesn’t meet my eyes. His expression stays neutral as he continues, “Let’s begin with a review of elemental transference.”

The bond thrums, faint but restless, and I shift uncomfortably. There’s a strange ache sitting between being seen and being ignored, and both of them burn for different reasons.

Cage leans closer as I sit down, voice low. “Rough morning?”

“Don’t start,” I mutter, flipping open my notebook.

He chuckles, and I can feel his eyes on me while Hill pretends I don’t exist. It did cross my mind that maybe the whole student-teacher relationship wouldn't be allowed. Obviously, it's written in the damn laws of this place, but still, you would think the bond between us would mean more than some silly little law, but apparently not. Perfect, I'm trapped between my fake friend and my apparently forbidden mate.

This is going to be a long damn class.